Visa, i2c Ink Deal to Bring Prepaid to Growing Markets (Nov. 20, 2013)
Visa Inc. and prepaid processor i2c Inc. are teaming up with their sights set on Asia-Pacific, Central Europe, the Middle East and Africa (APCEMEA). The companies’ global partnership will bring new prepaid offerings to those markets, including government disbursement and virtual prepaid products. The payment card network will use i2c’s processing platform to enable Visa prepaid issuers and partners to develop and manage a full suite of prepaid products throughout the regions.
“Demand for prepaid cards is increasing across APCEMEA, which includes some of the world’s fastest-growing regions,” said Stacey Pinkerd, head of products, Asia-Pacific, Visa. “Alliance partners, such as i2c, will play a significant role in the expansion of the prepaid category by providing prepaid issuers and partners with leading technology solutions that support functionality required by both consumers and corporates across the entire region,” Pinkerd added.
Over the past several years, Redwood City, Calif.-based i2c has been expanding the global reach of its processing business. Late last year, the company began processing transactions at a new data center in Shanghai, i2c’s third such facility. This past July, the processor inked a deal to support DMS Banks & Trust Ltd.’s prepaid card programs in Latin America and the Caribbean. And in September, the company completed the integration of its platform with MasterCard’s domestic switch in Mexico—a market in which i2c sees significant growth opportunities. Visa too has been making moves abroad, including releasing a co-branded prepaid card with the State Bank of India and partnering with Vodafone on an NFC-based mobile pilot in New Zealand.
