2015 Paybefore Awards: Best Travel Companion

Best use of prepaid/emerging payments for travel or transit.

Best Travel Companion – STA ISIC Prepaid MasterCard CashCard: Steve White and Robert Darby, Tuxedo Money Solutions

Best-in-Category: STA ISIC Prepaid MasterCard CashCard
Tuxedo Money Solutions
STA Travel
ISIC

This all-in-one international student ID and prepaid travel card helps U.K. students take advantage of special student discounts, while managing their money when they’re on the go.

Partners: MasterCard, network; Tuxedo Money Solutions, processor and program manager; STA Travel, client.

Secret Sauce:

• Delivers a valuable travel service and drives additional revenue by encouraging previous ID-only card users to move to the CashCard product.
• Standout features: linked to offers from global restaurants, attractions and museums; 3 percent cashback for travel bookings and 11 percent cashback for spending at participating retailers; free international transactions; no bank transfer reload fees; friends or family can remotely reload funds in an emergency.

Fees: $18.77, activation; $2.35, ATM withdrawal; $0, bank transfer reload; 3 percent, PayPoint, credit or debit card reload; $15.64, paper statement.

Bottom Line: Breaks new ground in the U.K. as the first combined international student ID and prepaid card. Together with newly launched in-store reloading, it facilitates an easy customer journey where cards can be purchased, serviced and loaded in one place.

***

Winner: UTA Farepay Card
InComm

The card is the most effective way for cash customers to pay for transit and receive the benefits of UTA’s advanced electronic fare collection system, while yielding anonymous data to enable better service planning.

Partners: Utah Transit Authority, issuer; VIX Technology, processor; InComm, program manager. Retailers:  UTA Customer Service, Walgreens, 7-Eleven, Family Dollar, Associated Food Stores, Walmart and other members of InComm’s retail network in Utah.

Secret Sauce:

• UTA uses an open payment fare collection system accepting contactless smart cards.
• Enables customers to pay more quickly without worrying about exact change or memorizing the fare schedule. On distance-based travel, a cardholder pays lower fares for shorter trips.
• 20 percent fare discount for cardholders compensates for the card’s purchase fee.
• Many of the retailers where cards are available are within walking distance of UTA bus and rail lines. Customer takes the card package from j-hook and advises the store clerk of the desired load between $5 and $500. Card funds are available immediately upon activation and can be reloaded.

Fees: $3 purchase fee.

Bottom Line: In its first year, the program was responsible for 1.1 million trips and $2.2 million in revenue for UTA. Customers have been uniformly positive about the experience. It’s the only closed-loop transit card available through retail distribution channels.

***

Winner: Thomson Multi-Currency Travel Money MasterCard
PrePay Solutions

Full-featured multicurrency travel money card streamlines offering for TUI, while providing greater benefits to travelers.

Partners: MasterCard, network; PrePay Solutions, processor and program manager; TUI UK & Ireland, client.

Secret Sauce:

• Program replaces four separate currency cards—EUR, AUD, USD and GBP—that accounted for 15 percent of TUI’s FX business.
• Purses for eight currencies including: EUR, AUD, NZD, CAD, USD, GBP, ZAR and TRY.
• 15 percent reduction in operating costs through better stock management, streamlined fulfillment and administrative monitoring.
• Added Turkish lira as a new currency for the popular summer destination for U.K. citizens.
• Free POS transactions internationally, whereas credit/debit usage incurs additional charges.
• Two cards provided per package to enable access by more than one family member.
• Chip-and-PIN protected; lost card funds sent via Western Union within 48 hours at no cost.
• Funds can be moved from currency to currency using the online interface or mobile app.

 Fees: $3, ATM withdrawal; 2 percent, credit card reload; 3 percent, international transactions for unsupported currency; $3, monthly dormancy after 24 months of inactivity.

Bottom Line: TUI has been a prepaid pioneer since 2009, providing customers with a secure way to carry travel money. That success continues with the multicurrency card. New currencies account for 80 percent of the volume growth and demonstrate a clear need for a single card product to support diverse travel needs of TUI’s customers.