CorporatePay

APH.com has extended its portfolio of services to include travel money by promoting MyTravelCash, a prepaid MasterCard card available in Euros and US Dollars. MyTravelCash, developed by leading pre-paid card specialist CorporatePay, will enable APHs customers to buy their foreign currency at market leading exchange rates without commission fees.

Myles Stephenson, CEO, CorporatePay, commented: We are delighted that APH sees the benefits that the MyTravelCash card can offer to its customers and for the business. We are keen to raise awareness of the revenue generating possibilities that MyTravelCash can give the UK travel trade. There is opportunity to earn when customers sign up to the card and then every time they load money onto it.

Nick Caunter, Managing Director, APH Ltd, commented: As well as being experts in airport parking, APH aims to provide savvy travellers with useful information in our know before you go section of the APH website. When we researched pre-paid currency cards recently, we found the MyTravelCash card offered the best all round value and liked it so much we decided to offer it to our customers

Press release (PDF 61kb)

Pre-paid card specialist CorporatePay has launched an innovative CorporatePay prepaid MasterCard® which offers businesses a practical solution for foreign currency management and cash related expenses including: per diems, cash advances and petty cash.

The card is a fantastic alternative to corporate charge cards and credit cards particularly for those employees who are not eligible.

It looks, feels and is recognised like a standard credit or debit card and is accepted by global merchants and ATMs accepting MasterCard branded cards. By using expense cards companies can reduce foreign currency costs by avoiding high rates (e.g. airport purchases), by purchasing currency in bulk at market leading exchange rates and avoiding commissions. Greater transparency of costs is also achieved through single purchase rates rather than variable rates per transaction.

Companies can also save money by removing the overhead of managing cash for per diems and cash advances which are inconvenient to administer and costly for a company in terms of banking fees, security costs and operational overheads. Myles Stephenson, CEO of CorporatePay, said: “Corporate charge and credit cards are usually used a by a minority of expense claimants leaving a large number of employees not eligible and therefore requiring cash advances or having to use their own payment methods.

The CorporatePay ExpenseCard can replace the need for cash advances and petty cash and offers a very effective way of purchasing foreign currency.” “The cards can transform the way companies manage payments to employees as they provide an unprecedented level of cost control combined with a convenient method of payment. Also by giving cards loaded with Euro and US Dollars to employees regularly travelling abroad, businesses can significantly reduce foreign currency expense costs.”

CorporatePay’s card portal enables businesses to manage a portfolio of cards being used by their employees. This includes adding and removing funds to specific cards as well as access to all transaction data for each card. Individual cardholders only have access to their own card data which can be accessed via the web site. Cardholders can also manage their cards via an IVR and SMS service including obtaining their current balance and most recent transactions.”

Press release (PDF 52kb)

Unity Trust Bank is delighted to announce that it plans to launch the Unity Trust Bank prepaid MasterCard® for Credit Union members this summer.

Unity Trust Bank is the UK’s leading provider of banking services to the social economy sector; including charities, trade unions, social enterprises, voluntary organisations and credit unions in its customer base; and the first bank in the UK to remove all penalty charges and penalty interest on unauthorised overdrafts.

Kevin Turmore, Managing Director of Unity, said: “Our customers have told us that they need a card that can give their members access to basic banking services; and the trial exercise we conducted during 2008 clearly confirmed this.

As a bank that is committed to enabling social development, financial inclusion is high on our agenda, and we are very pleased to be taking this step for our customers.

We wanted to work with a partner who could show scale, commitment and a similar approach to our own; and we are very pleased to be working with CorporatePay.”

Myles Stephenson, CEO of CorporatePay, said: “Some Credit Union members don’t have bank accounts and are paid wages or advanced funds by cheque. Often their only resort is to take these cheques to be cashed, and to pay the associated charges. With this new programme they will be able to have funds advanced directly to the card, which they can then use to make purchases in stores or on-line, or to withdraw the cash from an ATM. Unity Trust Bank provides banking services for over 300 Credit Unions; which is testimony to their focus on social responsibility and their commitment to customer service. Their strength in this market and their friendly and constructive approach cause us to be genuinely excited about this partnership.”

Colin Greaves, Operations Director, Newcastle Building Society, said: “Unity’s customers will have access, many for the first time, to a payment card that the majority of us take for granted. Credit Unions will be able to reduce the costs of administration, cash handling and insurance; and the risk associated with processing cash.”

Press release (PDF 52kb)