rePower Expands in Europe, Adds paysafecard (Sept. 17, 2013)
Sept. 17, 2013
MasterCard is expanding the reach of its rePower prepaid card reload network to more European nations and adding partners as part of its push to make loading cash onto prepaid cards easier for consumers across Europe, according to Matt Lanford, MasterCard Europe’s head of prepaid. At the 2013 MasterCard Europe Prepaid Conference today in Rome, Lanford said rePower is live now in Italy, Poland and Spain, following its initial launch last year in the U.K. In addition to its partnership with voucher provider Ukash, MasterCard is now working with Austria-based paysafecard, which markets e-vouchers at 450,000 retail locations, to help drive rePower’s expansion and reach more unbanked consumers, he said. paysafecard is a 2013 Paybefore Award winner.
MasterCard’s rePower service targets underbanked European customers that deal almost exclusively in cash, MasterCard said. The population of unbanked and underbanked in Western Europe totals 93 million people, according to Jennifer Rademaker, MasterCard’s senior vice president of core products for Europe. Consumers may use rePower to load cash to prepaid MasterCards at a POS terminal or by converting currency into vouchers, which can be redeemed on the MasterCard rePower Website. MasterCard began its European rollout of rePower in the U.K. late last year, working with Ukash and processor CQR Payment Group, which handles acquiring, processing and customer service. Funds are immediately available on the prepaid card when consumers redeem vouchers on MasterCard’s rePower site. Early indications suggest cardholders using the rePower network to reload prepaid card funds have a 20 percent increase in transaction volume, Lanford told conference attendees.
