Going Mobile with Prepaid Cards

January 14, 2010

Prepaid cards and mobile technologies are two of the hottest topics in the payments space these days. And there has been a lot of focus on these trends in microfinance, too. Now, a Florida company that specializes in prepaid card programs for recent immigrants, has combined these two promising technologies to make it easier and cheaper for immigrants in the U.S. to send money to their families back home.

The RegaloCard is a prepaid gift card that folks can purchase in the U.S. for delivery to individuals in Latin America.

Purchasers select a card from the leading brands in their home countries, and provide names and mobile telephone numbers of recipients. RegaloCard sends out text messages detailing prepaid card amounts and personal identification numbers (PIN) to recipients who then can use the cards as though they were cash at participating retailers.

The RegaloCard service works with all mobile handsets and carriers worldwide. Participating merchants are among the biggest names in their home countries, the company said.

Best of all from a consumer standpoint: the service is free, and purchasers can put as little as $10 on a card. Historically, international remitttances have needed to be for larger amounts in order to justify high costs.

RegaloCard is available in select locations in the U.S. today, but should be in "thousands of retail locations" as the year progresses, the company said.

Although the initial focus of the RegaloCard is Latin America, the company has said it intends to role out products for other large immigrant groups as well. Regalo already supports an online prepaid Visa for Filipinos working abroad, for example, so it's a good bet that the Philippines is on the company's short list of candidates for its new mobile prepaid card.

MoneyGram International is already experimenting with a new service for expediting remittances to the Phiippines from relatives in the U.S. and Hong Kong. Check out our related story here.

In 2009, 8% of North American adults were unbanked, compared to 80% of adults in Sub-Saharan Africa

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