A Gibraltar-based company Wednesday announced it is issuing a MasterCard Worldwide-branded reloadable prepaid card denominated in South African’s rand currency in time for this summer’s World Cup soccer tournament.
Prepaid Financial Services, the card’s program manager, will market the PFS MasterCard Prepaid Rand Travel Card to 60,000 United Kingdom residents expected to attend the 2010 Federation Internationale de Football Association World Cup June 11 through July 11, says Steven Phillips, a Prepaid Financial Services spokesperson. The World Cup, the world’s largest sporting event, is expected to attract more than 220,000 extended-stay South African visitors to South Africa.
There is no cost to activate the card but the minimum value-load is 140 rand (US $18.65) and the maximum load is 7,000 rand (US $932.70), according to the card’s terms and conditions.
Prepaid Financial Services will market the card through UK travel agencies. Cardholders will be able to load money onto the card through SMS text messages from a registered mobile phone, the company says.
The Gibraltar Financial Services Commission regulates card issuer Transact Network Ltd., a licensed European electronic-money institution and principal MasterCard member, the company says on its Web site.
