Eagle Prepaid Newshttp://www.eagle-prepaid.com/newsdetail.aspxThe latest headlines and articles from the world of Eagle Prepaid programme management. (c) 2008, White Eagle (Europe) Plc. All rights reserved.5<![CDATA[Cannes, France, 8 May 2008 – WHITE EAGLE’S INTERNATIONAL WORKER CARD PROGRAMME TAKES OFF WITH IMPRESSIVE MARKETING AND DISTRIBTUION AWARD WIN.]]>
“White Eagle is a worthy winner of the MasterCard Europe Prepaid Awards, as we have brought creativity and innovation to the prepaid card market which enables a unique customer focus.” Simon Noakes, Marketing Director of White Eagle said.

“I am extremely pleased to see our member company White Eagle PLC taking this major award. The BPCC has been engaged in supporting international worker mobility for the last four years with a specific focus on professional recruitment, excellence in employment standards and making it easy for people to live and work across the EU. This card enables a step change in two crucial areas for mobile workers – money and mobile communication. It offers significant value to both employee and employer in the international worker space”commented Martin Oxley BPCC CEO.

Unlike many prepaid card offerings, White Eagle has made substantial investment and developed its own technology to become a ‘Programme Manager’ - offering advanced web services integration, transactional security and unsurpassed multi-language customer support - as well as creating a truly flexible model for the rapid roll-out of new programs, niche and mass market. This model is based on the 21st century business principles of ‘one-size’ does not fit all, and enables White Eagle to deliver new programs with ease and speed.

Warren Hardy, Chairman of White Eagle adds, “There may be other prepaid cards, but White Eagle is more than just a prepaid card – it offers value-added products and services appropriate to the program. Our award winning ‘Migrant Prepaid Card Programme’ gives the Cardholder everything they need to settle into the UK – not just a prepaid card. This includes instant banking, low cost money transfers, cheap international calls, as well as access to useful information and links. No-one else comes close to delivering this breadth of programme, and it is a testament to the staff at White Eagle who have worked tirelessly since day one to make this happen.”

What the judges said:
"White Eagle truly deserves this MasterCard Prepaid Award for its dynamic approach to marketing it’s first prepaid card programme. This includes full multi-language collateral, a multi-language customer service call centre – along with iconic and engaging designs to make it stand out from the crowd. White Eagle is an exciting new entrant, and one to watch in the future."

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About White Eagle
White Eagle (Europe) Plc was founded in 2007 to become a pioneer and pre-eminent leader in the prepaid market space, and has recently released the ‘Migrant Prepaid Card Programme’, designed initially for Polish migrant workers who live and work in the UK. White Eagle has a rich pipeline of new and exciting programmes as well as systems which enable third parties to launch their own programme on the White Eagle infrastructure. For more information, please visit our website at www.white-eagle.com or contact Simon Noakes at press@white-eagle.com.

About the BPCC (British Polish Chamber of Commerce)
The BPCC is Poland’s leading international voice of business. With a membership of over 480 companies it represents 25% of the foreign capital in Poland since 1990. For the last 4 consecutive years 2005, 2006, 2007 and 2008 the BPCC has been nominated the “Best British Chamber of Commerce in Continental Europe”. The Chamber was recently nominated the “Best Organization Supporting Poles in the UK”. For more information, please visit www.bppc.org.pl or contact Martin Oxley at ceo@bpcc.org.pl.]]>http://www.eagle-prepaid.com/newsfeeds/newsdetail.aspx?newsitem=1Tue, 05 Aug 2008 00:00:00 GMT<![CDATA[Personal current account market not working well for consumers, says OFT]]>
The report found that much of banks revenue from current accounts is derived opaquely, with 81 per cent of income coming from two sources: insufficient funds charges (£2.6bn) and net credit interest income (£4.1bn). A significant number of customers do not know how much they actually pay in bank charges, either before or after they are incurred. Over three-quarters do not know the credit interest rate of their current account, and even those that do lack the means to calculate the interest they forgo.

The complexity and lack of transparency of personal current accounts makes it extremely difficult for individual customers to compare their bank account with other offers. There is thus little incentive for consumers to switch - especially as people generally believe that it is complex and risky to switch accounts. Also, when the switching process does go wrong consumers can find themselves bearing a significant proportion of the resulting costs. The result is that only six per cent of customers we surveyed had switched in the last 12 months - one of the lowest switching rates in Europe. A further result is that a minority of customers end up paying much more for their current account than others - for example, in 2006 we calculate that 1.4m people pay over £500 per year in charges. This can often mean potentially "vulnerable", low income and low saving customers paying more as a result of incurring insufficient funds charges. The effect is not made any easier by a lack of simple mechanisms for consumers to control or opt out of an unarranged overdraft.

Overall, the report finds that the personal current account market may be stuck in an equilibrium that does not work well for consumers. Limited understanding of key account elements, combined with low confidence in switching, means that banks have less incentive to provide better offers on charges and interest. But without better offers from banks, consumers have little incentive to switch. John Fingleton, OFT Chief Executive, said: Personal current accounts are a vital gateway to effective participation in the economy. " But this market is not serving consumers well. Customers lack the information they need to choose the best deal, and this in turn weakens the banks" incentives to compete. There is much the banks could do to improve how the market works, and we hope this report will encourage them to take steps to do so in the near future."

In the view of the OFT the status quo is not satisfactory. The OFT will spend the coming months engaging with banks and consumer groups to try to achieve greater clarity, transparency and consumer empowerment in this market, either through voluntary change or, if necessary, through other routes, potentially including greater regulatory intervention or a reference of the market to the Competition Commission. Other findings from the study include:

  • the aggregate revenue of banks from personal current accounts (PCAs) was approx £8.3bn - £152 per active account
  • personal current accounts generate more revenue for banks than savings and credit cards combined
  • insufficient fund charges have increased by an average of 17 per cent in real terms between 2003 and 2007
  • when banks were asked to calculate how much a hypothetical customer would have to pay in a given scenario (which included exceeding an agreed overdraft limit), the reported charges varied from £0 to £260
  • the average daily unarranged overdraft balance in 2006 was £680m. Paid item and maintenance fees totalled some £1.5bn - which would equate to a return of over 220 per cent on the average balance
  • there is significant potential for slight errors in financial management to result in hundreds of pounds of charges
  • over 12.6 million accounts (23 per cent of active accounts) incurred at least one insufficient funds charge in 2006
  • those consumers who incurred a charge were more likely to incur at least six charges than just one
  • four million accounts incurred charges of over £200 in 2006, of which 1.4 million accounts incurred charges of over £500, and
  • in a survey conducted for the study over a fifth of consumers were unaware of the existence of charges until they had incurred one.


NOTES 1. The full report and executive summary of the PCA market study, the consultation document and further background are available on the market studies area of the OFT website. 2. The PCA market study was launched by the OFT in spring 2007. It has been carried out alongside the formal Unfair Terms in Consumer Contracts Regulations 1999 (UTCCRs) investigation into terms providing for unarranged overdraft charges (UOD) so that it can inform the investigation. 3. The UTCCRs investigation began in 2007. The first phase of the test case was launched in the High Court in July 2007. In April 2008 Mr Justice Andrew Smith ruled that the UOD terms in banks personal current account contracts can be assessed for fairness under the UTCCRs. In May 2008, the Judge gave the test case banks permission to appeal his finding. In July 2008 a hearing took place into whether UOD terms in the banks historical and basic bank account (and certain other non-mainstream current accounts) can also be assessed for fairness under the UTCCRs, and whether they are capable of being penalties at common law. This judgment is yet to be handed down. The OFT is continuing to progress the investigation as quickly as possible and will shortly be writing to the banks with its initial views on fairness issues. 4. OFT market studies are carried out under section 5 of the Enterprise Act 2002 (EA02) which allows a market-wide consideration of both competition and consumer issues. 5. While the FSA is the lead regulator for UK banking the EA02 enables the OFT to assess wider competition issues in a way not open to the FSA. 6. The OFT will now consult about the issues raised by the market study with the banks and other interested stakeholders for a minimum of three months.]]>http://www.eagle-prepaid.com/newsfeeds/newsdetail.aspx?newsitem=2Thu, 17 Jul 2008 00:00:00 GMT<![CDATA[18 July 2008 - WHITE EAGLE (EUROPE) PLC ANNOUNCES THE LAUNCH OF EAGLE PREPAID – A NEW DIVISION THAT PROMISES TO DELIVER EXCELLENCE IN PREPAID PROGRAM MANAGEMENT]]>
Heading up the division is David Carr who brings to the foray a wealth of industry experience. David has been in the finance industry for over 17 years and was previously Head of New Business with Altair Financial Services where he defined and developed a number of well known card programs.

“By utilising the expertise gained during the development of the award winning ‘White Eagle Migrant Card Program,’ Eagle Prepaid are in an enviable position to deliver the best possible programs for companies wishing to launch a prepaid product,” said David Carr, Director of Card Services at Eagle Prepaid. “One of the main reasons for choosing to join Eagle Prepaid was the flexibility that can be offered when helping clients design programs that will be successful both for the client and for Eagle Prepaid, the opportunity to develop this business the way I believe all program managers should is very exciting,” Carr adds.

Warren Hardy, Chairman of White Eagle (Europe) Plc adds that “getting David Carr to join as a Director at Eagle Prepaid gives this division credibility as David has been in the industry for a number of years and is well respected by his peers.”

Eagle Prepaid is able to provide both bespoke white-labelled or co branded prepaid card programs to suit clients’ needs since the platforms have been built to be as flexible as possible so that the most enhanced product features can be delivered to match industry demands. Partnered with best of breed industry partners and having developed in-house proprietary IT infrastructures and web services, real value has been added and can be offered to clients, over and above the industry norm.

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About Eagle Prepaid:
Eagle Prepaid is a division of White Eagle (Europe) Plc and was launched in July 2008 to deliver excellence in program management for Prepaid Card Programs. Eagle Prepaid has established strategic partnerships with the leading prepaid specialists in Europe to help pioneer the market. For more information, please visit our website at www.eagle-prepaid.com or contact Katrina Bray at press@whiteeagle.com.

About White Eagle:
White Eagle (Europe) Plc was founded in 2007 to become a pioneer and pre-eminent leader in the prepaid market space, and has recently released the ‘Migrant Prepaid Card Programme’, designed initially for Polish migrant workers who live and work in the UK. White Eagle has a rich pipeline of new and exciting programs as well as systems which enable third parties to launch their own program on the White Eagle infrastructure. For more information, please visit our website at www.white-eagle.com or contact Katrina Bray at press@white-eagle.com.]]>http://www.eagle-prepaid.com/newsfeeds/newsdetail.aspx?newsitem=3Fri, 18 Jul 2008 00:00:00 GMT<![CDATA[White Eagle interviews Lech Walesa]]>Follow this link for our exclusive interview with Lech Walesa http://www.youtube.com/WhiteEagletv Read More>
]]>http://www.eagle-prepaid.com/newsfeeds/newsdetail.aspx?newsitem=4Wed, 27 Aug 2008 13:34:39 GMT<![CDATA[White Eagle Nominated for Innovation of the Year ]]>White Eagle has once again been nominated for a prestigious industry award, this time in the category of “Innovation of the Year” at the 2008 Prepaid Awards. The nomination came from independent judges from within the world of Prepaid and indicates how White Eagle’s consumer focussed innovations are highly regarded.

Such innovations include the feature of ‘multiple companion cards’ linked to the Primary Card for sharing money with more than one friend or family member which in itself was an industry first.  There is no transfer fee between cards and currently up to 3 companion cards can be added.

Another key innovation is the Telecoms package (Eagle Talk™) linked directly to the prepaid account.  Eagle Talk offers low cost calls to over 150 countries and its convenient auto top-up facility directly linked to the Primary Card means that the account is kept active and never runs out of credits.

Sandy Sancaster, Managing Director of White Eagle commented, “Our management and staff are very proud to be nominated for this award, to be recognised by our partners and peers is extremely rewarding.  Our position within the PrePaid industry is founded upon the convergence of our technology and our desire to offer superior services to our customers.  Being nominated for another Award provides further proof that our strategy is correct and it provides the motivation to continue to develop our systems and services.”

About White Eagle

White Eagle (Europe) Plc was founded in 2007 to become a pioneer and pre-eminent leader in the prepaid market space, and has recently released the ‘Migrant Prepaid Card Programme’, targeted initially at the Polish migrant workers in the UK. White Eagle is also currently developing many new and exciting programmes internally, as well as enabling third parties to launch their own prepaid card programme on the White Eagle infrastructure. For more information, please visit our website at www.white-eagle.com or contact Katrina Bray at press@white-eagle.com

]]>http://www.eagle-prepaid.com/newsfeeds/newsdetail.aspx?newsitem=6Thu, 28 Aug 2008 14:20:17 GMT<![CDATA[21st January 2009 - White Eagle Nominated for Prestigious Prepaid Industry Awards]]>White Eagle has once again been nominated for a number of prestigious industry awards at forthcoming Prepaid Industry Events.

Firstly, White Eagle has been nominated, in partnership with Newcastle Building Society, for the following categories at The Card Awards 2009:

  • Best Card Cross Selling Programme of the Year
  • Best New Prepaid Card Product of the Year
  • Best Prepaid Marketing Campaign of the Year

Secondly, White Eagle has entered two categories at the world famous PayBefore Awards 2009, being held in Florida, US:

  • The Best Programme launched and operated by a non-US company outside of the United States.
  • The Best Prepaid Marketing or Awareness Building Programme

Warren Hardy, Founder & CEO comments “We are absolutely delighted to have been ‘sponsored’ by NBS for three categories in the prestigious Card Awards 2009. As NBS are The market leading Prepaid Bin Sponsor, their recognition of White Eagle’s achievements is most appreciated. And its not just in the UK, where we are growing our reputation - indeed at the forthcoming Prepaid Card Expo in Florida, we are nominated for a further two awards at the Paybefore Awards 2009.

White Eagle will continue to innovate and pioneer new value added products and services in the prepaid industry with many exciting new developments planned for 2009.”

- Ends -]]>http://www.eagle-prepaid.com/newsfeeds/newsdetail.aspx?newsitem=8Mon, 26 Jan 2009 00:00:00 GMT<![CDATA[17th February 2009 - White Eagle (Europe) Plc is pleased to announce the appointment of Natasha Toothill as Business Development Director with immediate effect.]]>

Natasha has an exemplary track record in the prepaid and stored value sector. Formerly Director of Gift Card Services at Payzone UK Ltd, she was responsible for launching their card division and establishing a strong foothold in the UK market for their open and closed loop card products. Prior to this she was Product Development Director at Accor Services and Capital Incentives, creating open loop and restricted loop cards for the corporate benefits and incentives sectors. She is also Chair of the UK Gift Card and Voucher Association.

Natasha commented “These are exciting times in the world of prepaid. White Eagle has staked its claim to be a major player in this market and they have an excellent portfolio of innovative prepaid solutions. I look forward to optimising the performance of White Eagle, Eagle Retail and Eagle Prepaid products in our key markets, delivering new opportunities and building on our already strong market position.”

Warren Hardy, Founder & CEO of White Eagle (Europe) Plc commented “I am happy to welcome Natasha to White Eagle at such an exciting juncture in the company’s growth. Natasha brings with her a wealth of prepaid industry experience and I look forward to seeing her make her mark within the business.”

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White Eagle (Europe) Plc was founded in 2007 and is a market leader in the high growth prepaid card and electronic payments market. Eagle Prepaid is a division of White Eagle (Europe) Plc and has developed its own source code, therefore maintaining full ownership of the IP, and created a suite of web services that integrated in real time to appropriate business partners. Eagle Prepaid provides bespoke white labeled Prepaid Card programmes with enhanced functionality, in association with either MasterCard or Visa and Newcastle Building Society. Our proactive and tailored approach gives our clients the technological edge in this innovative transaction processing market. White Eagle (Europe) Plc is a Registered MasterCard Member Service Provider www.white-eaglegroup.com

Press enquiries: Katrina Bray, Marketing Manager: Katrina.bray@white-eagle.com

]]>http://www.eagle-prepaid.com/newsfeeds/newsdetail.aspx?newsitem=9Thu, 19 Feb 2009 00:00:00 GMT<![CDATA[25th February 2009 - White Eagle Wins another Prestigious Industry Award for its Migrant Prepaid Card Programme]]>White Eagle (Europe) Plc, in association with Newcastle Building Society is once again celebrating another win for its award winning migrant prepaid card programme, at The Card Awards 2009. The White Eagle Maestro® Prepaid Card programme was awarded “Best Card Cross-Selling Programme of the Year 2009” for offering a complete financial and telecoms package, tailored to migrant workers living and working in the UK.
White Eagle beat tough competition such as American Express, Barclaycard and Lloyds TSB, being the only prepaid card programme in this category up against major credit and debit card providers.

Features that impressed the judges included the feature of ‘multiple companion cards’ linked to the Primary Card for sharing money with more than one friend or family member, which in itself was an industry first. There is no transfer fee between cards and currently up to 3 companion cards can be added. Another key innovation is the Telecoms package (Eagle Talk™) linked directly to the prepaid account. Eagle Talk offers low cost calls to over 150 countries and its convenient auto top-up facility directly linked to the Primary Card means that the account is kept active and never runs out of credits. Warren Hardy, Founder & CEO of White Eagle commented, “I am delighted to accept this award on behalf of the team at White Eagle. This recognition further demonstrates White Eagle’s innovative approach and commitment to all aspects of customer service. We are passionate about delivering an exceptional customer experience, to be recognised in this way by the ‘Card Industry’ underpins our continuing commitment to the quality of our products.”

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About White Eagle

White Eagle (Europe) Plc was founded in 2007 to become a pioneer and pre-eminent leader in the prepaid market space, and has recently released the ‘Migrant Prepaid Card Programme’, targeted initially at the Polish migrant workers in the UK. White Eagle is also currently developing many new and exciting programmes internally, as well as enabling third parties to launch their own prepaid card programme on the White Eagle infrastructure. For more information, please visit our website at www.white-eaglegroup.com or contact Katrina Bray, Marketing Manager at press@white-eagle.com Maestro is a registered trademark of MasterCard International Incorporated and affiliates. The White Eagle Card is issued by Newcastle Building Society("NBS") pursuant to licence by MasterCard International. NBS is authorised and regulated by the Financial Services Authority as an issuer of e-money(registration no. 156058). NBS subscribes to the Banking Code, copies of the Code are available upon request.

]]>http://www.eagle-prepaid.com/newsfeeds/newsdetail.aspx?newsitem=10Wed, 25 Feb 2009 00:00:00 GMT<![CDATA[15th March 2009 - White Eagle’s Programme Management Division - Eagle Prepaid, launches the Rational Travel Money Prepaid MasterCard®]]>Eagle Prepaid, a division of White Eagle (Europe) Plc and a leading global prepaid solutions provider today announces the launch of the Rational Travel Money Prepaid MasterCard.

The Rational Travel Money Card is targeted at UK outbound travelers to Europe and the USA. Cardholders can choose between a Euro and US Dollar denominated card to suit their needs. The card is loaded in the chosen currency and the exchange rate is fixed at this time, this allows the cardholder to know exactly how much they are paying at the time of the purchase.

CEO of Rational Foreign Exchange, Rajesh Agrawal commented, “RationalFX’s goal has always been to provide excellent service to its clients and save them money on currency exchange. This is clearly reflected in Rational Travel Money Card. It provides a smart and safe way to access your funds abroad at pre-agreed competitive exchange rates, with no hidden charges. I am delighted that we chose to partner with Eagle Prepaid, who share the same goal and worked with us to develop this card.”

The card programme was made possible with the technical expertise of White Eagle. Warren Hardy, Founder & CEO commented: “We are pleased to have been involved in this product development with Rational Foreign Exchange, and from the outset they had a clear vision of how this product was going to succeed. By understanding the goal, we were able to deliver a solution that meets both the client’s expectations as well as the consumer need for this product. I believe that with the same focus on the marketing of this product, Rational Travel Money Card will be one of the most successful programmes in this market during 2009.”

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]]>http://www.eagle-prepaid.com/newsfeeds/newsdetail.aspx?newsitem=11Sun, 15 Mar 2009 00:00:00 GMT<![CDATA[31 March 2009 - White Eagle’s Programme Management Division launches the hiten Prepaid MasterCard®]]>White Eagle (Europe) Plc and hiten today announce the launch of the hiten Prepaid MasterCard - a card that enables users to effectively and securely manage their money.

Hiten Cards limited was established in 2008 with the aim to provide people with a secure and alternative way to manage their money. Having linked with MasterCard, the hiten card provides users with peace of mind and the ability to manage their money around the world. Hiten provides chip & PIN security, the use of cash machines in over 210 countries and secure online shopping. Users are able to control their finances via text, online or by phone with no hidden charges.

The card programme was made possible with the technical expertise of Eagle Prepaid, the programme management division of White Eagle. Warren Hardy, Founder & CEO comments: “The hiten Prepaid MasterCard is targeted at the family market here is the UK which allows the consumer the convenience of receiving wage payments as well as a way to share money between other members of their family unit. White Eagle is very excited about this versatile product and look forward to the success of this programme over the coming months and years.”

The White Eagle platform allows the users of this card to retrieve their PIN over an IVR (interactive voice recognition) solution, activate their card, check their balance, lock and unlock their card any time via their mobile phones using SMS.

CEO of Hiten Cards Limited, Hiten Arya, comments: “Following a detailed search Hiten Cards Limited chose Eagle Prepaid as our Programme Manager. One of the deciding factors in this process was the expertise and experience of the team at Eagle Prepaid, David Carr the Director of Card Services knew exactly what we were trying to achieve and made the design process seamless” Hiten adds “We look forward to working closely with Eagle Prepaid for years to come and cementing a long term business relationship”

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]]>http://www.eagle-prepaid.com/newsfeeds/newsdetail.aspx?newsitem=12Tue, 31 Mar 2009 00:00:00 GMT