Prepaid cards

Through its acquisition of digital payments and fundraising provider Benefit Mobile, the National Gift Card company is positioning itself to help charitable organizations grow and to strengthen the mobile offerings of retail merchants.

The results suggest that consumers who buy Green Dot cards are using them with greater frequency or for longer periods of time than they have in the past.

Florida’s Tropicana Field has eliminated cash from all concessions, ticket sales and parking, requiring Tampa Bay’s baseball fans to pay with credit, debit or gift cards at terminals that are also equipped with NFC for mobile and contactless payments.

The use cases for faster payments are typically considered to be somewhat niche. But if any payment can be made in real time, why should full-time employees wait two weeks for every paycheck?

Digital banking and payments provider PrePay Solutions is partnering with PayQuicker to help with currency conversions in payroll management programs globally, and to expand PayQuicker's capabilities for its clients' international workers.

British payments technology company Moorwand is offering the first UnionPay prepaid cards in the U.K. on its UPayCard branded prepaid platform, with a larger roll-out planned for consumers and corporations during the first quarter of 2019.

Global Payout is providing software to the makers of point of sale hardware for the cannabis industry, integrating payment card processing with other business services common for dispensaries.

The senator wants Treasury to enhance fraud protection in the Direct Express prepaid program — now a partnership with Comerica Bank — when its contract is rebid in 2020.

China’s expanding number of tourists is creating demand for more payment choices, and Wirecard hopes to tap into the growth with a prepaid card it’s developed with Ctrip, China’s largest travel agency.

More companies are adding financial health programs to their benefits, creating a market that fits with one of the common uses consumers have found for prepaid cards.