Ukash today announced Bolivia has become the 30th country in which it operates. The United Kingdom-based firm, which sells prepaid vouchers for online shopping, is partnering with Rocalix S.A., a payments-service provider that will distribute the vouchers to merchants that offer funds-transfer services.
The vouchers will be available in denominations of US$20, US $50 and US $100. Ukash vouchers have unique 19-digit codes consumers enter when initiating purchases on merchant Web sites. Ukash sells the vouchers to consumers who prefer not to use payment cards for online purchases or who cannot use cards.
Latin and South America should prove to be viable markets for Ukash if the vouchers are sold at storefronts that provide check-cashing services and prepaid phone cards, says Adil Moussa, an analyst at Aite Group.
Where Ukash will go next is up for speculation. Last year, the company indicated some merchants in Japan expressed interest. Paul Coxhill, Ukash marketing director, told PaymentsSource last year the company was looking to expand into the Asia-Pacific region in the next two or three years.
Company officials did not respond to a PaymentsSource request for comment on today’s announcement or its future plans.
Ukash sells its vouchers in Ontario, Canada, but do not expect the company to enter the United States, Moussa says. “There are already enough alternative [payment] and prepaid card providers in the U.S.,” he says. “I don’t know how consumers here would receive them.”
Beside competition in the prepaid space, Ukash would have to educate consumers on how vouchers work, Moussa says. Finding a distribution partner also would be a challenge, he adds.
The low-tech aspect of the vouchers likely would make them less appealing in the U.S., Mousa says. “I believe it’s a product geared toward countries where there is not a high-level of sophistication,” he adds.
Ukash has not indicated an interest in entering the U.S. market.
