The Prepaid Press - Visa and Obopay Collaborate

05/22/2013

Visa and Obopay Collaborate

To Offer Electronic Disbursements to Visa Prepaid Cards

SAN FRANCISCO, CA (MAY 9, 2012) Visa Inc. (NYSE:V) and Obopay, a provider of mobile and instant payment solutions for brands, are collaborating to enable near real-time payment solutions for disbursing electronic funds to a prepaid card. As a result of the agreement, Obopay will offer its partners the ability to disburse funds from their corporate account directly onto a Visa prepaid card, which they can provide to a payee. The capability can benefit a range of industries including insurance, payroll, rebates, incentives, business expenses, government disbursements or any other bulk payment need, and, according to Obopay, can be particularly valuable in situations in which recipients have an immediate need for funds.

"By introducing a Visa prepaid card solution, Obopay offers near real-time disbursement capabilities that allow our customers to avoid the time delay of issuing cash or check," said David Schwartz, vice president of product and corporate marketing for Obopay. "Adding Visa prepaid cards to Obopay Disbursements enables our partners to send funds to any consumer in the US at dramatically lower costs compared to issuing checks while they can also greatly increase the satisfaction of customers."

Obopay Disbursements enables corporations that need to issue large numbers of payments to reduce their costs by disbursing funds electronically. Offering a Visa prepaid card as part of Obopay Disbursements allows consumers timely access to funds that can be used everywhere Visa debit cards are accepted. Using Visa prepaid cards also allows businesses to send funds to any consumer, including those that don't have access to a traditional bank account. The company says that disbursing funds to a Visa prepaid card can help an unbanked or under-banked payee avoid expenses that often come from receiving funds to a check such as a check-cashing fee and eliminates the need for consumers to wait to receive and cash a check in order to access their funds.

"The agreement with Obopay aligns with Visa's vision to accelerate the shift to electronic payments, extending the benefits of digital currency to more people and making disbursements more convenient, secure and reliable," said Brian Triplett, head of North America prepaid products, Visa Inc. "Today, many businesses are using Visa prepaid cards to reduce costs and exposure to check fraud, while creating a better experience for disbursement recipients, including those who do not have access to checking accounts."

Source: Visa; Obopay