The Prepaid Press - Reloadable Prepaid Card for Unbanked Launched in Peru

05/25/2013

Reloadable Prepaid Card for Unbanked Launched in Peru

NovoPayment's Prepaid Platform Supports Program

MIAMI, FL (May 31, 2012) NovoPayment, Latin American prepaid card service provider, has helped to design and deliver what they say is Peru's first general purpose reloadable (GPR) program, aimed at serving the country's unbanked population. LATODO MasterCard, launched in April by Servitebca Peru, is NovoPayment's second such program in the region and the foundation for a new breed of payments ecosystem based on stored value -- a program that the company expects other local players will soon join and whose model it hopes other markets will notice and want to replicate.

"Connecting those who lack a traditional banking relationship with a modern payments and services infrastructure has always been a key objective," stated Anabel Perez, NovoPayment's co-founder and CEO. "Together with our partners, we are pleased to bring this offering to the Peruvian market and to provide another working example of how prepaid can provide the on-ramp to financial inclusion and a vehicle to reduce costs for those that serve the unbanked," she added.

NovoPayment's Platform as a Service (Paas) capabilities fulfill LATODOs technical and financial processes and requirements from card sales to clearing transactions to compliance and customer service. This is the second GPR program NovoPayment has launched in the region, having already introduced the Plata card program in Venezuela in 2005.

LATODO (roughly, 'the everything' in Spanish) is a hybrid reloadable prepaid card that offers unbanked Peruvians a secure way to make modern purchases and payments without the need to open a bank account. It is estimated that seven out of 10 Peruvians, approximately 10 million people, are unbanked and the launch of this card aims to facilitate financial inclusion in the country.

The LATODO card can be reloaded in more than 2,200 stores affiliated with the new AKI network located throughout the country in places such as supermarkets, pharmacies, grocers and Interbank banking agents. Cardholders can access balance and account information and special offers through their mobile phones and the cards are insured.

The card allows cardholders to receive direct deposits from an employer, make purchases at points of sale and online, withdraw cash at ATMs, make recurring payments via direct debit, and perform P2P funds transfers from one card to another.

LATODO also allows for users to meet various financial goals as they can request a transaction log that can serve as income history to qualify for loans and other credits products.

Source: NovoPayment