Prepaid International Forum's India Chapter Launches Project-Based Initiatives to Drive Prepaid Market Expansion
LONDON, 2 August, 2011 — Prepaid International Forum (PIF) today announced that the global trade body’s India Chapter has unveiled plans to roll out a series of projects to help bring about the implementation of cross-industry prepaid payment programmes. The new initiative builds on the Chapter’s founding objectives to promote prepaid as a viable and cost effective solution in areas such as the disbursement of government benefits, financial inclusion and transit. Each project will be executed by a consortium of PIF India member organisations comprising banks, global and national schemes and non-bank issuers.
Launched in August 2009 under the patronage of one of the world’s largest companies for payment services, TSYS®, the Chapter has rapidly expanded its membership base to include the majority of prepaid issuers in India. PIF India actively represents the interests of all members with regulatory bodies and the media and helps to remove the uncertainty of which business models to adopt.
Under the guidance of a newly formed Governing Council, each project will be selected according to a strict set of criteria such as having high market need and a clear set of objectives. Kusal Roy, PIF India Chairman and Head of ATMs, Cards & Personal Loans at ICICI Bank, said “The launch of individual projects will be determined by a number of factors such as quantitative benefits and success criteria. One measure of success would be the issue by a government scheme of an RFP or RFI for a bank or non-bank prepaid programme for the disbursement of welfare payments. Success would be measured not in terms of helping one organisation but the extent to which the project contributes to market realisation and creates opportunity for all players.”
The two projects already short-listed for launch are focused on the use of prepaid instruments for the disbursement of government subsidies and the issuance of prepaid payment products as an alternative, low-cost solution for servicing the financially excluded. Additional projects being considered for launch include transit, merchant acceptance, distribution, agents and prepaid programme management, mobile payments and retail.
Commenting on the association’s transition to a project-based model, Amit Sethi, Managing Director, India and South-East Asia Region, TSYS, and Co-Chairman of PIF India, said “PIF India was established to help shape and where necessary influence the development of prepaid solutions for the benefit of all stakeholders. The Chapter has met its founding objectives to generate awareness of prepaid payment solutions with industry players. The move towards an actionable, project-based structure aims to stimulate even greater collaboration between industry players to increase the adoption and acceptance of prepaid.”
About PIF India
Prepaid International Forum (PIF) launched a regional Chapter for India in August 2009 under the patronage of one of the world’s leading companies for payment services, TSYS®. Members represent the majority of prepaid issuers in India and include ICICI Bank, Axis Bank, American Express, Beam Money, Citibank, HDFC Bank, TSYS, Yes Bank, Union Bank of India, State Bank of India, ItzCash, TimesofMoney, Deutsche Bank, Edenred, Standard Chartered Bank, Visa and Oxigen Services. The National Payments Corporation of India (NPCI) is also engaged with PIF India as an observer.
The Governing Council comprises Kusal Roy, PIF India Chairman and Head of ATMs, Cards & Personal Loans at ICICI Bank, Sachin Khandelwal, Founding PIF India Chairman and Senior General Manager, ICICI Bank, Amit Sethi, PIF India Co-Chairman and Managing Director, India and South-East Asia Region, TSYS and Robert Courtneidge, PIF Co-Founder and Global Head of Cards & Payments, Salans.
About PIF
Prepaid International Forum (PIF) is a global not-for-profit trade association established in 2007 to represent all parties participating on a commercial basis in the prepaid economy. It is dedicated to the progression of prepaid commerce around the world and acts as a principal point of liaison between the prepaid economy and government agencies, regulators, consumer bodies and the media. It is focused on the entire prepaid world and facilitates the development cross-industry guidelines and codes of practice. PIF has a global membership with Chapters serving the UK & Europe, Brazil and India.
PIF India Patron: TSYS
TSYS (NYSE: TSS) is reshaping a new era in digital commerce, connecting consumers, merchants, financial institutions, businesses and governments. Through unmatched customer service and industry insight, TSYS creates a better experience for buyers and sellers, supporting cross-border payments in more than 85 countries. Offering merchant payment-acceptance solutions as well as services in credit, debit, prepaid, mobile, chip, healthcare, installments, money transfer and more, TSYS makes it possible for those in the global marketplace to conduct safe and secure electronic transactions with trust and convenience.
TSYS’ headquarters are located in Columbus, Georgia, with local offices spread across the Americas, EMEA and Asia-Pacific. TSYS provides services to more than half of the top 20 international banks. For more information, please visit us at www.tsys.com.
For further information please contact:
Diane Brocklebank
Head of Member Relations
Prepaid International Forum (PIF)
+ 44 (0) 7736 971986
diane.brocklebank@prepaidforum.org