Prepaid Cards

ROME - The cost of prepaid cards are "still high" when considering "the tools offered by the banking system." He stresses the Competition Authority and the market which are "possible savings for consumers with the market entry of mobile phone company in the area of micropayments." Are the main elements of the 'Consultation on the sector just completed by the same Antitrust. For the Authority, in addition, l 'Italy is "still backward in the use of electronic money."

IN LINE WITH BANK COSTS - The cost of prepaid cards are "in line with those of other traditional payment instruments such as current accounts and credit cards," notes the conclusion of Antitrust in the 'survey on the sector, offered by the banking system, with Charging fees that can reach up to 5 euros. To promote their reduction should be exploited by potential related to a possible entry in the market for electronic payments, mobile telephone operators, with 80 million cards by the end of 2007 constituted the main component of prepaid cards closed.

U.S. DISPOSABLE - The study of 'Authority show that in the Italian market there is a growing demand for prepaid cards' open ', typically the cards from banks or post offices, through which you can perform any type of payment at the end of 2007' s set of rechargeable card and 'use disposable issued by banks and Poste Italian stood at 5.8 million, an increase over the previous year by 30.1% and an average annual growth since 2003 of 72.2 %. The incidence of this instrument in the field of payment cards (the complex credit card and debit) while still relatively small, is growing: it was 6.4% in 2006, came to 7.8% the end of 2007, with a leading role in Italian Post, covering nearly 60% of the segment.

NUMBERS - Based on a sample survey conducted on 33 banks and dall'Antitrust Italian Post Office, it appears that the stock of prepaid accounting for just under 3.9 million registered by rechargeable cards and the remaining (just over 900,000 ) Cards bearer non-rechargeable (use disposable). In 2006 there were more than 25 million payment transactions with prepaid cards at POS or on the Internet, with average transaction value of EUR 60, compared with about 12.4 million withdrawals at ATMs, for the average amount of 97 euros at 105 euros from his bank and other institutions. The value loaded into prepaid cards bank amounted in 2006, with reference to the main players, about 3.5 billion euros. The annual cost for the average consumer of a prepaid card "depends on whether the card holder has or has not a current account with a bank, always refers the Antitrust stressing that" the 80 million prepaid phone cards present in Italy represent for their wide distribution and the related technologies, the instrument through which exert a positive competitive pressure in the area of electronic payments. "

Related posts

• Possible crack AIG is the list of banks involved (0)
• Porsche Cayenne GTS (0)
• Black Monday for bags. Dow Jones scores below 7000 (1)
• What ¬ advances in Spain Spa (0)
• Common Code (1)