Paysafe has just officially confirmed that the company partnered up with VISA. The move makes the company a Principal Member of the VISA card scheme, enabling it to issue prepaid cards across Europe.
Paysafe explains its decision to expand with the new partnership to meet increasing global demand for prepaid cards. The use by consumers is expected to increase by 22.7 percent until 2022.
A study by Allied Market Research reveals that the expected market value of the space is $3.65 trillion by 2022. According to research commissioned by Paysafe Group, 10 percent of consumers globally have used a prepaid card to make a payment in the past month.
Consumer Demand Picking Up
Low-cost alternatives to banking have continued to pick up steam in recent quarters. The trend is also getting accelerated by mobile app-centric services like Transferwise and Revolut. Inexpensive alternatives to traditional banking are enabling businesses to access underbanked users.
Commenting on the matter, the CEO of Skrill, NETELLER, and Income Access at Paysafe Group, Lorenzo Pellegrino, said: “The ease of use and access to prepaid cards is contributing to the drive for cash alternatives, and the awareness of these solutions is growing rapidly.”
According to Pellegrino, the market is growing at a significant pace as consumers and businesses become more aware of the benefits of prepaid cards. “Our card issuing partnership with Visa is a real milestone for us, to support us in offering a popular and reliable service to cardholders,” he explained.
Corporates Also Interested
Rapid growth in the space appears to be boosted by corporates too. Retailers, government, and financial institutions are all opening up to prepaid cards which can be used for eCommerce, point-of-sale transactions, as well as for cash withdrawals.
Corporations in the meantime are prepaid card looking uses like travel expense management, promotional offers, retail cashback, and employee rewards and incentives.
Commenting on the partnership with Paysafe, the Head of Fintech , in the UK & Ireland of Visa, Hugh Kingdon, said: “In recent years there has been a great deal of growth innovation in the European prepaid market, a trend that we at Visa have been excited to play our part in."
The news comes as prepaid cards are reducing the risks associated with incurring unwanted debt. The owners of such cards can easily manage their funds and refrain from spending more than they have on their accounts.
