Prepaid Card Programs: Assisting People In Their International Payments.

By Adele Robinson


Retailers are consistently looking for ways to attract customers and keep old ones in these times where it has become almost impossible to predict consumer behavior. The emergence of online retailers has greatly impacted on the conventional retail merchant hence he has to come up with novel ways of remaining relevant in today's consumer market.

The key element in selecting a payment solution is ease of usage, flexibility safety and speed. It is to this end that many companies come up with the creation of prepaid debit card programs in the first place. A prepaid card is a card that gives consumers alternatives to carrying physical cash around. They are often loaded with funds which when depleted can be topped-up again for future expenses.

An open loop prepaid card has a network logo on it, examples are visa, master card, American express and discover. These cards can be made use of, at any location that accepts that brand.

A closed loop prepaid card can only be used at certain locations, they don't usually have a network logo on them. Which means a close loop card might be useful only at a specific store or a group of stores or on your public transport system.

If you wish to stay away from the banking halls, or your daily schedule doesn't give you the chance to stand in line at the bank waiting your turn to withdraw from your checking account, then you are encouraged to try out the prepaid card.

If you use the VISA co-branded credit card program, you would be guided on how to develop a viable co-branding business plan that meets your expectations.

If you want to get a prepaid card, you need little or no credit history, this in infract what makes it different or even better than the credit card. Consequently using a prepaid card, frees you of the obligation to pay interest charges on the purchases you make.

Users of VISA co-branded credit cards also have the opportunity to be on a sophisticated platform that enables users to have card linked campaigns that are perfectly suited to incentivize spending behavior in chosen categories.

Just like credit cards, when shopping you can get things at stores, online shopping or even pay bills so as long as you don't exceed the amount you have loaded onto the card.

Bearing in mind that once you exceed the total amount you deposited in the card, it will be withdrawn at shops, you may be forced into controlling your spending.




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