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Prepaid processor i2c Inc. announced Wednesday the signing of an agreement to provide prepaid processing for general purpose reloadable cards, gift cards, and payroll and food-voucher cards for Diestel, a Mexican prepaid card company. Diestel's products include cellular top-up, insurance, long-distance, Internet, loyalty, e-ticket, and bill-payment services, the company says. Diestel plans to use its large distribution network for its phone cards to sell the prepaid cards, Nancy Baunis, i2c vice president, tells CardLine. Diestel has 50,000 point-of-sale terminals in more than 60 convenience, pharmacy and retail chains, and most will sell the prepaid cards, according to Roberto Rodriguez, a Diestel spokesperson. The company plans to sell its cards to unbanked consumers, and medium and large-sized businesses will be the customers for its payroll and food-voucher cards, he says. The company plans to have the cards available for purchase in the first quarter of 2009, and it has yet to set the pricing for the cards, Rodriguez says. He declined to name the bank that will issue the cards, citing a confidentiality agreement.
