Mirror Group Newspapers (MGN) teams with PrePay Technologies to launch prepaid Maestro card

11 October 2006

Mirror Group Newspapers (MGN) today announced an exclusive partnership with PrePay Technologies Ltd. to offer readers of the Daily and Sunday Mirror the Quidity™ card – a pay-as-you-go prepaid Maestro® card designed for those who want visibility, autonomy and control over their spending with the convenience associated with a top-up card.

The Quidity™ card enables users to securely load money onto the card through a network of 34,000 Post Office and PayPoint locations within the UK in a fashion similar to a pay-as-you-go mobile phone top-up. Once loaded, the Quidity™ card is accepted wherever the Maestro® or Switch® acceptance marks are displayed and can be used to buy in-store, on the phone, via the internet or as a cashcard at ATM machines worldwide.

The Quidity™ card is not linked to a credit scoring process, and allows users to avoid the hassle of opening a bank account, whilst providing all the benefits associated with plastic payments. In addition to usage across multiple channels and multiple retailers worldwide, the Quidity™ Card also reduces exposure to card fraud and eliminates the risk of going overdrawn as users control how much money is put onto the card.

Philippe Dufour, CEO of PrePay Technologies, comments: “We are delighted to have partnered with MGN in delivering this ground-breaking initiative to its readers. Being at the forefront of the prepaid solutions industry, we will continue to work with them to maximise the benefits offered by the Quidity™ Card to their readers. We look forward to delivering additional value to them through our stored-value card programmes in the future.”

Kerry O’Connor, MGN’s Business Enterprise Director, comments: “The Quidity™ card is a significant addition to our Financial Services business and brings to our readers the convenience of plastic but without exposure to debt. It will further allow our readers to confidently exploit the advantages of web-based shopping without the risks of card fraud. Our unique pricing policy also significantly reduces the costs of using a prepaid card compared to many other offerings. We feel this is a timely and beneficial addition to the services we offer our readers.”

The Quidity™ Card is available to readers from 23rd October 2006 and is offered free of charge until the end of this year if the initial load value exceeds £20. It is operated by PrePay Technologies Ltd, the market leader in Stored Value Card Solutions, under its 360money prepaid portfolio

MGN joins a growing number of Blue Chip clients including Debenhams, COMET, Ticketmaster, Clydesdale Bank, Laura Ashley, Western Union, ACCOR, Arcadia Group and the Grass Roots Group who are benefiting from the portfolio of prepaid solutions designed and delivered by PrePay Technologies Ltd.

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