A Perfect Match

Following the agreement between payment providers TransSend and Intercash, eGaming discovers how their new prepaid card is perfectly suited to the gaming market.

February 2008

Historically, prepaid has been an important but complicated issue in the gaming sector. However, the complications have now been eliminated. A new partnership agreement signed between TransSend, a European based provider of MasterCard prepaid card programmes, and Intercash, a provider of specialist payment solutions to the gaming sector, is set to change the way payments in the gaming industry are made.

Prepaid is an issue driving the gaming market and the card payout product represents a signiἀcant development in the creation of a fully compliant working prepaid solution. As a result of the partnership, TransSend will be able to launch a signiἀcant number of prepaid card programmes to the sizable customer base of Intercash and its partners.

“We are very excited about this venture,” Patrick Seguev, CEO of Intercash commented, “The strategic partnership between our two companies and their powerful teams, the high level of knowledge, and the right technologies and networks combined, will provide the ultimate services to corporations seeking reliable and efἀcient payment solutions.”

Intercash have been looking for a strategic partner in Europe to beneἀt from their extensive international experience for sometime, and Richard Jones, CEO of TransSend, believes that the partnership is a perfect merger of expertise.

“There is a great synergy between Intercash and TransSend. Intercash bring us signiἀcant gaming industry knowledge and we bring substantial prepaid knowledge into the equation,” he says.

“This agreement is a signiἀcant step in our strategy to develop partnerships with operators in the payments industry who are leaders in their ἀelds. It is our aim to provide the most innovative, market leading, compliant and secure prepaid card programmes to our customers.”

Ideally suited

The partnership’s prepaid card was launched at the ICEi in January 2008, and the level of interest that was shown, conἀrmed that the right decision had been made. For Alastair Graham, TransSend’s Head of Marketing, the reaction was a complete validation. “The response was incredible” he says.

“We could not have asked for more from a marketplace launch. We have brought the right ingredients together to offer a really solid proposition for the gaming sector and the sector recognises this.”

If the partnership between Intercash and TransSend represents a commercial match, then Seguev believes the product of their agreement, the prepaid card, is equally well-suited to its market. “The prepaid card is ideal for the online gamer,” he says “By their nature, the people that play on the internet are savvy and high-tech. They want to have something that can be instantly loaded and that allows them to access their funds straight away -whether they want to pay for something at a point of sale or withdraw cash at an ATM.”

The easiest way to describe the prepaid card is through the debit card analogy. It is effectively a debit card without the associated bank account. Winnings are loaded onto the card instantly and it’s this speed and its simplicity that makes it such an attractive product explains Graham.

“Gaming customers want a fast, secure and reliable way to access their winnings. That is what prepaid does. It is instantaneous, it is there in the gamer’s pocket -it is there when they need it, therefore eliminating the inconvenience of travelling to a bank to cash or deposit a cheque.”

Reducing risk

From the cash management perspective, the card removes potential problems and is more cost -efἀcient for the companies. Furthermore, it gives gaming companies a way of maintaining contact with the customer by providing a branded product that is effectively the payout mechanism; a device that Seguev explains is mutually beneἀcial.

“If you are providing that level of service, then you are increasing the level of customer satisfaction and, in return, your customer loyalty strengthens, ” he says. “There are many wins for both the customers and for the gaming companies themselves.”

The idea is that the prepaid card becomes a brand extension for online sites. The level of service that they provide online can start to be provided ofḀine when the customer is presented with the winnings from their game. Ensuring these winnings are presented securely is an invaluable part of such a service; a measure that Graham assures is ἀrmly in place.

“One of the important things with our prepaid cards is that they have Chip and PIN functionality so are inherently more secure for all point of sale transactions. Furthermore, a prepaid card is entirely different to credit and debit cards as the money on the card is limited to the amount of cash that is on the card. Consequently, there is a lower risk than if you were using your credit card. Quite simply: you do not open yourself up to losing everything you have got in your bank account.”

Getting it right

Whilst prepaid solutions operate in other markets as well as gaming, Seguev is keen to establish the importance the industry has. “The gaming industry has always been at the forefront of payment innovations and has continually pushed the boundaries,” he explains. “The very nature of the space it occupies - on the internet and in the high-tech world -means it is a truly global proposition.”

“As the gaming industry occupies a position at the forefront of the payments industry, providing customer satisfaction when it comes to payout is one of the factors that actually drives the market. Providing the correct services to this industry will also beneἀt other industries, as the drivers in the online gaming industry are the same drivers for the prepaid industry.”

Looking ahead

Jones sees an interesting future for the gaming market. “Recent developments in the US have changed the focus of gaming companies away from the States towards other regions such as Europe and Latin America, as well as other areas. The ability to service these markets should be centred on the ability to collect and return money to and from customers. This is the business we are in and the business they are in,” he explains.

“The areas that are largely cash-centric will see the most interesting developments. This will beneἀt gaming companies as they will now be able to operate more fully in these countries.

The prepaid solutions market is forecasting rapid growth in the coming years, with the European market alone expected to grow 110% per annum until 2010. Seguev anticipates an interesting time for prepaid in the gaming market. “The future is going to present plenty of exciting opportunities, within which prepaid will be a key factor,” he says.

“It is an exciting way of moving money. TransSend and Intercash want to be at the forefront of the prepaid revolution, as do MasterCard and the gaming companies. In the same way that we were the ἀrst to have an ofἀcial recognised gaming payout card programme that carried the MasterCard brand, we want to be the ἀrst to announce the exciting new developments in prepaid.”