MasterCard Inc. announced Tuesday an online bill-payment service that prepaid card marketers can offer to cardholders.
Many prepaid card companies offer bill-pay features for specific products; MasterCard said its service is available to any prepaid card branded with its logo.
The service is based on MasterCard's own RPPS payment service and technology from the vendor Aliaswire Inc.
A growing number of prepaid card marketers are offering additional features to their products, including bill payment, lines of credit, insurance and linked savings accounts.
These marketers say such features can stem churn, which is a chronic issue in the prepaid industry because many consumers discard their cards after they have exhausted the balances in a specific account.
Laura Kelly, MasterCard's senior vice president for global prepaid and debit products, said in a press release that the service "supports our commitment to provide our prepaid partners with innovative and effective ways to deliver value to cardholders and help ensure profitable long-term customer relationships."
