SAY GOODBYE TO HASSLE! (Application of prepaid cash card for consumers)

WHAT IS PREPAID CASH CARD?

A prepaid cash card is a card that affords people without access to credit or debt cards the convenience of cashless payment. It's a sensible, more affordable alternative to having to carry cash and paying check-cashing fees. You load it with a balance of your choosing at the retail location where you purchased the card or via direct deposit of your checks. You can use it anywhere credit cards are accepted. For better illustration, we provide examples of prepaid cash card, which is, Touch ‘N Go, Octopus card in Hong Kong as well as Ez Link in Singapore.











WHAT ARE THE GOODIES INSTORED FOR USERS?

It’s a real world out there, only things that are highly beneficial will be well-supported by public. Thus, let’s look at the advantages a prepaid cash card brings: convenience, cost savings, and security are the biggest advantages of the prepaid cash card. As a substitute of having to rely on cash, consumers can have the convenience of a “credit card” to pay for purchases online, pay your bills, and even access ATMs nationwide. You also will save a lot of money by not having to pay check-cashing fees every time you get paid. A prepaid cash card enables you to take control of your financing by limiting your spending to money you actually have. Finally, you will enjoy the security of knowing you don't have to carry large amounts of cash around to pay for things anymore. You also will enjoy security protection with your card, so you will not be liable for charges if it is lost or stolen.

APPLICATIONS

The most popular prepaid cash card in our country is Touch ‘N Go. It is mainly used in highway tolls and public transportations, selected parking sites and theme park as a substitution to paying cash. As at today, Touch ‘N Go hasn’t venture into e-tailing yet. E-tailing is selling and buying products online. Example of usage of Touch ‘N Go is:
1. Highway: PLUS, ELITE, SILK and etc.
2. Public transport: RapidKL buses, Ampang Line, Kelana Jaya Line, KTM Komuter and KL Monorail.
3. Parking: Armada Hotel PJ, Pantai Hospital, Sunway Pyramid and etc.
4. Theme park: Bukit Merah Lake Town Resort


One the other hand, the Hong Kong Octopus card is also an example of prepaid cash card. The Octopus card has a built-in microchip containing an electronic purse and other applications which can accurately record the holders' transaction details. Consumers can simply hold their Octopus over a reader, and the correct amount will be deducted automatically. There's no longer a need for coins. Octopus is widely used in Hong Kong for purchases on public transport, and in convenience stores, fast food shops, supermarkets, cake shops, vending machines, schools and parking. Octopus is also used for office and residential premises access control. By possessing this card, people don’t have to worry if they do not have cash-on-hand, they can still travel, buy foodstuff and etc.






In other countries, they also have their own prepaid cash card to ease the users in their daily life. One of our neighbouring countries, Singapore, is using Ez-Link as their prepaid cash card. As for India, they have ItzCash card to act as cash.


FUTURE PROSPECTS

As consumers with high expectations, we will definitely look forward to the advancement of the Touch ‘N Go card in order to simplify our daily transactions. It is definitely a good concept because users won’t fall into debts with it as it does not function like a credit card. Besides, consumers will not overspend. Therefore, in future, Touch ‘N Go is trying to press on into providing services/payment methods for fast food purchase, dining, groceries and many more. In our opinion, Touch ‘N Go will become a successful prepaid cash card and more functions will be available in the near futur

Credit card debts: Causes and Prevention

A credit card can also be called as a charge card. It allows the consumers to purchase the products and services without using cash and only have to pay them at a later date. Thus, many card holders tend to take advantage of it and start spending impulsively. This is how they started to accumulate credit card debts. What causes them to be the credit card “slaves”?


Poor Money Management
Many credit card holders failed to manage their money properly. When they have free time, they will go shopping without having any purpose or target in mind. Hence, they spend hundreds or thousands of dollars each month buying things which are not needed and without realizing their excessive spending until the credit card bill arrives.

Low Income, High Expenses
Normally this will happen when there is a member in the family who has lost his/her job, rendering the total income of the family to shrink. With less cash in hand, people will start to rely on credit cards to make ends meet, having in mind that they will certainly be able to find a way to pay for the debts later on. Also, the purchasing habit of a person who relies on credit card heavily is not easy to change as a habit is not cultivated in just one or two days. It takes time before people can make adaptation to his/her buying behavior.

Non Financial Communication
Non financial communication is also one of the causes that contribute to the credit card debts. Parents should communicate more with their children about the current financial situation in their family. Without proper communication and sufficient understanding of the current situation, children will continue to be a big spender (i.e. loves to buy expensive branded goods using parents’ credit card) without realizing that the family in fact could not afford these luxury goods. Ultimately, the parents who are the credit card holders had no choice but to struggle to find ways to pay for the heavy credit card debts.

Since the credit card debts issue has become a burgeoning problem in this modern society today, here are some useful tips for its prevention measures.

Treat your Credit Card as your Cash
Always think of your credit card as a sum of cash that you hold it with you. For instance, set an appropriate amount of money that you can use on your credit card. Once it reaches the limit which you have preset, cease using the credit card. Also, every time you swipe your credit card, think of how many pieces of “imaginary” cash notes is gone and how many is left in your credit card. This way, you will have a better idea of how much you have spent and how much is left for you to spend.

Control Yourself
You should know your own ability to afford for certain items. The expenses you spend monthly should not exceed the amount of your income. If ever you have the urge to buy something which is out of your budget, think twice, and analyze whether it is really needed or not. You should be able to stay conscious and control your own buying desire before things are too late: feeling regret of bringing unwanted things home.

Good Finance Management
A well management of your finances will prevent you from getting loaded with credit card debts. You should determine your own monthly budgeted expenses and follow closely to your budget. The budget should only include the expenses for your daily necessities and perhaps some extra money for you to satisfy your shopping desire. However, this should not be an opportunity for you to spend excessively by swiping your credit cards. With a proper management of finances, you would not face the credit card debts problem at all.

Related Links:-
Credit Card Debt Resources
Credit Card Debt

Electronic currency

Electronic currency is also known as e-money or electronic money, digital cash or digital currency. It can be explained as the act of users buying goods through the internet. The money can be only be exchanged electronically. Usually, this will involve the use of computer networks, internet, and digit value systems. These institutions became popular in the 1980s among domestic right-wing extremists. By using e-currency, it provides some of the benefits and disadvantages to the users.

Advantages of Electronic Currency Payment System
By using e-currency, it will be safe from natural disasters like tsunami. It is because there is no physical currency. Base on the records from various servers, the restoration of the record is very simple.

Electronic currency payment can also easily replace the cheque book. The online payments are definitely far more easier and secured compared to paper transfer of money. It can save plenty of time because users do not have to queue up and wait at the bank.

Above and beyond that, the holders will not have to fear or worry about robbers as and when they are dealing with the physical cash for depositing and withdrawal purposes.

The privacy and confidentiality of the customer’s information will be protected by the usage of the electronic payment system.

Disadvantages of Electronic Currency Payment System
Electronic currency is facing a lack of records and difficulty to determine the identity that receives the money. As a result, the fraudster can easily carry out illegal activities over internet such as money laundering and etc.

Moreover, peer to peer double spending is also one of the significant disadvantages. Only when the consumer uses a peer-to-peer transaction, does the drawback surfaces. The bank is able to check the serial number of each coin in a transaction against its database of spent coins, and if the coin has been spent, the transaction will be denied.

Apart from that, let us introduce the many types of electronic currency that are in existence: click and buy, peppercoin, digicash and etc.

Click and Buy














Click and buy is one of the payment systems on the internet. About 26 countries have more than 14,000 merchants benefit from this complete service. It eases users in buying and selling online. Click and buy internet payment and billing system are one of the market leaders in whole of Europe. Normally, it is used by msn, Skype, ScanDisk, Apple iTunes, and etc.

Peppercoin

In the light of the current events, Chockstone had announced that it has acquired Peppercoin, which is a provider of card-based merchant loyalty programs and related consulting services. In order to tie customer loyalty programs to credit and debit cards at the point of sale, leading restaurant brands used the Peppercoin’s PCI-compliant services. Peppercoin also develops and markets an innovative suite of products and services for processing the payments to increase the revenue through the sale of low-priced offerings.
Related Link:-
Peppercoin acquired by Chockstone


DigiCash
DigiCash is another type of electronic currency. DigiCash Inc. was a pioneering corporation which is founded by David Chaum in 1990. However, it was declared bankruptcy in 1998 and the assets were sold to eCash Technologies. DigiCash allows consumers to make any amount of anonymous payment against other e-cash schemes. DigiCash will become more innovative and transform the online incentives into powerful new tools, establishing a strong, high-value connection between ecommerce companies and consumers.

Other Related Links:-
The New Money
Major e-micropayment vendors
GIST ABOUT E-CURRENCY SYSTEM

Mobile Payment Systems in Malaysia: its potentials and consumer adoption strategies

“Maxis FastTap”
On 9th April 2009, the world’s first contactless mobile payment system service which is named as “Maxis FastTap” has been launched in Malaysia, together with partners Nokia, financial services companies Visa and Maybank as well as Touch ‘n Go card. “Maxis FastTap” is an integrated mobile payment service which uses near field communication technology (NFC). It offers high levels of interoperability between devices and readers and it enables a mobile phone to be integrated with a wide range of features that allows credit card, debit card, ticketing and transportation payments.

Customers who sign up for Maxis FastTap are able to use their Nokia 6212 classic phones to buy goods and services at more than 1,800 Visa payWave merchant locations, pay for transit, toll, parking charges at more than 3,000 Touch ‘n Go points nationwide. With all prominent leaders in their field (Maxis, Nokia, Visa, Maybank & Touch n’Go) colllaborating for this new technology, certainly there is a great potential to explore a new commercial market that will spur the e-commerce industry in Malaysia.

Related link:
‘ World's first contactless mobile payment system’ launches in Malaysia


“Mobile money” (MM wallet)

MM wallet, on the other hand, is another mobile payment system which has been in the market for several years. Mobile Money is the pioneer of mobile payment using mobile phone in Malaysia. MM wallet allows its users to conduct transactions via short messaging service(SMS) by a 6-digit security PIN authorization using a mobile phone. Users could send cash to anyone, pay merchants, buy iTalk card, Celcom, and Maxis reload cards, pay utility bills simply by replying to an authorization PIN to make payment. Currently, the participating banks for MM wallet are Hong Leong Bank and Bumiputra Commerce Bank.

These mobile payment systems certainly have great potentials in Malaysia. As the targeted customers for these services are mobile phone subscribers and there are approximately 16 million mobile phone users in Malaysia, it is inevitable that it has vast market potentials in Malaysia. Plus, it brings convenience at our fingertips. This is the case especially when consumers are in need of cash but doesn’t have any in hand, therefore with mobile payments they do not need to even search for an ATM machine to withdraw money for making payments. In addition, mobile payment system also allows buyers to pay merchants for online order without disclosing their credit card details, thus increasing security of data and removing initial trust barriers between merchants and consumers. Through all these potentials, it leads to higher customer satisfaction and therefore creates an increasing trend of using mobile payment systems in Malaysia.

How to get more people to adopt this payment system?

1) Publicize this practical payment solution. Emphasize on the convenience it brings to its users as well as enlightening people on its functions and how it can be used in their daily lives.

2) Alliance with more banks and merchants to enable more consumers to benefit from the service. For instance, if a shopper intends to pay using mobile money (MM wallet), he/she must have either a savings, current or credit card account with the participating banks.

3) Enhance the payment security protection for its users to boost their confidence in using mobile payment system. For instance, a strong pin fraud protection system and prevention of password hacking system are crucial to secure the reliability of this system.

4) Continuous improvement of the system helps to secure customers’ loyalty and satisfaction.

5) Reduce transaction fee of such payment system.

Related link:
Mobile Money (MM wallet)