19th June 2003
MasterCard International
today announced the introduction of MasterCard MoneySend™
in Europe. MasterCard MoneySend™ is a person-to-person funds
transfer service, providing banks with a comprehensive and
cost-efficient card-to-card money transfer network. MasterCard
is currently working with leading financial institutions,
including The Royal Bank of Scotland Group in the UK, Euro
Kartensysteme in Germany and CartaSi in Italy, to conduct
the first phase of the European roll-out of the service.
With MasterCard MoneySend™, cardholders in Europe will be
able to manage how, when and to whom they send their money - inexpensively
and easily. The service, which can be used for both overseas
and domestic transfers, complies with anti-money laundering
regulations.
MasterCard MoneySend™ enables financial institutions to attract
new market segments, generate new revenue sources and meet
both existing and growing customer demand. The European programme
is a hosting service, which will be run by MasterCard with
programme partners Magex and paybox. The programme leverages
the MasterCard network which, together with the Maestro debit
brand, offers the most comprehensive network available for
card-based P2P services in Europe.
The inclusion of Maestro - MasterCard's global, 100%
online POS debit network - is an important element in the
MoneySend™ offering, said Brian Morris, head of E-Business,
MasterCard Europe.
With 226 million Maestro cardholders
in Europe alone and a further 240 million across the world,
MoneySend™ could quite literally open the door to the world's
most comprehensive and accessible network for money transfers
between individuals.
MasterCard is committed to developing payment solutions that will help
consumers transfer money to other individuals - whether it's to a
relative who's on the other side of the world or a neighbor who's
just next door. MasterCard has been working with its members to maximize the
MasterCard network and processing capability to not only reduce the costs for
members of fund transfer services but ultimately increase their profitability
in this area, added Morris.
Faced with the introduction of the
European Commission's regulation on cross-border payments in euros, applicable
to credit transfers as from the first July this year, the need has become more
pressing than ever.
MasterCard MoneySend™ has the potential to be integrated into a bank's electronic
channels (e-banking, m-banking, phone banking and ATM-banking). MasterCard may
expand the MoneySend™ service globally, making international transactions easier
and more efficient due to MasterCard's worldwide payment network.
MasterCard is also offering technical and marketing consulting to assist member
financial institutions with implementation. This service leverages MasterCard's
existing payment expertise, providing member banks with real value and a strong
foundation for growth.
Olivier Denis, product manager, E-Business, MasterCard Europe, said,
MasterCard
MoneySend™ will help members provide added functionality to their customers and
open up new categories of card usage. Very soon, cardholders will be able to
send money from their card to another, for example, to their children and family
abroad, pay for the rental of holiday homes or purchase goods and services from
private sellers via online auctions.
