My previous blog post about the Ruby Card prompted some discussion about the benefits of prepaid cards when the fees associated with administering the card can be very high. On most of the cards, you pay to load your card with money and you pay when you make a purchase.
The Dublin City Gift Card recently came to my attention. This Prepaid MasterCard was launched on December 02 2009 by the Dublin City Business Association and is operated by Zapa through MasterCard. This card makes a great alternative to the existing prepaid cards as it does not have any surcharges or monthly fees.

The card can be purchased at Ticketmaster kiosks in St Stephen’s Green, Dundrum and Jervis shopping centres, and also at a booth in the Powerscourt Townhouse Centre. Late last year we reported that Ryanair were dropping Visa Electron as their free payment method and replacing it with Prepaid Mastercard. At the time there were no free prepaid cards in the Irish Market but the Dublin City Card will allow consumers to avoid transaction charges when booking flights with Ryanair.

Dave

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Ruby Card was recently launched in Ireland by Tuxedo Money. This prepaid MasterCard can be used worldwide anywhere that accepts MasterCard. This includes using the card in ATMs to withdraw cash. The main selling point for the card appears to be accessibility, Ruby Card does not require you to have a bank account, nor are their any credit checks. You can put money onto your card via bank transfer or else at PayZone locations throughout Ireland.

I am not entirely sure who the Ruby Card is aimed at. Perhaps people who have issues controlling their spend with a credit card or people who have security concerns about using credit cards online or maybe it is people with credit problems who are unable to get a credit card. There are a number of providers who already operate in prepaid credit/debit card space such as 3V, Perfect Card and Payzone, so there must be a market for this type of card/service.

There are a considerable amount of fees associated with the Ruby card but at least they are clearly outlined on their site. Examples of some of the fee's include €1 per minute if you check your balance via phone, 95c a minute if you call their sales line and 3% if you put funds on your card via PayPoint. Depending on which plan you choose there is either a fixed monthly fee (€6 per month) or else you pay a transaction fee when you make a purchase (2.95% subject to a minimum of 75c and a maximum of €2).

The Ruby Card includes an eccount which is described as a secure online wallet. One of the features is you have your salary lodged direct to the eccount. Maybe it is just me but I don't really get why someone would use a service like this. You pay to put money in and you pay to take it out. I suppose I must not be the type of person they are aiming it at.

Ruby Card are making good use of social media for their launch and marketing. They are using Twitter, Facebook, Blogging, a photo competition and a bingo game on Twitter. As well as building their brand they will also need to build trust if they want people to start using their eccount as an online banking solution.

Do you use any of these prepaid card solutions or know people who do? What are the main reasons you choose these over other forms of credit and debit cards?

Dave

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