Vincento Payment Solutions Ltd today announced that it has been granted a MasterCard® Europe SEPA Licence,which provides a fast-track approach to issuing its Kalixa®contactless prepaid MasterCard across the Single European Payments Area.
Covering 32 countries, the SEPA zone includes the 27 European Union Member Statesplus the European Free Trade Area (EFTA). Holding a MasterCard SEPA Licence, Vincento Payment Solutions is now able to issue its Kalixa MasterCard throughout the European Union, offering its cardholders uniform product benefits.
The SEPA Licence is the latest and most integral part of Vincento’s European expansion, launching into the Netherlands and Austria in the third quarter of 2012, and a further six European countries before the end of the year. Vincento currently issues its Kalixa prepaid MasterCard in the UK, Germany and Italy and has been a Principal MasterCard Member since 2008.
Rupert Kainzbauer, Head of Issuing at Vincento Payment Solutions, explained: “Our MasterCard SEPA Licence provides us with a cost-effective and relatively simple method of rapidly broaden our business, by rolling out Kalixa across the SEPA zone.Expandingour business into more European countries will help us building a strong and recognisable brand.”
In addition to Kalixa’s European expansion,as one of the first prepaid issuers Vincento has integrated the MasterCard PayPass™contactless technology into their Kalixa Cardsand introduced thisnew featureto the UK in March 2012, followed by more European countries throughout the year.
About Kalixa:
- Kalixa is issued by Vincento Payment Solutions Ltd, an e-money institution authorised and regulated by the FSA.
- All Kalixa cardholder funds are held in a client-designated account with Barclays Bank Plc.
- As required by the FSA, Vincento guarantees its financial liabilities relating to outstanding e-money.
- Cardholder funds are backed at all times by low-risk liquid assets to 102% of the outstanding e-money value.
- kalixa.com is secured by Verisign, the trusted provider of internet infrastructure services for the networked world.
- Vincento, the issuer of Kalixa, is a pan-European prepaid MasterCard card issuer.
