WHAT ARE THE BEST NORTH AMERICAN CREDIT CARD APPS?

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WHAT ARE THE BEST NORTH AMERICAN CREDIT CARD APPS?
March 2017 Issue 541                                              www.cardsinternational.com

                WHAT ARE THE BEST
                 NORTH AMERICAN
                CREDIT CARD APPS?

                       The biggest FIs in the region
                             go head-to-head
                          • PRODUCTS: Prepaid in Canada
                           • DISTRIBUTION: ATMs at 50
                        • GUEST COMMENT: ACI Worldwide
                • COUNTRY SURVEYS: The Philippines, Estonia & Cambodia

CI 541.indd 1                                                                               06/03/2017 17:01:43
WHAT ARE THE BEST NORTH AMERICAN CREDIT CARD APPS?
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IE Adverts - 2017.indd 1                                                                                              21/12/2016 11:53:12
WHAT ARE THE BEST NORTH AMERICAN CREDIT CARD APPS?
Cards International                                                                                                                                       EDITOR’S LETTER

         CONTENTS                                            EDITOR’S LETTER
         6      DISTRIBUTION: ATMS AT 50
                According to the ATM Industry
                                                             Time for credit card issuers
                Association (ATMIA), there are
                approximately three million ATMs
                across the globe. As the self-service
                                                             to up their mobile game
                kit hits its 50th birthday, Patrick
                Brusnahan writes on how the

                                                             U
                financial mainstay is still developing
                                                                      K customers are                     connected in a far more modu-          ly of – but as for the rest, how
         7      MOBILE: CREDIT CARD APPS
                                                                      i ncreasi ng ly w i l l i ng        lar and component-based way            many really good credit card
                Canadian and US banks generally
                provide a single mobile app for                       to mu lt i - b a n k , a nd         across organisational bounda-          account apps are out there?
                banking and credit card account                       already more than a                 ries.                                    A number of major issuers do
                management, and the most                     half (53%) take their credit                    Making infrastructure avail-        not even offer the most basic
                advanced examples also include
                fraud prevention. Robin Arnfield             card from an alternative to                  able through standardised inter-       account-management features
                reviews leading North American               their current account provider.              faces will be a major trigger for      on their mobile banking apps.
                issuers’ offerings, and if one single
                app is the key to success
                                                                Is there scope for credit card            new competition, from many             Too many banks have taken
                                                             issuers to win market share by               different sources.                     the view that they aim for one
         10     NEWS: ANALYSIS                               sharing consumers’ financial                    Open Banking will give rise to      front door in terms of mobile
                It is not often that a conference            data with third parties in return            new business models, with some         interaction with the consumer
                speaker gets up and delivers a
                slating of a host country’s ecosystem        for benefits?                                providers choosing to specialise       – one app for all products with
                – but that is exactly what happened             A report released by PwC,                 in niche areas rather than offer       the credit card added on as an
                in Berlin at the Merchant Payment
                Ecosystems conference. Anna Milne
                                                             Who are you calling a challeng-              a traditional suite of products        afterthought.
                reports                                      er? How competition is improv-               or attempt to manage the cus-            With annual credit card-
                                                             ing customer choice and driving              tomer’s end-to-end experience.         switching rates in the mid-teens,
         11     PRODUCTS: PREPAID IN CANADA
                                                             innovation in the UK banking                    In the credit card sector, how-     against the current miserable
                While prepaid open-loop and
                closed-loop transactions are the             market, states that 39% of con-              ever, there is much scope for          rate of 3% for current accounts,
                fastest-growing POS transaction              sumers would agree such a deal               improvement and optimisation           consumers are already more
                types in Canada, they still only
                account for small proportions of POS
                                                             with their financial institution.            of the customer experience. The        than willing to shop around.
                volume and value. But the prepaid               Increasingly, retail customers            majority of banks do not offer           A decent credit card manage-
                growth opportunities are significant,        are not seeking more full-service            separate apps for different prod-      ment app is no longer a luxury.
                especially in the open-loop segment,
                reports Robin Arnfield                       banks, but rather providers that             ucts such as credit cards.             Expect issuers to offer apps
                                                             specialise in specific products or              As customers shift to digital       including travel notifications,
         14     COUNTRY SURVEY: THE PHILIPPINES
                                                             segment needs.                               channels, issuers will be under        the option to block and unblock
         16     COUNTRY SURVEY: ESTONIA                         As the report notes, the                  pressure to optimise their mobile      cards, and personalised rewards.
         18     COUNTRY SURVEY: CAMBODIA                     advent of Open Banking, ena-                 and online channels to increase          Or how about geo-location
         20     GUEST COMMENT: ACI WORLDWIDE
                                                             bled by technology and regula-               conversion rates.                      controls, enabling cardholders
                With a new fast payments ecosystem,          tory developments, will be par-                 Speaking purely as a                to say their card can only be
                how open is too open? Customers              ticularly influential on competi-            cardholder and not an editor,          used within so many miles of a
                will not sacrifice convenience for           tive dynamics.                               the Amex app is outstanding,           specific location in proximity to
                security, so what is the best way to
                strike an effective balance between             Supported by a new regula-                offering personalised notifica-        their smartphone?
                the two without sacrificing the              tory regime, the initiative means            tions for payment and spending           We may even see issuers offer-
                values of both? ACI Worldwide’s                                                           reminders, balance updates and         ing an incentive to cardholders
                Silvia Mensdorff-Pouilly writes
                                                             banks will be able – and required
                                                             – to share more customer infor-              statements. As a non-customer,         prepared to share financial data
                                                             mation than ever before.                     Barclaycard and Capital One            with third parties.
                                                                This will be achieved via APIs            also offer standalone credit card                                Douglas Blakey
                                                             which enable systems to be                   apps that colleagues speak high-          douglas.blakey@cardsinternational.com

                                                             Editor: Douglas Blakey                       Director of Events: Ray Giddings       For more information on Verdict, visit our
                                                             Tel: +44 (0)20 7406 6523                     Tel: +44 (0)20 3096 2585               website at www.verdict.couk.
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       www.cardsinternational.com                                                                                                                                        March 2017 y 1

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WHAT ARE THE BEST NORTH AMERICAN CREDIT CARD APPS?
NEWS: DIGEST                                                                                                                 Cards International

        DIGITAL
        Grameen America, Citi and                         for over 86,000 low-income female entre-         women entrepreneurs through access to capi-
        MasterCard to unveil digital                      preneurs across the US.                          tal, credit and asset-building services.”
        finance platform                                     Citi and MasterCard will support the             The upgrades includes the disbursement of
                                                          deployment of cloud-based management             reloadable MasterCard cards issued by Citi
                                                          information system infrastructure to mod-        Prepaid Services. These will be used by Gra-
                                                          ernise and boost Grameen America’s opera-        meen America to provide microloans to its
                                                          tional capacity.                                 members.
                                                             Grameen America will be able to standard-        MasterCard’s president of the centre
                                                          ise and modernise its back-office processes,     for inclusive growth, Shamina Singh, said:
                                                          achieve better efficiency, scale services, and   “Connecting people to the networks that
                                                          launch new features.                             power the modern world will unlock their
                                                             Grameen America president and CEO             economic potential and continue a cycle of
                                                          Andrea Jung said: “Solving the need for digi-    equitable economic growth and poverty
                                                          tal banking services among low-income com-       reduction.
        Microfinance organisation Grameen Ameri-          munities in the US is a pressing priority.          “Working with Grameen America, we are
        ca has partnered with Citi and MasterCard            “This collaboration represents a perfect      glad to join a partnership that will advance
        to launch a range of fintech solutions to pro-    marriage of the key players in technology and    economic mobility through entrepreneurship
        mote digital financial access and inclusion       financial services, coming together to empower   in the US.”<

        STRATEGY                                          DISTRIBUTION                                     PRODUCTS
        HNB, UnionPay agree to accept                     Doha Bank, MasterCard to offer                   CIBC FirstCaribbean to issue
        card payments in Sri Lanka                        payment solutions in Qatar                       contactless cards
        Hatton National Bank (HNB), a Sri Lankan          Doha Bank and MasterCard have signed a           CIBC FirstCaribbean International
        lender, has teamed up with UnionPay Inter-        long-term agreement to launch a range of         Bank has decided to issue chip-and-PIN
        national to accept card payments.                 payment solutions, including remittance          contactless debit and credit cards for its Visa
          The contract will enable Sri Lankan mer-        offerings and contactless payments, in Qatar.    cardholders.
        chants which use HNB’s POS devices to                According to Doha Bank, the agreement            CIBC FirstCaribbean’s MD of customer
        accept UnionPay cards.                            will enable both partners to provide innova-     relationship management and strategy, Tre-
          HNB senior manager of card centre               tive products to the country’s workforce.        vor Torzsas, believes the development is a
        Roshantha Jayatunge commented: “By                   The new initiative backs efforts by the       ‘significant milestone’ as it increases ease of
        moving proactively to partner with Union-         Ministry of Labour and Social Affairs, and       use for small purchases while maintaining
        Pay International, we believe HNB has taken       Qatar Central Banks to provide a safe work-      security.
        a vital first step towards further integrating    ing environment for workers, while ensuring         Torzsas said: “We’ve introduced a series
        Sri Lanka into the international economic         wages are electronically transferred to their    of innovations to our services, including our
        system.”                                          bank accounts.                                   very popular Mobile Banking app, to give
          UnionPay International senior head of              Commenting on the agreement, Doha             our clients more choice in how they bank
        South Asia Derek Chang said: “We are              Bank group CEO Raghavan Seetharaman              and make payments. The app is performing
        delighted to be partnering with HNB. Sri          said: “Our partnership serves to bring the       beyond our expectations.
        Lanka is an important market for UnionPay         best card products to our growing customer          “We now have a banking solution to fit
        International in South Asia.                      base and is in line with Doha Bank’s strat-      everyone’s lifestyle, and our smart cards will
          “We are uniquely positioned and ready           egy to deliver the utmost value to employ-       provide our cardholders additional com-
        to contribute to the growth of the tour-          ers and payroll customers within the entire      fort that they can make payments in a safe,
        ism industry by providing travellers with a       framework of the Wages Protection System         secure, yet flexible manner. Security is para-
        secure and easy payment option.”<                 implementation.”<                                mount to our client base.”<

        DIGITAL
        Vibe, WEX sign virtual payments
        agreement                                         which allows automated supplier payments
                                                          in 24 currencies worldwide.
        US-based payment technology firm WEX                 WEX Europe commercial director for vir-
        has signed an agreement with Vibe Systems         tual payments Ian Johnson said: “Our aim is
        to combine travel technology and payments         to make our payment solutions available to
        for a better supplier payment experience.         the travel industry, regardless of the systems
          Vibe provides advanced front- and mid-          they already use.”
        office technology to travel businesses, includ-      Vibe group e-commerce director Martin
        ing online travel agencies, retail agencies,      Eade said: “We are delighted to offer our cli-
        travel management companies and consoli-          ents the ability to enable WEX payment solu-
        dators.                                           tions on their Vibe online booking platform.
          WEX’s virtual debit, prepaid and credit            “Combining WEX’s payment expertise
        cards will be directly integrated with either     with Vibe’s technology is an exciting pros-
        pre- or credit funding into the Vibe platform,    pect and one we are excited to continue.”<

        2 y March 2017                                                                                                     www. cardsinternational.com

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WHAT ARE THE BEST NORTH AMERICAN CREDIT CARD APPS?
Cards International                                                                                                            NEWS: DIGEST

       RESEARCH
       Visa launches new innovation                      through which Visa aims to ‘excite and            create new, secure ways to pay’.
       centre in London                                  engage visitors’, including applications relat-      Visa executive vice-president for innova-
                                                         ed to the Internet of Things in connected car     tion and strategic partnerships Jim McCarthy
       Visa has opened a new innovation centre in        and home environments.                            said: “What makes the approach we take in
       London, where the company will work with            According to Visa: “Visitors will experi-       our innovation centres unique is that they’re
       financial institutions, merchants and other       ence the future of retail using virtual reality   all about collaborating with clients to solve
       partners to develop the next generation of        to pick just the right seat for an upcoming       real-world consumer pain points or business
       payment solutions.                                Formula E race and biometric authentication       problems using digital solutions.”
          The 1,000m2 facility is located at Visa’s      to pay for tickets.”                                 The new facility joins a global network
       European headquarters in Paddington Basin.          Coinciding with the opening of the cen-         of innovation centres and studios located in
       It is described as the largest of Visa’s global   tre, Visa announced that fintech develop-         technology hotspots, including Berlin, Dubai,
       network of innovation centres.                    ers across Europe will now be able to take        Miami, San Francisco, Singapore, São Paulo
          It features practical demonstrations           advantage of the Visa Developer Platform ‘to      and Tel Aviv. <

       MOBILE
       UnionPay launches mobile
       QuickPass in Hong Kong
       UnionPay International has debuted Union-
       Pay mobile QuickPass products in Hong
       Kong, in collaboration with Bank of China
       (Hong Kong).
          The move follows the issuance of Union-
       Pay HCE mobile QuickPass products in
       Macau and South Korea. Cardholders can
       now link mobile phones with UnionPay
       dual-currency credit cards issued by Bank
       of China to make daily transactions by
       mobile phone.                                     phone, wearable devices and UnionPay chip         20,000 POS terminals in Hong Kong by mer-
          UnionPay said its mobile QuickPass facil-      cards, as well as online mobile payments.         chants such as Sogo, 7-Eleven, Mannings,
       ity supports offline payments with smart-         Mobile QuickPass is currently accepted at         and Tsui Wah Restaurant. <
       STRATEGY
       Barclaycard, TMC sign fuel card                      The new programme integrates a fuel            with Centrica, providing a fuel programme
       agreement with Centrica                           expenses Barclaycard with accurate, audited       that will not only be simpler for their drivers
                                                         mileage and comprehensive manage-                      and fleet managers but will also help the
       Barclaycard Commercial Payments has               ment information.                                         business reduce its fuel costs.
       secured a contract from Centrica – the par-          In association with TMC, the                                “Securing this contract really
       ent company of British Gas – to offer a single    Barclaycard Fuel+ features chip &                            demonstrates the value of the
       fuel card programme for its van and car fleets    PIN security and Visa acceptance,                            Barclaycard Fuel+ in association
       in collaboration with TMC,                        allowing Centrica drivers to refuel                          with TMC proposition for larger
         The contract, which was awarded after a         at virtually any petrol forecourt in                        fleets.”
       competitive tender process, runs for three        the UK.                                                      Centrica head of fleet Steve Winter
       years, providing Centrica with a single fuel         Barclaycard head of multinational                  said: “Barclaycard Fuel+ in association
       programme for both its commercial and             corporate business Michael Pechner com-           with TMC is an exciting opportunity to take
       company car fleets.                               mented: “We are delighted to be working           our fuel programme to the next level.”<

       STRATEGY
       JCB becomes principal member                      versal card payment standards through new         payment networks utilising SEPA-compliant
       of nexo Standards                                 protocols and the implementation of speci-        terminals.
                                                         fications with integrated retail and terminal        It also delivers a one-stop-shop for EMV
       JCB International, a subsidiary of Japan-         management systems.                               and SEPA -compliant terminal testing,
       headquartered JCB, has become a princi-              As a principal member, JCB will confirm        decreasing the risk of interoperability obsta-
       pal member of nexo Standards in its card          that its technical requirements are supported     cles emerging between payment applications,
       schemes category.                                 by nexo protocols, with a particular focus on     and thereby promoting an open market for
          Headquartered in Brussels, nexo Standards      the nexo-Fast suite of specifications.            EMV and SEPA terminals.
       is the open standards association dedicated          The specifications offer a clear description      The move means that payment acceptors,
       to the creation of implementation specifica-      of the application on an EMV chip-and-PIN         processors, payment service providers and
       tions for card payment acceptance.                payment terminal which provides compli-           vendors will now be able to implement JCB
          It works on behalf of all card stakeholders    ance with the European Payments Council's         contact and contactless transaction kernels
       to harmonise payment acceptance. The asso-        SEPA cards framework. nexo-FAST allows            into their EMV and SEPA compliant termi-
       ciation is developing a new generation of uni-    a uniform transaction user experience on all      nals, as specified by nexo-Fast. <

       www.cardsinternational.com                                                                                                        March 2017 y 3

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WHAT ARE THE BEST NORTH AMERICAN CREDIT CARD APPS?
NEWS: DIGEST                                                                                                               Cards International

        REGULATION
        Allpay’s cards pass Visa’s                       ment of the cards, access control, HR train-    The original building will be modernised to
        physical audit                                        ing, credit and police checks.             incorporate a larger manufacturing layout.
                                                                     The audit follows a £1m ($1.2m)        Hologram, chip embedding and card
        UK-based payment specialist                                  investment into the UK payment      -inspection machinery will enable Allpay to
        Allpay has passed the annual                                   specialist’s design and produc-   create custom-designed cards for clients.
        physical audit of its card-                                     tion facilities.                    New hires include a production planner
        manufacturing bureau car-                                          With the investment, Allpay   and stock controller, a manufacturing and
        ried out by Visa towards the                                    obtained a new building, the     bureau operation manager, and a new direc-
        end of 2016.                                                    latest equipment, and expand-    tor, Ceri Davies.
           Against the highest stand-                                   ed its card manufacturing           Allpay head of card manufacturing and
        ards of PCI Compliance, the                                   team from 24 to 49 staff over a    bureau operations Jamie Taylor said: “We
        annual physical audit assessed                              12-month period.                     are delighted with the near-perfect score
        various security factors with regards                      Currently, the bureau facility is     awarded to our card-manufacturing bureau,
        to the building, physical control and move-      operating from a new purpose-built building.    following its annual physical audit.”<

        MOBILE
        MasterCard to empower                              MasterCard aims to foster a higher level of   checkout with a smartphone, or by entering
        150,000 Kenyan merchants with                    inclusion for MSMEs in East Africa through      a merchant identifier code.
        MasterPass QR                                    the digital payment initiative.                    MasterCard division president for Sub-
                                                           The regional commitment to impact over        Saharan Africa, and head of financial inclu-
        MasterCard has committed to provide its          150,000 MSMEs in Kenya is part of Master-       sion for international markets Daniel Mone-
        MasterPass QR secure digital payment solu-       Card’s global goal of connecting 40 million     hin said: “Kenyans are entrepreneurial by
        tion to more than 150,000 micro, small and       micro and small merchants to its electronic     nature and there are incredibly exciting busi-
        medium-sized enterprises (MSMEs) in Kenya        payment network by the end of 2020 – a          ness ideas coming from the region.
        during 2017.                                     goal that MasterCard hopes it will be able to      “We want to help business owners to grow
           The mobile-driven person-to-merchant          achieve before that date.                       and prosper by delivering solutions that meet
        (P2M) payment solution will be launched            Consumers can pay for in-store purchas-       their needs. To this end we feel that Master-
        through numerous financial institutions.         es by scanning a QR code displayed at the       Card’s commitment is a valuable one.”<

        STRATEGY                                         SECURITY                                        SECURITY
        Visa partners with IBM for POS                   MePIN launches biometric                        Santander UK enables payments
        solution                                         extensions to curb online fraud                 through voice command
        Visa has collaborated with tech giant IBM        Finland-based MePIN/Meontrust has intro-        Santander UK has launched a feature on its
        to incorporate POS solutions and commerce        duced additional biometric authentication       mobile app to allow users to authorise pay-
        into any device, including watches and rings,    options to its MePIN Universal Authentica-      ments using voice commands.
        using IBM’s Watson Internet of Things (IoT)      tion platform.                                     As well as enabling fund transfers, the new
        platform.                                           The new Human Recognition and User           voice-recognition technology will also allow
           Through the platform, businesses will         Recognition authentication policies can be      users to check balances, and report lost or
        be able to connect to billions of connected      used alongside traditional authentication       stolen cards.
        devices, sensors and systems wherever Visa       methods.                                           The technology is currently in the process
        is accepted. The solution is currently used by      The provider claims the new policies         of being piloted on the iOS version of the
        more than 6,000 IBM clients.                     extend the existing MePIN Public Key Infra-     bank’s SmartBank app.
           The partnership will allow companies to       structure-based non-repudiation without            Santander’s head of technology inno-
        incorporate secure payments into various         affecting the user experience.                  vation, Ed Metzger, said: “The worlds of
        product lines using the Visa Token Service,         MePIN/Meontrust CEO Markku Mehtala           technology and banking continue to evolve
        a technology that replaces sensitive account     told Cards International: “Card-not-present     at pace, working hand in hand to deliver a
        information found on payment cards with a        fraud has not been solved with clumsy           friction-free user experience.
        unique digital identifier.                       authentication solutions.                          “We are excited to be the first UK high
           IBM Watson IoT general manager Har-              “MePIN provides non-repudiation for          street bank to enable customers to make
        riet Green said: “IoT is literally changing      transactions while minimising the friction of   payments using just their voice, offering
        the world around us, whether it’s allowing       authentication.                                 them another channel of choice in how they
        businesses to achieve unimaginable levels of        “It is important that consumer privacy is    wish to bank.
        efficiency or enabling a washing machine to      not forgotten. Face recognition must be used       “Appetite for simple, intuitive banking
        ensure we never run out of detergent.            wisely,” Mehtala continued.                     solutions has grown,” Metzger continued.
           “This combination of IBM’s IoT technol-          Available as a software development kit,        “This pioneering technology has huge
        ogies with Visa payment services signifies       the MePIN biometric solution can be inte-       potential to become an integral part of the
        the next defining moment in commerce, by         grated by the payment card issuers or pay-      future banking experience, playing a trans-
        allowing payments on any connected object        ment service providers into mobile apps, or     formational role in the industry and redefin-
        with new levels of simplicity and conveni-       used as a template to launch new payment        ing how customers choose to manage their
        ence,” Green added. <                            security apps.<                                 money.”<

        4 y March 2017                                                                                                   www. cardsinternational.com

CI 541.indd 4                                                                                                                                 06/03/2017 17:02:06
WHAT ARE THE BEST NORTH AMERICAN CREDIT CARD APPS?
Cards International                                                                                                         NEWS: DIGEST

       DIGITAL                                          PRODUCTS                                         MOBILE
       Billtrust unveils Virtual Card                   Yes Bank launches NFC-enabled                    MTS introduces new mobile
       Capture for automated virtual                    debit cards for contactless                      wallet to integrate payment
       credit card acceptance                           payments                                         solutions
                                                        India’s Yes Bank has launched its latest range   Russia-based Mobile TeleSystems (MTS) has
                                                        of NFC-enabled debit cards.                      launched its latest mobile wallet with ‘easy
                                                           Yes Prosperity and Yes First have, accord-    one-click access’ to its financial services.
                                                        ing to the bank, been ‘designed around the          The MTS Money Wallet combines all pay-
                                                        specific needs of debit card customers’.         ment tools on a single platform, and custom-
                                                           The Yes Prosperity card range features        ers have the option to make payments and
       Payment cycle management firm Billtrust          the Yes Prosperity Titanium, Titanium Plus,      transfer money from the e-wallet by smart-
       has launched the Virtual Card Capture ser-       Platinum and Rupay Platinum debit cards,         phone.
       vice to improve efficiency and automate the      whereas the Yes First range comprises the           All MTS Money Wallet users will be auto-
       cash application process for email credit        Yes First World debit card.                      matically enrolled onto the MTS Bonus
       card payments.                                      The bank has also introduced two cards        programme, which offers loyalty points and
         The solution claims to address a grow-         on India’s domestic card payment network,        access to exclusive offers and discounts.
       ing problem for account departments that         Rupay.                                              MTS vice-president for strategy and mar-
       receive payments by email using virtual             Cardholders can earn reward points on         keting Vasyl Latsanych said: “Today we
       credit cards from buyers. These are not only     all expenditure, and benefit from access to      are entering into a new era of mobile and
       costly to manage, but also create a burden       Yes InControl, which it operates through         financial services. We created the unified
       for organisations with limited resources.        MasterCard, allowing users to set custom-        ecosystem, which will become a convenient,
         Payment instructions sent by banks and         ised spending limits for different locations     transparent, and secure alternative for cash
       accounts payable platforms are rerouted to       and categories.                                  and bank cards.
       Billtrust for processing through Virtual Card       Yes Bank senior group president for retail       “The initial functions included in the ser-
       Capture.                                         and business banking Pralay Modal said:          vice only mark the beginning of our journey.
         Funds are deposited into a supplier’s bank     “Our debit card portfolio has been designed      We will combine all possible payment solu-
       the following business day, and remittances      to offer superior features and benefits to our   tions with leading loyalty programmes.
       are consolidated for all payment sources and     valued customers.                                   “We believe that cash and cards will
       matched to open invoices.                           “The launch will augment our efforts          become redundant in the near future. All
         The new solution claims to reduce the          towards encouraging customers to move            we’ll need for comfortable communications
       burden of acceptance of virtual credit cards,    towards a cashless economy. Digitalistion is     and financial management is a smartphone.
       which was previously a manual process. <         the future, but cards are the present.” <        We want to give people the future today.” <

       DISTRIBUTION
       Barclaycard signs new payments                   million contactless transactions to date –       in 10 pay-as-you-go journeys on London’s
       agreement with TfL                               covering journeys made by bus, Tube, tram,       buses, Tube and rail services.
                                                        Docklands Light Railway, London Over-               Commenting on the extension, TfL chief
       Barclaycard has extended its contract to offer   ground, TfL Rail, Emirates Air Lines, River      technology officer Shashi Verma said:
       contactless payment solutions to Transport       Bus and most of London’s daily National          “Contactless payments have completely
       for London (TfL) for another seven years,        Rail services.                                   transformed the way people pay for travel
       with the option to extend the agreement for        The contract extension will enable             in London, with more than 800 million jour-
       a further three years.                           Barclaycard to support the introduction of       neys already made and around 1.8 million
          TfL and Barclaycard have been working         the new Elizabeth line, while assisting the      journeys being made every day.
       together for more than 20 years and have         launch of contactless payments for train            “This new 10-year contract will help
       transformed how users pay for travel across      travel beyond London.                            ensure these numbers continue to grow while
       the UK’s capital. As TfL’s merchant acquirer,      According to Barclaycard, contactless          also providing support to allow us to develop
       Barclaycard has processed more than 278          transactions currently represent almost four     our ticketing system.”<

       MOBILE
       BharatQR payments launched in                                                                     issuing cards and establishing expensive POS
       India                                                                                             terminals and infrastructure’.
                                                                                                            Customers of any bank can use a smart-
       BharatQR, a common quick response (QR)                                                            phone to make payments through the app by
       code that allows consumers with debit or                                                          scanning the relevant QR code at the POS
       credit cards to pay directly from a phone by                                                      and entering the transaction amount.
       scanning a QR code, has been launched in                                                             Once authorised, the amount is transferred
       India.                                                                                            directly from the customer’s account to the
         The new payment system was developed                                                            merchant’s account.
       by MasterCard, Visa, American Express and                                                            Leading Indian financial institutions,
       the National Payment Corporation of India,         BharatQR aims to reduce the country’s          including Axis Bank, Bank of Baroda, Bank
       which is responsible for operating the RuPay     dependency on cards, with a goal of help-        of India and HDFC Bank, all currently sup-
       card network.                                    ing to ‘disrupt the card network’s business of   port the new app. <

       www.cardsinternational.com                                                                                                     March 2017 y 5

CI 541.indd 5                                                                                                                                  06/03/2017 17:02:06
WHAT ARE THE BEST NORTH AMERICAN CREDIT CARD APPS?
DISTRIBUTION: ATMS AT 50                                                                                                    Cards International

        Fifty years on, the ATM is still developing
        Inaugurated by comedy actor Reg Varney in 1967, the ATM is still with us; according to the ATM Industry
        Association (ATMIA), there are approximately three million ATMs currently in operation across the world.
        However, one of the mainstays of modern banking is not resting on its laurels. Patrick Brusnahan writes

      L
               aunched by Barclays in its Enfield
               Town branch, the automated tell-
               er machine (ATM) has gone from
               st reng th to st reng t h. From si m-
        ple withdrawals to deposits to security
        checks, features are constantly added
        to the service. Some say the right ATM
        could even replace a branch.
           NCR has launched the SelfServ 80 Series of
        ATMs which are set to do just that. Accord-
        ing to the firm, it will ‘redefine the banking
        experience and change the way consumers
        interact with the ATM forever’. Hefty claims.
           Rachel Nash, director for financial services
        at NCR, tells CI: “The new 80 Series fam-
        ily is really quite groundbreaking in terms of
        how we can deliver services to consumers.
        Just from an aesthetic feel, it’s very modern
        and tablet-like, not your typical old grey
        box, which really does fit into what custom-
        ers expect from a digital experience and how
        they want to interact and transact with every
        organisation.”

        Video banking
        Features of the new hardware include an
        advanced 19-inch multi-touch display and          be very convenient for people to pop into a      started to interact in that space has changed
        built-in video banking. This will be crucial if   branch, even when one isn’t there.               how they wanted to interact in our space. It’s
        the ATM is to replace branches, as research          “In some cases, absolutely, if they want      another digital touchpoint,” Nash continues.
        from NCR states that 80% of the transac-          to go to a full-service branch, they should.       One of the biggest lessons we learned is
        tions completed inside a physical branch          We’re not saying one solution fits everything,   that the change in mainstream consumer
        would be a more complete experience if a          we’re just providing a flexible platform that    technology is impacting the solutions we
        live video teller had a presence at an ATM.       allows different types of format and deploy-     deliver to market.”<
           “What we’re really trying to think about is    ment to suit the customers’ needs.”
        how we can reposition self-service as part of        Is the ATM takeover imminent? Not as
        the whole experience. You may have a cus-         soon as one might think, as there are issues      Extreme locations
        tomer that is perfectly happy to serve them-      with wide-scale deployment. “We do have a
        selves and interact in a 100% self-service        lot of legacy across the globe. An organisa-      As part its celebration of the 50th
        way, and this enables that,” Nash explains.       tion is not going to replace everything over-     anniversary of the ATM, the ATMIA collated
           “But there may be a time they might need       night; it is going to be gradual,” notes Nash.    some of the most extreme ATM locations:
        local and in-person assistance, which is part        So how has the ATM changed in the last
                                                                                                            •    The Antarctic ATM is located inside the
        of the tablet banking solution, to alert a        50 years? Nash concludes: “Things that we
                                                                                                                 McMurdo Station near the South Pole.
        member of staff to their call for remote assis-   have tried in the past, such as video bank-
        tance. These aren’t bolt-ons as they have         ing, were cumbersome, clunky and difficult        •    A desert ATM in the Australian Outback
        been in the past. It has helped streamline the    to implement.                                          is accessible only via Aboriginal
        way staff members help customers.”                   “Now, advancements in technology mean               tracks. On average it completes 500
                                                                                                                 withdrawals and 200 balance inquiries
           One problem with an ATM replacing a            we can incorporate mainstream technology
                                                                                                                 each month.
        branch is that if customers want branch ser-      across all platforms.
        vices, they would surely visit a branch. Nash        “The other thing we’ve seen is that none       •    An ATM in Sust, Pakistan is located
        says: “I can see a branch-in-a-box-type envi-     of us ever envisioned the idea of an iPhone,           2,375m above sea level, in sub-zero
        ronment working in a retail outlet. It would      a touchscreen in your hand. How customers              conditions. <

        6 y March 2017                                                                                                     www. cardsinternational.com

CI 541.indd 6                                                                                                                                    06/03/2017 17:02:08
WHAT ARE THE BEST NORTH AMERICAN CREDIT CARD APPS?
Cards International                                                                                         MOBILE: CREDIT CARD APPS

       Which North American credit card app
       would make it onto your homepage?

       Canadian and US banks generally provide a single mobile app for banking and credit card account
       management, and the most advanced examples also include fraud prevention. Robin Arnfield reviews
       leading North American issuers’ offerings, and their key features and innovations

 “W
                     hen the mobile channel was         Mobile card applications                          ware vendors have yet to catch on to includ-
                     first introduced, there was        In her Aite Group report, US Credit Card          ing card controls in their apps.”
                     a lot of d iscussion a mong        Issuers’ Digital Account-Opening Processes,          However, Malauzai has offered credit and
                     North American banks about         Montez says most US credit card issuers have      debit card control functionality within its
       whether they should have standalone              the basic foundational capability to accept       mobile banking app for the last four years.
       apps for different products,” says Tiffani       online credit card applications, collecting the     “The first generation of card control soft-
       Montez, senior analyst at US-based Aite          data required for the application, verifying      ware just integrated with a bank’s core bank-
       Group.                                           applicants’ identity, and presenting disclo-      ing system,” says Gaynor.
        “Those credit card issuers that also have       sures, and ensuring applicants qualify for a        “Our software now offers integration with
       other banking products primarily want one        specific card.                                    the card networks and processors for more
       front door in terms of the mobile interaction      “Aite Group’s assessment of the mobile          effective controls. We find that around 15%
       with the consumer.                               application shows the overall immaturity of       of our clients’ active mobile bankers go in to
        “Consequently, most US banks and credit         the account-opening process,” Montez out-         the card control module at some point each
       unions don’t have separate apps for different    lines in her report.                              month.”
       products such as credit cards, mortgages or        “Most mobile application experiences mir-          Gaynor says Malauzai’s US banking and
       chequeing accounts,” Montez continues.           ror online application experience and, at this    credit union clients are not using his firm’s
        “It’s just one mobile app with access to all    point, use few of the phone’s native features     mobile banking and card control app yet for
       accounts, depending on the type of relation-     to optimise the experience.”                      credit cards. “Half of our 450 clients have
       ship a customer has with that financial insti-      Montez believes that, over the next            rolled out debit card controls using our app,”
       tution.                                          few years, as customers increasingly shift        he notes. “But it can definitely be used for
        “Generally, the apps let cardholders obtain     towards digital channels from branches and        credit card controls.
       balance information, make bill payments, see     call centres, credit card issuers will be under     “A useful feature which we offer is geo-
       purchase information, view rewards, and          pressure to optimise their mobile and online      location controls, which allow cardholders
       track spending. Some issuers, such as Capital    channels to increase conversion rates.            to say that their card can only be used within
       One, have apps that allow you to view your                                                         a 10-mile radius of a particular location.
       credit score.”                                   Card fraud prevention apps                        Customers can also use our GPS control to
         Montez expects issuers to increasingly         Visa, MasterCard and major US card proces-        specify that their card has to be used in prox-
       offer more mobile-first credit card account-     sors such as Vantiv offer standalone credit       imity to their smartphone.
       management features in their apps, instead       and debit card control apps for issuers to          “But we don’t see much uptake of that as
       of just replicating features provided in their   provide to their customers to prevent fraud.      it’s heavy on phone batteries. Our most heav-
       online services, given that customers always     A key provider of card control software to        ily used control feature is turning a card off
       have their smartphone with them.                 the processors is US-based Ondot Systems.         when it isn’t in use to prevent fraud.”
        “For example, they are starting to intro-        “Hundreds of US financial institutions are           Gaynor notes that none of his firm’s cli-
       duce the ability for cardholders to provide      rolling out these standalone apps to their        ents have asked them to provide a standalone
       travel notifications, receive spending alerts,   cardholders,” says Robb Gaynor, chief prod-       app for card controls.
       set spending thresholds, freeze and unfreeze     uct officer at US-based mobile banking app          “There’s a big question mark as to whether
       cards, and report lost or stolen cards via       vendor Malauzai Software. “The reason for         standalone card controls make sense and as
       mobile,” she says.                               this is that many of the mobile banking soft-     to whether consumers will want a separate

       www.cardsinternational.com                                                                                                      March 2017 y 7

CI 541.indd 7                                                                                                                                   06/03/2017 17:02:10
WHAT ARE THE BEST NORTH AMERICAN CREDIT CARD APPS?
MOBILE: CREDIT CARDS APPS                                                                                                         Cards International

        app for controlling their cards’ usage,” he
        says. “Standalone is a strategy the banks and
        credit unions are forced to pursue because
        mobile banking vendors are behind. The
        standalone phenomenon will be short-lived
        as mobile banking vendors will build the nec-
        essary card controls into their apps.”

        Market research data
        According to Lynda Lovett and Mary-
        Anne Huestis of Canadian financial market
        research firm MarketSense, 52% of Cana-
        dian credit cardholders have downloaded
        a mobile banking app, up five percentage
        points from a year ago.
          “Incidence is highest for TD with 12% of
        cardholders, and Royal Bank of Canada
        (11%), followed by CIBC (8%), ‘any credit
        union’ (7%), BMO Bank of Montreal (7%),
        Scotiabank (7%), Desjardins Group (7%),
        and Scotiabank’s direct banking subsidiary:
        Tangerine (7%).”
           According to MarketSense, 48% of Cana-
        dian survey respondents are interested in
                                                                                                                   ❙❙Citi’s dispute-resolution feature: step one
        using smartphones to redeem rewards, and
        32% to book travel. “Both measures are sta-
        ble over last year,” Lovett and Huestis say.   customers when they are spending more, the free Fico [Fair Isaac Co.] scores and intro-
           A survey of 3,000 US adults in June 2016 same, or less than usual.                        duced the ability to manage card rewards on
        for Mercator Advisory Group’s US Con-            Desjardins offers the InstaBalance feature mobile.”
        sumers and Credit: Young Adults Return to which lets credit cardholders view balances          BankAmeriDeals offers up to 15%
        Credit Card Use report found that 47% of without having to log into the Quebec-based cashback when customers make purchases at
        US smartphone and tablet owners indicated cooperative financial institution’s AccèsD selected retailers with BofA debit and credit
        interest in mobile-enabled credit card fraud- mobile banking app. InstaBalance provides cards.
        prevention controls, up from 44% in 2015 budget information such as maximum and
        and 41% in 2014. Interest was highest in the minimum account limits and goals in graphi- Capital One Canada
        25-34 age group, with 67% in this segment cal form.                                         “Our team of over 80 Toronto-based soft-
        indicating interest in 2016.                                                                 ware studio associates aims to open up new
          “We asked smartphone and tablet owners American Express Canada                             digital possibilities for customers to man-
        if they would be interested in a new mobile “American Express Canada is focused on age their accounts,” a Capital One Canada
        app from their issuer enabling them to con- reaching its mobile-first customers via the spokesperson says.
        trol how and when their credit cards can be Amex App,” an Amex Canada spokesper-              “Via our mobile banking app for iOS and
        used, either to limit spending or avoid fraud, son tells CI.                                 Android smartphones, Capital One Canada
        by setting limits by dollar amount, location    “In September 2016, we launched Use customers can view their credit card transac-
        of the phone, or shopping category, that Points for Purchases, which lets cardmembers tions, check their balance and available cred-
        can be turned on and off in real time,” says redeem points towards purchases made on it, see payment due dates and minimum pay-
        Karen Augustine, Mercator’s manager, pri- an eligible American Express card via the ment required, view their credit card rewards,
        mary data services.                            Amex Mobile App.”                             and contact customer service within the app.”
                                                         The Amex App offers personalised notifi-      Capital One Canada’s mobile app recently
        PFM tools                                      cations for payment and spending reminders, added push notifications sending real-time
        Several issuers provide credit cardholders such as payment due, balance updates and alerts to customers’ phones providing details
        with personal financial management (PFM) statement ready.                                    such as transaction amount and merchant;
        tools to help with budgeting.                                                                and multi-factor authentication for security
           CIBC offers the Personal Spend Manager Bank of America (BofA)                             verification.
        tool which lets credit cardholders monitor “Credit card account management is built            The app offers Live Chat and Second Look,
        spending, set budgets and create alerts. Cur- into BofA’s mobile banking app,” a BofA which sends an automatic email alert when
        rently, CIBC’s Personal Spend Manager is spokesperson says.                                  a potential mistake is identified on a custom-
        only available to online banking users.         “Our newest feature is a spending and er’s account, such as a duplicate charge.
           TD offers the TD MySpend app for its budgeting tool that tracks spending on cus-
        bank account and credit card holders, which tomers’ BofA deposit accounts and cards, Citi
        is based on PFM software from US-based fin- and helps them create budgets.                   In 2016, Citi launched 86 digital features in
        tech Moven. TD’s MySpend offers real-time        We recently enhanced our BankAmeri- the Citi mobile banking app, including Quick
        notifications and virtual receipts and uses Deals program to show deals based on the Lock, which enables cardholders to lock and
        red, yellow and green traffic lights to warn customer’s location. Last year, we rolled out unlock cards, file a dispute in-app, and track

        8 y March 2017                                                                                                         www. cardsinternational.com

CI 541.indd 8                                                                                                                                         06/03/2017 17:02:11
Cards International                                                                                               MOBILE: CREDIT CARD APPS

       a replacement card. “As a result, in 2016
       alone, North America mobile app custom-
       ers grew by 50% and mobile app downloads
       doubled,” a Citi spokesperson says. “We saw
       over 3.25 million downloads in 2016.”
        “Our ultimate goal is enabling the entire
       customer experience – including everything
       that a customer can do right now by phone
       or in the branch – in mobile,” Alice Milligan,
       chief customer and digital experience officer
       for Citi Global Cards and Consumer Services,
       tells CI.
          Since January 2017, US Citi customers
       have been able to scan their credit cards
       using their mobile device’s camera in the
       Citi Mobile App, instead of having to manu-
       ally enter their 16-digit card number for
       activation. Citi says it is the only major US
       credit card issuer to offer the ability to scan
       embossed and non-embossed credit cards
       within a mobile app.
          Other features offered by the Citi Mobile
       App include the managing of replacement
       cards, Fico scores, redeeming rewards, tem-
       porarily locking and unlocking accounts,
       and setting up alerts.

       National Bank of Canada
      “All credit card account management features
       are offered in our mobile banking app, which
       people who only have a credit card with us
       can also use,” says Joel Pomerleau, National
       Bank of Canada’s senior manager of digital
       channel support and transformation.
         “There’s no standalone credit card account-
       management app. Features offered include
       balance, transaction history, the ability to
       off pay card balance, set transaction limits,
       advise the bank when one is going abroad,
                                                                                                                    ❙❙Citi’s dispute-resolution feature: step two
       cash in points, cashback and loyalty points
       balance.                                        “Credit card accounts are much easier to ers to turn travel alerts on and off, and man-
         “We don’t yet offer the ability to alert the open on mobile, while investment products age default cards for payments.”
       bank via the mobile app if the card is com- are much harder.”
       promised – we’re working on this.”                                                             Wells Fargo
          Instead of developing a proprietary mobile RBC                                             “In 2016, Wells Fargo redesigned its mobile
       wallet, National Bank, Canada’s sixth-larg- RBC currently does not offer credit card app, which provides banking services to
       est bank, plans to support the wallets offered account management features within its 19.6 million active customers, to be simpler
       by the ‘Pays’, such as Apple Pay, says Pomer- mobile banking app or RBC Wallet.                and more intuitive for customers, while
       leau. “We’ll include a deep link within our     “This is clearly an important capability that providing more content and features that
       mobile app to these mobile wallets.            we’re looking at developing to ensure we’re are better aligned to a customer’s needs,” a
         “We’ve seen quite a lot of usage of our delivering to meet our clients’ expectations,” Wells Fargo spokesperson says.
       mobile app by our credit cardholders,” an RBC spokesperson says.                                 The app offers credit cardholders features
       Pomerleau continues.                             The RBC Wallet is primarily a payment such as the ability to manage alerts for pur-
         “There’s been a shift from online and call vehicle for RBC credit and debit cards, but chase amounts, decline transactions and
       centre transactions to mobile, which is our allows cardholders to view their balance, report any suspicious card activity. It also
       strongest growing channel now by far.”         available credit, and RBC Rewards Point bal- lets users know when they are approaching
          Pomerleau says National Bank is working ances. RBC offers a standalone app where their credit limit.
       heavily on product origination across all its cardholders can redeem reward points.              Cardholders can view spending reports
       digital channels, without specifying which                                                     aggregated across multiple accounts, includ-
       types of product.                              Scotiabank                                      ing credit card, debit card and chequeing
         “You can already apply online and via “We have a robust mobile banking app, which accounts. They can also access Wells Fargo’s
       mobile for a bank account and credit card includes My Mobile Wallet,” a Scotiabank Go Far Rewards programme, and view their
       with us,” he says.                             spokesperson explains. “It enables custom- credit score from the app. <

       www.cardsinternational.com                                                                                                             March 2017 y 9

CI 541.indd 9                                                                                                                                           06/03/2017 17:02:13
NEWS: ANALYSIS                                                                                                                Cards International

             EPC chairman bashes Germany’s payments scene
             It is not often that a conference speaker gets up and, off the cuff, delivers a single-handed slating of a host
             country’s ecosystem that everyone would usually be there to promote – but that is exactly what happened
             in Berlin at the Merchant Payment Ecosystems conference. Anna Milne reports

            S
                     uch was the dire experience of Javi-     accepted”; and the other three, Visa and          less” POS system and German airport cabs
                     er Santamaría Navarrete, chair of        MasterCard, “were not legible”.                   that do not take cards. Those that do, often
                     the European Payments Council               “After half an hour of trying to pay for       charge for the so-called privilege, accord-
                     (EPC), trying to buy a ticket on the     a €3.40 ticket, I had to rush for the train,”     ing to Sheri Brandon, Head of Transaction
             Deutsche Bahn upon arrival in Berlin for         whereupon he was promptly issued a pen-           Banking at Tieto. Having been asked to pay
             the Merchant Payment Ecosystems con-             alty charge, which, of course, he had to pay      a €1.10 charge to use a card for a €9 cab
             ference, that he issued a dressing down of       in cash.                                          journey, she reached for her cash purse.
             the highest order.                                                                                    Even in the words of the Emerging Pay-
               For the hosts: embarrassing. And it was        Money where your mouth is                         ments Association in a recent report on ideal
             not the first reference to the fact that Ger-    The EPC says it is committed to safe, reliable,   European bases for fintechs, Germany was
             many lags behind the rest of Europe in terms     efficient, convenient, economically balanced      seen as resistant to change.
             of electronic payments.                          and sustainable payments, but some were not          “Germany has built an impressive reputa-
               For Navarrete, who freely shared that he       convinced.                                        tion for being antagonistic to the innovative
             travels with several cards to avoid a scenario      “Yesterday was not safe, not reliable, not     European payments sector.
             whereby one or more may not be accepted,         efficient, not convenient, not economically          “In nearly every aspect of interpretation of
             the situation clearly warranted a rant.          balanced and not sustainable,” Navarrete          the key EU laws in this sector, Germany has
               Despite several machines at the train sta-     quipped.                                          often excelled at taking the narrowest inter-
             tion, he could not use cash because each            “After this experience, the myths I had        pretation.”
             one accepted exact cash only. Handy when         about Germany being developed have been              If the world is going to be cashless by 2040,
             you’ve just arrived in a country.                obliterated,” he continued. Ouch.                 Germany looks like it might lag behind.
               Of Navarrete’s seven cards, two are               Dave Birch had kicked off proceedings in          But, in the interests of balance, they’re
             Amex, “so, no use”; two are debit, “so, not      the morning with a rant against BA’s “point-      alright at football, aren’t they?<

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   CI 541.indd 10                                                                                                                                     06/03/2017 17:02:19
Digital touch briefings ad copy - MF 18042016.indd 1                                                                                                  18/04/2016 11:15:29
Cards International                                                                                     PRODUCTS: PREPAID IN CANADA

                 Canadian open-loop prepaid
                 market open to growth

                 While prepaid open-loop and closed-loop transactions are the fastest-growing POS transaction types in
                 Canada, they still only account for small proportions of POS volume and value. Despite this, the prepaid
                 growth opportunities are significant, especially in the open-loop segment, reports Robin Arnfield

                 A
                         2016 report from Mercator based             • The average load onto all categories           responsible for running the country’s core
                         on a survey of issuers and pro-               of corporate-funded prepaid card was           payments infrastructure.
                         g ra m m e m a n a ger s c ondu c t e d       C$125, and
                         with the Canadian Prepaid Pro-                                                               Corporate prepaid and GPR
                 viders Organisation (CPPO) estimates                • The average load onto corporate-fund-          Peoples is seeing the most growth in corpo-
                 that C$3.1bn ($2.37bn) was loaded onto                ed cards used for consumer and employ-         rate prepaid issuance, says Read.
                 Canadian Amex-, MasterCard- or Visa-                  ee/partner incentives was C$110.                  “This can be corporations giving pre-
?                branded prepaid cards in 2015.
                   “The Canadian open-loop prepaid market          Growth opportunities
                                                                                                                      paid cards to consumers as rewards for
                                                                                                                      buying one of their products, incentives, or
                 has eight active segments, compared to 17 in      “My view is that there’s room for growth in        corporate prepaid cards that are used for
                 the US, showing significant growth oppor-         the Canadian prepaid card market,” says Peter      B2B [business-to-business] activities such
                 tunity for Canadian prepaid programmes,”          Read, president of Vancouver-based prepaid         as receivables payments, purchasing/pro-
                 the report says. The Canadian market is           card issuer Peoples Card Services.                 curement, payroll or controlling employee
                 expected to follow US trends, where open-            “Excluding US government prepaid cards          expenses,” he says.
                 loop prepaid cards are the fastest-growing        the US open-loop prepaid card market is               “There’s a lot of room for corporate B2B
                 form of electronic payment.”                      running at around $200bn a year in loads.          prepaid cards to grow. There has always been
                   The Mercator study revealed that:               Assuming that Canada is about 10% of               a lot of business for corporate B2C [busi-
                                                                   the US market, we should be seeing around          ness-to-consumer] prepaid incentive cards,
                    • General-purpose reloadable (GPR)             $20bn a year in prepaid loads, but we’re           and this particular segment will continue to
                      card loads totalled C$1.84bn in 2015,        nowhere near there yet.”                           grow. Another important segment in Canada
                      with the average load per card being            According to Payments Canada’s 2016             is GPR prepaid cards.”
                      C$2,016;                                     Canadian Payment Methods and Trends
                                                                   Report, prepaid open- and closed-loop trans-
                    • Total loads onto open-loop gift and          actions are the fastest-growing POS transac-
                      mall cards that use a restricted access      tion type, but still only account for small pro-
                      network over open-loop rails amounted        portions of POS volume and value.
                      to C$1.03bn, with the average load per          In 2015, prepaid cards represented 1.1%
                      card being C$83;                             of total Canadian payments by volume,
                                                                   accounting for 236 million transactions
                    • The average load onto all categories         worth C$18bn says Payments Canada.
                      of consumer-funded prepaid card was             Formerly known as the Canadian Pay-
                      C$218;                                       ments Association, Payments Canada is

                 www.cardsinternational.com                                                                                                      March 2017 y 11

          CI 541.indd 11                                                                                                                                  06/03/2017 17:02:26
1:15:29
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