This article from PaymentsSource reports on how a Rwandan bank launched a new prepaid product:
Rwanda-based I&M Bank has rolled out a multi-currency Mastercard prepaid debit card enabling users to load funds in 15 different currencies with no foreign exchange fees. The card builds on Mastercard’s goal of expanding products for underbanked consumers in sub-Saharan Africa, Mastercard said in a recent press release. The I&M Platinum Multicurrency card enables users to load funds in a specific currency, locking in the exchange rate for future online and point of sale transactions, the release said.
Being able to lock in an attractive exchange rate for purchases is an additional way the I&M Bank makes using the card a way to help cardholders save money. With such a diverse culture and so many currencies, being able to select the one you plan to use without additional currency conversions is not only a cost savings capability, but a convenience.
“As pioneers of innovation in the banking industry in Rwanda, this is one of a series of solutions that we will be launching in the near future,” said Robin Bairstow, I&M Bank Rwanda’s chief executive officer, in the release. Consumers need not open a bank account to obtain the new card, Bairstow said in the release.
The attractiveness of prepaid debit cards has always been the ability to open one and use it for financial transactions even if a traditional financial institution would not, due to the policies and procedures in its process.
I&M Bank Rwanda has partnered with Marriott to give customers 50% off on two nights at Marriott hotels booked with the new card, according to the release. The promotion runs through December 2019.
As if the card wasn’t good enough … look at that offer from Marriott!
Overview by Sue Brown, Director, Prepaid Advisory service at Mercator Advisory Group
