Prepaid365, the UK’s leading dedicated prepaid card comparison site, announced the winners of the Prepaid365 Awards 2014 sponsored by Optimal Payments, recognising best in class prepaid providers across various niches including Travel, General Spend, Money Transfer, Gaming, Online Shopping, Rewards and Youth, across the UK and beyond.

Launched in 2009, the 6th Edition of the Prepaid365 Awards saw over 574,000 consumers vote for 158 products and providers, across 20 consumer prepaid categories and 2 business prepaid categories over a 3 month period. The 6th edition was unique as external judges were used to judge the business categories for the very first time.

Divya Sharma, Marketing and PR Director at Prepaid365 commented “I am delighted and honoured to be able to introduce this year’s winners at the Prepaid365 Awards. These providers capture the power, vision and innovation within the prepaid industry and I would like to thank all the entrants for creating such wonderful prepaid propositions that inspire consumers and their existing customers to vote for them in their thousands.

To our sponsors – Optimal Payments, Veritas, ClearCash, Emotion Associates, PaymentsGuru and PrepaidEye – I would like to thank you for your wonderful support of the Prepaid365 Awards; you make it possible for us to reach the widest audience possible and continue to educate and raise awareness of the prepaid proposition.”

Winners at the Prepaid365 Awards 2014

  • Best Prepaid Card Overall
Virgin Prepaid MasterCard
  • Best General Spend Prepaid Card
Net+ Prepaid MasterCard
  • Best Moneyshare Prepaid Card
Veritas Card
  • Best Gaming Prepaid Card
Net+ Prepaid MasterCard
  • Best Travel Prepaid Card
Travelex Multi Currency Cash Passport
  • Best Corporate/Payroll Prepaid Card
Babelmoney Prepaid Card
  • Best Privacy Prepaid Card
Net+ Prepaid MasterCard
  • Best Youth Prepaid Card
STA ISIC Cashcard
  • Best Gifting Prepaid Card
Amazon e-Gift Card
  • Best Online Shopping Prepaid Card
Pockit Prepaid Card
  • Best Unbanked Prepaid Card
Ukash Prepaid MasterCard
  • Best International Prepaid Card
PCS MasterCard Infinity
  • Basic Bank Account with Prepaid Card
Tuxedo eccount money
  • Best Incentives/Rewards Prepaid Card
Ffrees Family Account Prepaid Card
  • Best Free Prepaid Card
ICE Travellers Cashcard
  • Best Newcomer Prepaid Card
Euro Currency Card by easyJet
  • Best Prepaid Card Design
AiroPayCard Prepaid Card
  • Best Prepaid Card Website Design
my Travel Cash
  • Best Prepaid Marketing Campaign
Fisher Price Prepaid Gift Card
  • Best Prepaid Innovation
EE Cash on Tap
  • Best B2B Provider – Small Programmes < 10k Cards
WEX Europe
  • Best B2B Provider – Large Programmes > 10k Cards
Payment Card Technologies

For a full list of winners and runners up, please visit the Prepaid365 Awards website at https://www.prepaid365awards.co.uk/winners/2014-winners/

Samuel Mond, Managing Director of ClearCash Limited comments “Kudos to the Prepaid365 team for assisting in promoting the whole notion of prepaid, still a sector that isn’t highly promoted within financial services. After winning various awards since 2009, ClearCash are delighted with these accolades and gives more determination to improve the product as well as assist our cardholders to give them financial peace of mind as well as participate in various social media activities that we carry out. We look forward to entering in to the 2015 awards!”

Amit Sharma, CEO and founder of the Prepaid365 Awards and payments industry expert, commented that “there is nothing quite like a vote of confidence from consumers who have first-hand experience of using the wonderful prepaid propositions developed by this illustrious list of winners. It is heartening to see a number of newcomers make an instant impact in consumer hearts and minds amongst some seasoned veterans, who continue to set the benchmark and raise the standard higher each year.

The prepaid industry has never been in a healthier state and that can only continue to deliver more competition, innovation and added value to consumers. It is really exciting to see the pace at which the prepaid industry is growing and at Prepaid365, we undoubtedly have the best seat in the house.”

Prepaid365 is the UK’s leading prepaid card portal online to review, compare and buy prepaid cards representing an encyclopaedia of information on prepaid cards, providers and all things prepaid. Visit http://www.prepaid365.com to review and compare prepaid cards for consumers and businesses across various categories including Money Transfer, Travel, Gaming, Shopping, Payroll and Expense management, Privacy, Gifting and Business.

What the Winners Said

  • Danny Chazonoff, Chief Operating Officer, Optimal Payments said “We are honoured to be recognized at this year’s Prepaid365 Awards. Our commitment to innovative product development is unrivalled in the industry and the recognition of our Net+ Prepaid MasterCard is a testament to the strength of our product offering.”
  • Noel Moran, CEO at Prepaid Financial Services said “PFS are delighted to win 6 different categories at this years Prepaid365 awards. This is the 4th year in a row where our products and programmes have been recognised. The winning programmes cover 5 different countries which shows how far prepaid and PFS have expanded in the last few years. It is always great to be part of these awards and we look forward to competing again next year”.
  • Greg O’Gorman easyJet’s Head of Partner Marketing said “We’re delighted to have been awarded the ‘Best Newcomer’ title for The Euro Currency Card by easyJet. Thousands of customers have chosen the card since its launch last May. It offers real savings with no ATM or transaction fees and the added peace of mind of Visa Chip and PIN security, making it a popular choice on easyJet.com. We’re thrilled to be recognised by Prepaid365 for our commitment to providing travellers with an easy, secure and affordable way to spend money in Europe.”
  • Myles Stephenson, CEO of my Travel Cash, said: “Consumers independently judge the Prepaid365 Awards, so to continue to receive such recognition from the public is phenomenal. From improving first impressions to ensuring customers can top up and track spend with ease, we have heavily invested in enhancing all areas of www.mytravelcash.com. The website was completely revamped with a cleaner layout, strong inspirational imagery, clearer more relevant content and responsive design for a great experience on any device. We also simplified the order process to speed up the process of applying for a card and re-launched our login area for a more intuitive experience. Our cards are only available for purchase online and customers manage their cards online so our website is key to the experience our customers have. This award demonstrates that we’ve achieved our goal in creating a first class online experience for our customers coming to the my Travel Cash website.”
  • John Sharman, CEO of Tuxedo Money Solutions, said: “It is a great honour for us to accept these awards. The Prepaid365 Awards are well respected within the industry and voted for by our customers. It is fantastic to see Tuxedo’s continual commitment to improvement and innovation in the development of payment technology recognised among our peers; and by the very people who use our services. It’s already been an exciting year for Tuxedo with the opening of our first satellite office in Australia and the announcement of our global deal with STA Travel to implement our prepaid travel programmes across the globe. These awards are a very welcome addition to a successful 2014.
  • Miranda McLean, Marketing Director at Ukash commented: “We are very proud to be recognised as the Best Unbanked Prepaid Card provider at the Prepaid365 Awards 2014. The win is all the more meaningful because, being based on the votes of consumers, we believe it demonstrates the real value of our proposition.  The overriding aim of Ukash is to enable social and financial inclusion for those who either cannot access conventional banking services or do not wish to share their personal details online and the Prepaid365 Award reflects our success in achieving that goal.”
  • John Natalizia, Director of Product Strategy and Operations at Virgin Money said “To receive the accolade of Best Prepaid Card Overall in the Prepaid365 Awards is just fantastic. This award is voted for by consumers, so that makes winning even more special for us. At Virgin Money we are continuing to build a range of products and services that offer choice and value for money for the customer, and to be named winner of Best Prepaid Card Overall helps to demonstrate that we are doing just that.”
  • Alex Letts, Chief Executive, Ffrees Family Finance stated “It is inherent in Ffrees’ philosophy that the products we create are always built first and foremost with the customers in mind. It is really encouraging that our customers are pleased with what we are trying to do and have voted for us. We know that we are by no means perfect so their support at this stage of our effort is gratifying. The task is now to strain every creative sinew to continue to out innovate the industry with relevant, customer-centric services and experience.”
  • Paul Swinton, CEO at Payment Card Solutions, commented “Myself and the team are delighted that once again Payment Card Solutions has been recognised for its achievements.  Coming runner up for best B2B provider for large programmes is a huge achievement.  During the forthcoming months we will be looking to create a similar awareness and recognition for our Bread4Business Prepaid Card program which is aimed at a variety of industries as an alternative way to manage and report their corporate expenditure.”
  • Virraj Jatania, one of the founders and a director of Pockit, said “We are delighted to have won the award for best online shopping prepaid card, which follows on from our success last year when we were named best newcomer. We have some exciting plans for Pockit this year which will bring even more benefits to the increasing number of customers who are using our card for shopping online and on the High Street.  This latest award recognises our commitment to giving our customers maximum value, great discounts and cashback on their purchases when they shop online.”
  • Philip Hanson, Products & Marketing Director at Travelex, stated “We are thrilled to have won the award for best travel prepaid card and to be acknowledged again at the Prepaid365 Awards by our customers.  As the world’s leading foreign exchange specialist, Travelex has a strong track record of finding innovative ways to help people spend and send money abroad, so we were delighted to receive the award for our Multi-currency Cash Passport. A special thank you to all our customers who took the time to vote.”
  • Stuart Fullarton, Director at Travel Welfare, stated “We are very proud and honoured to have been recognised by the industry and consumers for the Innovation involved in designing and building the Travel Welfare system. This recognition is a testimony to all the hard work and dedication put in by all those involved with getting the Travel Welfare solution to where it is today and an incentive to continue to evolve and innovate.”
  • Tom Johnson, Head of Online Business at ICE, said “The ICE Travellers Cashcard was developed with the customer at the heart of the proposition. Our focus is providing travellers with easy and secure access to currency which is why our Euro and US Dollar ICE Travellers Cashcard products have no fees attached when a customer initially loads £700 or more. To pick up awards two years running at the Prepaid365 awards says a lot about the value consumers place on the ICE Travellers Cashcard. It is particularly gratifying to see that customers recognise the additional benefits we offer such as free Family cards and 1.5% cashback on point of sale purchases. The competition in these categories was tough making this win an even more significant achievement.”
  • Philip Aim, Director & General Manager of Creacard SA, commented “We are very proud to have won the Prepaid365 Award for Best International Prepaid Card for the second year in a row. This time our PCS Infinity MasterCard was the winner in this highly competitive category. We would like to thank our card holders, distributors and points of sale for their loyalty and express our appreciation for their dedication and support. This award means a lot as it is the result of consumer votes who in choosing PCS Infinity MasterCard validate the efforts of our team to provide great products, with extensive functionalities at affordable pricing. In 2014 we launched two new PCS products – PCS Infinity MasterCard and PCS Chrome MasterCard to complete our PCS product offering that now fully caters to the needs of the most discerning buyers. Innovation and improvement are two of our mantra’s. By the end of this year we will launch additional services such as a mobile application to even further enhance user friendliness. Thank you.”
  • Myles Stephenson, Managing Director of WEX Europe said: “It is fantastic to once again be recognised as the top B2B prepaid card provider for small programmes. We work tirelessly to develop our corporate payment solutions and to help our clients transform the management of their payments with employees, suppliers and customers. This year we have particularly focused on the travel sector developing an effective and innovative solution, which has benefited customers greatly, through automation, reconciliation and cost reduction. This award is fantastic recognition that we are delivering solutions that are not only making a positive impact on our clients’ businesses but are recognised by industry peers as best in class.”
  • Ian Clowes, CEO at Payment Card Technologies stated “We are very proud to be the  winner for the best B2B prepaid of large schemes.  PCT has worked to  grow both its own reputation and that of the industry through innovation and top quartile service to  its clients.  It is great to  be recognised for all our efforts and we  look forward to  building on our strong position within the industry.”

ENDS

For further information, please contact Prepaid365/Emotion Associates Limited:

Prepaid365 – The Prepaid Card Comparison Portal
Prepaid365 is the UK’s leading prepaid card portal online to review, compare and buy prepaid credit cards representing an encyclopaedia of information on prepaid cards, providers and all things prepaid.

The annual Prepaid365 awards, launched in 2009, recognise best in class prepaid propositions and prepaid card providers voted for by consumers and Prepaid365’s subject matter experts, respectively with the awards being based on various factors including application process, card design, fee structure, features, functionality, added value and feedback from customer, customer services and the prepaid industry. Visit Prepaid365 to find out more about the awards and this years’ winners at http://www.prepaid365.com or visit the dedicated Prepaid365 Award website at https://www.prepaid365awards.co.uk

Prepaid365 is a trading name of Emotion Associates Limited – UK Registration Number: 06964513

Contact Details:

Emotion Associates Limited – Dedicated Prepaid Marketing Consultancy
Emotion Associates Limited was founded by Amit Sharma, a Senior Marketing professional and prepaid industry consultant who worked for some of the largest prepaid card providers in the UK Industry.

A dedicated marketing consultancy exclusively serving the prepaid card industry in the UK, Emotion specialise in producing tailored campaigns to define, launch and market prepaid cards with two goals in mind: Acquisition  and Branding.

With extensive experience in all areas of marketing to include Search Engine Optimisation (SEO), Pay Per Click (PPC), Display Advertising, Affiliate Marketing, E-mail Marketing and the Social Media marketing mix as well as consultancy services around offline Marketing and Retail Channel Development, Emotion Associates are the specialist experts to help set your product apart in an extremely congested UK market with over 200 prepaid card providers making it increasingly difficult for those prepaid card providers to get their message and unique value proposition across.

Emotion Associates aim to increase visibility and awareness of your brand and find the most cost effective mechanism to convert that Awareness, into Interest, Desire and ultimate Action (AIDA). Find out more at http://www.prepaid-marketing.co.uk

Contact Details:

Source: http://www.prepaid365.com/2014/05/11319/prepaid365-awards-2014-winners-announced/