Funds-transfer company Dinero Ahora is adding its 1,200 U.S. locations to the RegaloCard LLC mobile-payments network, the companies announced Oct. 25.
The agreement represents RegaloCard’s first partnership with a funds transfers marketing services company. RegaloCard says it plans to announce similar deals with other funds-transfer companies in the coming weeks.
Under the agreement, Dinero Ahora will begin to place RegaloCard’s merchant gift card products in its locations.
RegaloCard is among the emerging companies seeking to provide alternative funds-transfer methods using payment channels familiar to consumers and to compete with established companies such as MoneyGram International Inc. and Western Union Co. (
To use RegaloCard’s service, the buyer must purchase a merchant’s prepaid card and scratch off an area on the back of it to reveal a PIN. The buyer then calls a toll-free number printed on the card and enters the PIN and the recipient’s mobile-phone number. The recipient receives an instant text message that contains a redemption PIN.
To complete a transaction, the cashier at a participating retailer in the destination country enters the recipient’s mobile-phone number into a dedicated terminal. The recipient then enters the redemption PIN to access the funds for the purchase.
RegaloCard is free for consumer, who may send as little as $5. The company receives a percentage of the funds loaded onto the cards for each participating retailer.
