Tuxedo your money

Silo Breaker – Tuxedo adds Gary Palmer to the board

21.12.07

Gary Palmer, one of the biggest names in the US prepaid market, will be joining the board of Tuxedo Money Solutions, the UK’s leading prepaid card provider, as a non-executive director at the start of 2008.

Palmer founded the US company WildCard Systems in 1997 and as CEO steered the company to become the market leader in prepaid MasterCard, Visa and Discover branded cards in both consumer and corporate markets.

The prepaid card market in Britain is expected to mirror an explosion in the US, where the market will generate about $1.8 billion in revenues by 2009, up from about $0.5 billion in 2005. In the last three months, Tuxedo have seen a 400% increase in spending on prepaid cards by their customers in Britain, with a five-fold increase in purchases using the cards over the same period.

In addition to his experiences at WildCard Systems, Palmer has an extensive background in sales, marketing and operations management from his experience in both the retailing and hospitality industries.

Immediately prior to joining WildCard Systems, Palmer was an executive at Circuit City’s Florida Division, a unit that generated over $400 million in annual revenues. Before that, Palmer was regional director of sales & marketing for one of the largest and fastest growing privately held hotel companies in the U.S.

Palmer is a frequent speaker at conferences associated with emerging electronic payment technologies, web-based payment applications and prepaid financial products.

He serves on the board of directors of the Electronic Funds Transfer Association and holds a BS in Marketing from the University of South Florida.

Finextra.com – Tuxedo adds Gary Palmer to the board

21.12.07

Gary Palmer, one of the biggest names in the US prepaid market, will be joining the board of Tuxedo Money Solutions, the UK’s leading prepaid card provider, as a non-executive director at the start of 2008.

Palmer founded the US company WildCard Systems in 1997 and as CEO steered the company to become the market leader in prepaid MasterCard, Visa and Discover branded cards in both consumer and corporate markets.

The prepaid card market in Britain is expected to mirror an explosion in the US, where the market will generate about $1.8 billion in revenues by 2009, up from about $0.5 billion in 2005. In the last three months, Tuxedo have seen a 400% increase in spending on prepaid cards by their customers in Britain, with a five-fold increase in purchases using the cards over the same period.

In addition to his experiences at WildCard Systems, Palmer has an extensive background in sales, marketing and operations management from his experience in both the retailing and hospitality industries.

Immediately prior to joining WildCard Systems, Palmer was an executive at Circuit City’s Florida Division, a unit that generated over $400 million in annual revenues.

Before that, Palmer was regional director of sales & marketing for one of the largest and fastest growing privately held hotel companies in the U.S.

Palmer is a frequent speaker at conferences associated with emerging electronic payment technologies, web-based payment applications and prepaid financial products.

He serves on the board of directors of the Electronic Funds Transfer Association and holds a BS in Marketing from the University of South Florida.

Financial Mail – Tuxedo ties up card cash

16.12.07

Pre-pay card group Tuxedo Money Solutions, which owns Diamond brand, has raised £8.5 million extra funding after sealing a deal with a Dutch investment firm.

Chief executive Mark Simon said Tuxedo had raised about £5 million of the total from the management of the company, which is chaired by co-founder Ali Sarikhani along with an anonymous private investor.

The other £3.5 million comes from Dutch company Reggeborgh Group, which is controlled by the wealthy Wessels family.

Pre-pay cards do not allow users access to credit but can be ‘loaded’ with cash and used in the place of credit cards or cash for purchases in store and online.

The cards can also be used to transfer money overseas since the money loaded on to them is accessible to duplicate cardholders in various locations abroad. For this reason the cards are popular with migrants.

There are about 250,000 pre-pay card users in Britain and Tuxedo claims it is one of the largest issuers.

Simon said Tuxedo would use the money to boost its customer service operation and technology systems.

The Sun – WAY HEY IT’S PREPAY!

25.11.07

Solely photo based piece.

Marketing Week – Looking a gift card in the mouth?

15.11.07

Card Calibre The term ‘prepaid card’ is an umbrella definition that refers to all cards that are pre-loaded with value. Unlike credit cards, the user can only spend up to that value. As well as gift cards, the prepaid card market covers travel money cards, prepaid debit cards, expense cards and even transportation cards such as Transport for London’s Oyster Card.

On the surface there seems little to separate them. However, most retailer gift card programmes are “closed loop” which means that the retailer issues the card and redeems it: the customer cannot spend the money elsewhere. “Open loop”, or network branded cards, are cards that can be spent with a number of different merchants because the cards are issued and redeemed using the open payment network such as MasterCard or Visa. “Controlled” or “restricted” loop cards also use the open payment network but redemption is restricted to selected merchants, which makes them ideal for shopping centres.

Tuxedo extract – Mark Simon, chief executive at Tuxedo Money Solutions, candidly that even though network branded cards are “big business in the US”, It could be hard persuading UK retailers of the benefits. “Plastic gift cards have worked well, but retailers need to recognise that there is much more they can do with plastic – but to do this we have to demystify and explain the advantages” he says.

“For example, a gift card may have, say £50 worth of prepaid vouchers stored on them – but what benefit does the retailer gain from this after the vouchers have been spent? With a cash card the cash equivalent could be used to open an account with the retailer so they could actually begin to form a relationship with the customer as opposed to providing a one-off transaction.”

Several companies, including shopping centres such as Trafford Park in Manchester, are testing the waters and have reported favourable consumer response to the branded restricted loop cash cards.

Marketing Week – Barclays unveils gift cards before Christmas

15.11.07

UK banking giant Barclays is hoping to cash in on Christmas by launching a series of pre-paid gift cards.

Barclays is thought to be the first major high street bank to launch cards aimed at the gift market. A spokesman says the product is aimed at customers who want to give a "flexible" gift for birthdays, Christmas or other occasions.

The card can be loaded with any sum between £10 and £300 and is valid for up to two years. They can be personalised with the recipient’s name and a choice of six designs and messages including Happy Birthday, Merry Christmas, Congratulations and Thank You.

They can be used at shops, restaurants and on websites that accept Visa Electron. Barclays product director for current account and savings Andrew Jones says the cards will prove popular because they are more flexible than vouchers and "safer" than cash, as cards can be cancelled and replaced if stolen.

The gift cards can be bought over the phone or online at www.barclaysgift-card.co.uk. The UK pre-paid gift card market is growing rapidly following the launch of pre-paid debit cards from MasterCard and Visa. However, much of the pre-paid activity has been focused on non-banking brands such as wedding retailer Confetti and media brands including FHM and TalkSport.

In September, Britain’s best-selling daily newspaper The Sun launched a pre-paid MasterCard with specialist company Tuxedo (MW September 10).

www.discovermsm.co.uk – MSM HELPS DELIVER THE SUN PREPAID MASTERCARD

November 2007

Exeter based software development and support company MSM (Management Systems Modelling) has played a key role in delivering The Sun Prepaid MasterCard AE – an innovative top-up as you go card based banking solution from Tuxedo Money Solutions. Last year Tuxedo, a market leader in prepaid cards, enlisted the expertise of MSM to work as their strategic partner; their brief was to develop a bespoke software solution to create a secure banking platform, to achieve a simple, flexible way to spend, share, receive and withdraw money in the UK and worldwide.

MSM specialises in custom software development and bespoke systems support and boasts a track record of delivering 98% of projects on time and on budget with a focus on making software investment work. It has an impressive client list including National Trust, NHS and Teletext. The fast-growing software house expanded 32% last year and has offices in London, Bristol and Exeter.

The contract awarded to MSM was worth nearly £400,000. Colin Loubser Chief Operating Officer at Tuxedo said: “We were impressed by MSM’s professionalism from the outset. “They certainly rose to the challenge, completing the project on time and within budget.” Thomas Coles, MD of MSM, explained: “Our team has worked hard to deliver the project on time and within budget. This was absolutely essential for Tuxedo to meet The Sun Prepaid MasterCard AE launch date.”

Press business – THE SUN launches pre-paid cash card

November 2007

The British tabloid newspaper, THE SUN, is launching a prepaid MasterCard in association with Newcastle Building Society and Tuxedo Money Solutions. It is claimed that the card has been created to help readers combat the growing problem of debt.

It is strictly pay as you go, allowing users only the funds they have loaded onto the card and are thereby unable to go into the red. THE SUN is targeting readers who are prevented from opening traditional bank accounts or using credit cards due to poor credit ratings.

Apparently the newspaper is spending around GBP 1 million (EUR 1.5 million) on promoting the card over the next 10 months. The card can be used anywhere in the UK and around the world, including online, and at places carrying the MasterCard sign. The cost is GBP 6.49 (EUR 9.57) or the card can be obtain free at over 2,000 Barclays Bank branches, PayPoint outlets in the UK, or online at www.thesunprepaid.co.uk

Card World – Tuxedo launches its eccount

30.10.07

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Va Voom! – Welcome to New member - Tuxedo Money Solutions

October 2007

Tuxedo Money Solutions burst onto the prepaid card market earlier this year and has been making waves with its innovative products ever since.

Launched by the team that successfully developed the leading prepaid telephony business Alpha Telecom earlier in the decade, the first product from Tuxedo was the Blue Diamond Maestro card which launched in March of this year and was aimed towards the 6 million people in the UK without bank accounts.

Last month, Tuxedo Money Solutions joined forces with The Sun, Britain’s biggest selling newspaper, to launch a co-branded “pay-as-you-go” Master- Card helping readers, among other things, “combat the growing problem of debt”. The card can be used at over 25 million locations anywhere in the UK or around the world and has already proved a huge success with Sun readers.

The deal between Tuxedo Money Solutions and the Sun marks the beginning of a new era in the profile and role of prepaid cards in Britain with other significant deals imminent. It is part of an ongoing strategy by Mark Simon, the CEO of Tuxedo, to lead the prepaid card market through the adoption of clearly explained, highly valuable card programmes – these incorporate hi-tech cards with co-brand partners across a wide range of sectors including media and leisure. Simon has been given over £5m of shareholder capital and charged by the Board to lead Tuxedo in becoming the number one provider of pre-paid offerings in the UK. Simon recognised that having a prepaid offering is becoming an essential part of intimate consumer marketing, given the variety of applications that it lends itself to - from loyalty and affinity marketing through closed loop and gift cards. Through Tuxedo’s relentless focus on brand values and customer relationship systems, the company is now the ideal partner for companies wishing to develop co-branded prepaid offerings.

With the recent credit squeeze and rise in interest rates predicted by experts, Simon has recognized prepaid cards are being considered as the mainstream alternative to credit and debit cards. They are seen as the next step toward a cashless society where using plastic instead of cash is a safer way for children or vulnerable adults to carry money. Recent figures forecast that Europeans are expected to spend €75 billion using prepaid cards by 2010, representing 2.3 billion transactions per annum – an increase of 110% per year over the next five years.

For more information on Tuxedo Money Solutions, visit www.tuxedomoney.com

City A.M. – Oh brother! Or how Simon mark II is set to lead the pre-paid credit revolution.

19.10.07

His older brother is known for his truculence but Tuxedo chief Mark Simon is a far more conciliatory soul. He tells Ainsley Thomson the secrets of his business success.

ACCORDING to Mark Simon, chief executive of pre-paid credit card company Tuxedo, openness and communication are the attributes most needed to succeed in business. “My guiding principles in running a company are openness, honesty and unfailing communication,” he says. “I demand that of the guys who work for me and I deliver it, I hope, to shareholders.” It therefore comes as a surprise when Simon says one of his biggest inspirations has been his older brother Peter — the founder of high street clothing chain Monsoon and the man infamous for his fractious relationship with the City. Over the years, Peter Simon — who once colourfully dismissed the concept of corporate governance — has developed a reputation, for showing little regard for openness and communication. The younger Simon has little of his brother’s natural wariness of publicity. Throughout our interview the 46-year-old sticks to his mantra of openness and is happy to answer most questions. The only exception is when the questioning touches on his new company’s finances — a topic which causes him to adopt tactics more familiar to his brother. He is also quick to defend his brother, who last month succeeded in taking Monsoon private after four years of trying, saying he has huge respect for his desire not to engage with the City.

SIBLING SUPPORT
“I think communicating with your shareholders as a principle is absolutely vital,” he says. “However, if you own the majority of the company, the onus of corporate governance falls back on one’s self. My brother controlled 80 per cent of that business. I am hugely respectful of that.” Simon says he has learned other valuable lessons from watching his brother, such as creating a powerful brand identity and maintaining strong leadership. He is using those lessons in his new venture. Four months ago, the Oxford graduate took over at Tuxedo, a private company started in March last year with the express purpose of becoming the market leader in the pre-paid credit card market. “I’m desperately excited about what we’re doing,” he says of Tuxedo. “Pre-paid credit is already taking off as a market, but I think that in 2008, it will explode. “This Christmas and next Christmas, prepaid will establish itself as a means of payment, alongside credit and debit cards.” Tuxedo, which was founded by Iranian born businessman Ali Sarikhani and two other unnamed investors, has just completed a fundraising round in which it raised £8.5m to finance expansion. “Happily, our three investors have deep pockets,” says Simon who hopes the company will break even next year.

CREDIT WHERE IT’S DUE
This February, Tuxedo released its first batch of pre-paid Maestro credit cards, which sell for £9.95 at around 3,000 British retailers. To date, about 10,000 cards are in use. It has also released a number of other pre-paid cards, including its latest venture with the Sun newspaper, sales of which are three-times ahead of projections. The company makes its money through the fees customers pay to use the cards. The cards are “stored value” and have no credit facilities, which means customers can only spend money they have previously loaded. Simon says the biggest users of the cards are the 42 per cent of the British population who have compromised credit or no credit at all. “People increasingly don’t want to have credit,” Simon says. “This is all tied-up with the sub-prime market and a general feeling that we have exposed ourselves too much on credit. “You hear tragic stories about people who have credit card bills that they are unable to deal with.”

A NEW DEMOCRACY
Simon says pre-paid cards provide an chance for people to manage their money by simply spending what they have. “It also gives people the ability to use Mastercard or Maestro card without having a bank account, because that is clearly an issue for some people.” Simon believes his penchant for openness and communication will be at the crux of making the business succeed. “What I think is vital for this industry is for companies like Tuxedo to explain it and to make it simple for people to understand, adopt, and use,” he says. “We are trying to democratise the use of plastic for payment.”

PAST IMPERFECT
Simon’s openness includes discussing his past. He speaks frankly of his time in charge of ComMedica, a software firm spun out of Imperial College, which went into liquidation in 2006. “I ran that business for five years, during which time we grew to 108 people and we won the largest contract ever for diagnostic software. All of that was great, except the client was the Department of Health. The NHS IT programme is a very difficult place to work.” The company was forced into liquidation after it was ditched from the National Health Service’s £6bn information-technology programme, a process that Simon describes as a “tragedy”. “It was a lesson to me that you deal with the government at your peril,” he adds. Simon also has 12 years experience working for computer giant IBM. “I had, dare I say it myself, a very successful IBM career,” he reflects.

At 29, Simon became the youngest branch manager in Europe, before being assigned to the company’s corporate headquarters in New York. “IBM came close to collapse in the early 1990s, and it was a very exciting time to work there. I learned a lot about what can go wrong even in the biggest and most well-planned organisations,” he says. Simon believes his background of corporate and entrepreneurial experience is perfect for his role at Tuxedo, which brings him to another lesson he has learned from his big brother. “Over 34 years at Monsoon, my brother has learned the importance of bringing together a really good management team.

The measure of success is the team you build around you,” he says. Simon says the two brothers keep their businesses separate — neither invest in each other’s companies — but the support and inspiration is always close at hand. “I’m very proud of what my brother has created and I’m very proud of what we are trying to create here,” he concludes.

How Big Brother Did It: Peter Simon

LAST month, after four years of trying, Peter Simon, the founder and chairman of Monsoon, finally won his battle to take the clothing chain private.

The return to the private realm is the latest chapter in the Monsoon story, which began in 1973 when Simon set up a stall selling hand-printed clothes from Rajasthan and shaggy coats on London’s Portobello Road. The stall was a success and in May that year he opened his first store in Knightsbridge. In 1984, Simon added the Accessorize brand to the portfolio and two years later the group opened its first overseas store. The retailer operates 858 stores, 453 of them outside Britain.

PRIVACY ISSUES

In 1998, Simon took the company public, first floating on the main market of the London Stock Exchange before moving to the Aim market. During Monsoon’s ten years as a public company, Simon made numerous attempts to take the company private, but was continually thwarted by American fund Polygon. However, the fund has agreed to Simon’s latest offer of 424p a share. Recently, despite hiring actress Liz Hurley and model Helena Christensen to model its clothes, Monsoon has struggled. Sales for the first 17 weeks of the financial year to 22 September were 2 per cent down overall, with like-for-like sales down by 9 per cent.

Andre Bischoff appointed CEO at Tuxedo Money Solutions.

October 2006

Andre Bischoff, formerly of Union Bank of Switzerland and Alpha Telecom, has joined the board at Tuxedo Money Solutions as CEO. In spring 2006 Bischoff was asked to take a look at Tuxedo business on behalf of the main shareholder Chiltern. He liked the concept and the management team but considered it carried a fair degree of risk. He agreed to an initial $10,000,000 funding package before deciding to take an active role in the company, aiming to push the company forward during its launch period as head of b2b relations.

Talking retail.com – The Sun-Tuxedo prepaid MasterCard launches with PayPoint

18.09.07

The Sun, Britain’s best selling daily newspaper, and Tuxedo Money Solutions, a leading programme manager in prepaid cards have launched a co-branded ’pay-as-you-go’ MasterCard with PayPoint, the UK’s leading convenience retail bill payment network.

The Sun–Tuxedo card pack will be advertised through The Sun newspaper and also at www.thesun.co.uk

The pack will include a welcome letter, paying-in book, user guide and the card itself for only £6.49.

For launch, the card will also offer £5 cash back on the first load of credit (minimum £10) – making the effective price of the first pack only £1.49. With the incentive of cash-back when a consumer tops up for the first time, Tuxedo is expected to create an early impact.

PayPoint has been chosen as the exclusive electronic top-up partner enabling consumers to top-up their The Sun-Tuxedo Prepaid MasterCard at over 17,500 outlets nationwide. PayPoint retailers will earn 1% commission on all top-up transactions.

Mike Igoe, PayPoint Retail Director commented: “The introduction of another new scheme to the PayPoint service is indicative of the range and breadth of the PayPoint offer. PayPoint is constantly looking at new ways to drive traffic into our outlets and with a well supported campaign through The Sun and Tuxedo, this will be further good news to our retailers.”

Campaign Magazine – The Week: Media News – Sun MasterCard launched

14.09.07

The Sun has launched a branded pre-paid MasterCard in partnership with Tuxedo Money Solutions.

The card enables users to "top up as they go" for free at PayPoint facilities across the UK, by bank transfer, by credit/debit card or via direct salary payments, as well as in bank branches on the high street. In March 2008, an undisclosed top-up charge will be introduced.

Marketing Week – Gyro gets go-ahead for Tuxedo card

13.09.2007

Gyro International, the inte¬grated agency, has been app-pointed to handle the advertising for Tuxedo Money Solutions, the prepaid card company. The agency won the business after a five-way pitch against undis¬closed agencies.

Its first task is to create the launch advertising for the new Sun-branded card, announced earlier this week. The campaign will include marketing and promotions in the newspaper, and support across its digital, web and mobile properties.

Tuxedo chief executive Mark Simon expects market¬ing might of The Sun and its cross-platform capabilities to develop the fledgling UK pre-paid market. It is the first co-branded card launch from the company.

It will rival the Mirror’s existing Quidity prepaid debit card. The card is not attached to a bank account and can be loaded with cash through PavPoint and Post Office outlets across the UK, wage transfers, credit or debit cards online and bank transfers.

Gyro will also work on other Tuxedo business, with the card company expected to launch a number of high pro¬file co-branded cards in com¬ing weeks. It has been tasked to design and develop the Tuxedo brand.

The card company was founded by entrepreneur Ali Sarikhani, who launched Alpha Telecom, and former Alpha group marketing direc¬tor Colin Loubser. Earlier this year, Tuxedo appointed Total Media to handle its media planning and buy¬ing account (MW March 22).

Ukfinancialoptions.co.uk – Sun Prepay Card Launched

September 2007

In what it said is a venture to help its readers cope with their rising debt problem, The Sun newspaper announced plants to launch a pre-pay MasterCard. Like all pre-pay cards, the Sun card will enable readers to spend only as much money as they load onto it.

The Sun is working in partnership with two other organisations: Newcastle Building Society and Tuxedo Money Solutions. The pre-pay card will be targeted to Sun readers who have poor credit histories, making them ineligible for regular credit cards, or who cannot open traditional bank accounts.

The pre-pay card can be topped up without charges until March 2008. Topping up can be done at PayPoints outlets, by transfer from your bank account, or from wages. There was no mention of the fee for top-ups after the March promotions period.

You pay £6.49 for the card, and you’ll get a £5 cashback when you load the first £10 onto the card. Transactions are also subject to charges. For withdrawals from cash machines, there is a 1.5% charge (with a minimum 99p and maximum £1.50 charge), while for purchases, it is 2.95% (minimum 50p and maximum £1.50).

A pre-pay card gives you the convenience of a credit card, but you cannot overspend with it. The transaction fees can make the pre-pay card expensive.

PayPoint.co.uk – The Sun –Tuxedo prepaid MasterCard launches exclusively with PayPoint

12.09.07

The Sun, Britain’s best selling daily newspaper and Tuxedo Money Solutions, a leading programme manager in prepaid cards have launched a co-branded ‘pay-as-you-go’ MasterCard® with PayPoint, the UK’s leading convenience retail bill payment network.

The Sun–Tuxedo card pack will be advertised through The Sun newspaper and also at www.thesun.co.uk. The pack will include a welcome letter, paying-in book, user guide and the card itself for only £6.49. For launch, the card will also offer £5 cash back on the first load of credit (minimum £10) – making the effective price of the first pack only £1.49. With the incentive of cash-back when a consumer tops up for the first time, Tuxedo is expected to create an early impact.

PayPoint has been chosen as the exclusive electronic top-up partner enabling consumers to top-up their The Sun-Tuxedo Prepaid MasterCard® at over 17,500 outlets nationwide. PayPoint retailers will earn 1% commission on all top-up transactions.

Mike Igoe, PayPoint Retail Director commented: “The introduction of another new scheme to the PayPoint service is indicative of the range and breadth of the PayPoint offer. PayPoint is constantly looking at new ways to drive traffic into our outlets and with a well supported campaign through The Sun and Tuxedo, this will be further good news to our retailers.”

Finextra Communities – The Sun Newspaper launches a prepaid MasterCard

11.09.07

The news headline that caught my attention this morning is the launch of a Prepaid MasterCard by the Sun. For those who are unfamiliar with the UK newspaper, it is the most widely circulated with over three million copies distributed to almost eight million readers, most of whom are interested in headlines such as “Freddie Starr ate my hamster” and the scantily clad females that adorn it’s colourful pages.

The prepaid card deal is that you buy the card for £6.49, and get £5 back when you top-up the first time with £10 or more. It also has a line that you can use it wherever you see the MasterCard sign, “that’s over £25million locations” I think they left the £ in by accident as they can see the £ signs illuminated by offering this to their unbanked and mass audience.

In fact, this is quite a bold and innovative move as I’ve been saying for a while now that prepaid is a major untapped market opportunity which will be worth over €80 billion by 2010, and the Sun is the first major non-bank I’ve seen targeting this opportunity. So good for them.

Meanwhile, my last blog on this area finished with the line “that prepaid cards appeal mainly to young, single guys who want to download without giving away their bank details. Now what would I want to download anonymously as a young, testosterone-charged male?” I think the editor of the Sun must have read this as their audience fits this profile perfectly.

CardWorld – Sun Newspaper launches pre-paid MasterCard

11.09.07

- Piece inaccessible to non-subscribers,

Marketing Week – Barclays unveils gift cards before Christmas

September 2007.

Paybefore.com – World’s Largest English-Language Daily Paper Launches Prepaid Card

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Myfinances.co.uk – The Sun launches pre-payment MasterCards

11.09.07

The Sun is launching a pre-payment MasterCard in association with Newcastle Building Society and Tuxedo Money Solutions.

The newspaper claims the ’pay as you go’ payment card will help readers "combat the growing problem of credit".

The card can be topped up at PayPoints across the UK with no charge until March 2008, by bank transfer or directly from wages. Charges for PayPoint top-ups from March have yet to be disclosed.

The card costs £6.49 with £5 cashback returned when the first £10 is loaded on the card.

Withdrawals from cash machines come with a 1.5 per cent charge (99p minimum, £1.50 maximum) and purchases are charged at 2.95 per cent (50p minimum, £1.50 maximum). Non UK ATM withdrawals come with a standard £2.25 fee.

Last October, the Daily Mirror launched its own pre-pay card, Quidity. Tesco is also thought to be launching a similar card.

Media Week – The Sun launches prepaid card

10.09.07

LONDON - The Sun has joined up with Tuxedo Money Solutions to offer its readers a prepaid MasterCard in a move that it hopes will increase reader loyalty and rival The Mirror’s prepaid offering.

Users will be able to load money onto the Sun Tuxedo from a number of pay-in locations, using a concept similar to pay-as-you-go mobile phone top-ups.

The newspaper claims that the card, which comes with a chip and pin, also allows those unable to open a bank account, or who wish to hold their funds separately, to benefit from all the functions of a plastic card. Sun readers applying for the Sun Tuxedo card will receive a welcome letter, a pay-in book, a user guide and the card itself, all priced at £6.49. However they will receive £5 cash-back on the first load, making the effective price £1.49.

Richard Davis, The Sun’s relationship marketing manager for Sun Money, admitted to launching the card in a bid to take on The Mirror’s prepaid Maestro card, The Quidity, which launched last October.

“We’re launching in direct competition to the Mirror and offering our readers a much better deal. We’re hoping that the Sun Tuxedo will create a greater loyalty with The Sun brand,” he said.

While the prepaid market is relatively new in the UK, Virgin and Tesco have already launched cards, and forecasts indicate that prepaid card usage will increase 110% in Europe over the next five years.

The two companies are sharing the costs of the offer and all advertising relating to the product will be co-branded. According to Tuxedo CEO Mark Simon, the deal with the Sun is worth £1m in adverting over the year.

“We chose The Sun because they are unrivalled in ability to speak to the British customer. It’s the country’s largest newspaper which places them in a privileged position to demystify the prepaid offering,” he said.

Tuxedo, which was founded last year by a group of pay-as-you-go telecom entrepreneurs, is planning on spending £5 million over two years advertising its prepaid solution through its brand agency Gyro International, which is looking after all its media planning and marketing efforts.

BRAND REPUBLIC – The Sun launches pre-paid cash cards

10.09.07

LONDON - The Sun newspaper has moved into finance with the launch of its own pre-paid MasterCard, in partnership with Tuxedo Money Solutions, a pre-paid cash card company.

The card enables users to "top up as they go", which The Sun said will assist its readers with their "everyday retail and financial needs". The chip-and-pin card can be topped up for free at PayPoint facilities across the UK until the end of March 2008, or by bank transfer, by credit/debit card or with direct salary, as well as at high street bank branches. After March there will be a charge, undisclosed by Tuxedo at the moment.

The Sun will market the new card across its newspaper and website. It will cost £6.49 to sign up for the card but consumers receive a £5 cash-back incentive.

Mark Simon, chief executive of Tuxedo Money Solutions, said: "The Sun card will change the way people think about pre-paid credit cards and management of their money as it offers security, convenience and importantly protection from credit risk.

Another part of Rupert Murdoch’s media empire, BSkyB, introduced a branded credit card in 2005 that could be used via the second card slot in its digital boxes.

The Sky Card can now be used for everyday shopping, with consumers collecting Sky points each time they swipe. Users can use the points to receive rewards such as a discount off their Sky TV bill or broadband connection.

Finextra.com – The Sun launches pre-paid card

10.09.07

UK tabloid The Sun has teamed with Tuxedo Money Solutions to launch a pre-paid, pay-as-you-go, chip and PIN MasterCard.

The daily red-top is marketing the card to its readers across the newspaper and Web site as an easy way to manage money and avoid overspending.

The card can be topped up free-of-charge at PayPoint facilities until March 2008, and at high street branches, by bank transfer, credit or debit card, or directly from the salary or benefits of users.

Customers can use the card over the Internet and abroad, with access to 1.3 million ATMs and 25 million merchants around the world.

Readers of The Sun who apply for the MasterCard will pay £6.49 and receive a pay in book, a user guide, a card personalised in their name and £5 cash-back on their first load.

Mark Simon, CEO, Tuxedo Money Solutions says: "The Sun card will change the way people think about pre-paid cards and management of their money as it offers security, convenience and importantly protection from credit risk."

Mad.co.uk – The Sun launches pre-paid MasterCard

10.09.07

The Sun newspaper has entered the financial services world today, with a branded pre-paid MasterCard.

The chip and pin card has been launched in association with Tuxedo Money Solutions and will be run as a “top up as you go” service for over 18s.

The Sun-Tuxedo Pre-paid MasterCard can be topped up for free at PayPoint facilities across the UK until end March 2008, and free at 2,000 high street bank branches, or by bank transfer, credit/debit card, or with direct salary or benefits.

The new card will be promoted in the tabloid newspaper and on its website, enticing readers to sign-up for £6.49.

However, customers will receive a £5 cash-back on the first purchase, effectively making the cost £1.49.

Mark Simon, chief executive of Tuxedo Money Solutions, said: “The Sun card will change the way people think about pre-paid cards and management of their money as it offers security, convenience and importantly protection from credit risk.”

Pre-paid cards are enjoying a sustained period of growth across Europe and figures from Payment Systems Europe suggest there will be some 2.3 billion pre-paid card transactions in Europe by 2010, equating to more than £50.7billion.

The newspaper has enjoyed sustained circulation growth throughout the summer, helped by a series of price-cuts and promotions.

In last week’s ABCs it kept above the 3 million mark after circulation rose 0.93 per cent to 3,158,045.

Money Observer – Sun to launch MasterCard

10.09.07

The Sun is set to announce today that it is launching a pre-paid MasterCard so its readers can "help combat the growing problem of debt".

The pre-paid MasterCard is strictly pay as you go - meaning readers can only spend money that they have loaded onto it.

The card will launch will a marketing push in association with Newcastle Building Society and Tuxedo Money Solutions, which said the card would help readers "combat the growing problem of debt".

"The reason we looked to the Sun is that they have a very loud voice in the market place and can help probably more than any other media to explain this product to their readers," said Mark Simon, the chief executive of Tuxedo Money Solutions.

The Sun and Tuxedo hope to target readers that are unable to open traditional back accounts or use credit cards due to poor credit ratings.

"It’s our belief that News International chose a pre-paid card to give opportunities to their readers in the subprime marketplace," Mr Simon said.

Pre-paid cards can be more expensive to use than other forms of credit and debit cards, but users cannot run up debts on them.

The Sun is spending the equivalent of £1m over the next 10 months promoting the venture. "It is very much central to the Sun strategy of relationship marketing," Mr Simon said.

The Sun launch follows the Daily Mirror’s pre-paid card Quidity, which launched last October.

Tesco is thought to be planning to launch its own prepaid card in association with the Royal Bank of Scotland.

The Sun-Tuxedo can be topped up at PayPoint facilities, some high street bank branches and also electronically.

The card cost £6.49 and Sun readers will received a £5 cash-back on the first load.

The Sun – Best Prepaid Card under The Sun

10.09.07

We’re all looking for hassle free ways to handle our money – so your favourite Sun has come up with the perfect plastic solution.

The Sun Prepaid MasterCard gives you complete control of your finances. You can use the card anywhere inh the UK or around the world, including online, where you see MasterCard acceptance mark – that’s over 25million locations.

The card costs just £6.49 and when you first top it up, with £10 or more, you even get £5 cash back.

It’s so fleible, it’s like having you bank account in the palm of your hand. You can have your wages paid onto it, share money abroad with friends and family at competitive exchange rates and withdraw up to £500 a day from ATMs.

It can be Topped-up for free at over 2,000 High Street Bank branches, 17500 PayPoint locations nationwide, Bank Transfer or online at www.thesunprepaid.co.uk – whatever is most convenient for you.

Media Guardian – Sun to launch MasterCard

10.09.07

Sun MasterCard: aimed at helping readers ’combat the growing problem of debt’.

The Sun is set to announce today that it is launching a pre-paid MasterCard so its readers can "help combat the growing problem of debt".

The pre-paid MasterCard is strictly pay as you go - meaning readers can only spend money that they have loaded onto it.

The card will launch will a marketing push in association with Newcastle Building Society and Tuxedo Money Solutions, which said the card would help readers "combat the growing problem of debt".

"The reason we looked to the Sun is that they have a very loud voice in the market place and can help probably more than any other media to explain this product to their readers," said Mark Simon, the chief executive of Tuxedo Money Solutions.

The Sun and Tuxedo hope to target readers that are unable to open traditional back accounts or use credit cards due to poor credit ratings.

"It’s our belief that News International chose a pre-paid card to give opportunities to their readers in the subprime marketplace," Mr Simon said.

Pre-paid cards can be more expensive to use than other forms of credit and debit cards, but users cannot run up debts on them.

The Sun is spending the equivalent of £1m over the next 10 months promoting the venture.

"It is very much central to the Sun strategy of relationship marketing," Mr Simon said.

The Sun launch follows the Daily Mirror’s pre-paid card Quidity, which launched last October.

Tesco is thought to be planning to launch its own prepaid card in association with the Royal Bank of Scotland.

The Sun-Tuxedo can be topped up at PayPoint facilities, some high street bank branches and also electronically.

The card cost £6.49 and Sun readers will received a £5 cash-back on the first load.

Paybefore.com - World’s Largest English-Language Daily Paper Launches Prepaid Card

September 2007.

Article unavailable to non-subscribers.

Press Gazette – Sun launches Mastercard

07.09.07

The Sun revealed it is to launch a prepaid MastCard so its reader can “help combat the growing problem of debt.” The pay-as-you-go card is aimed at people who aree unable to open bank accounts or use conventional credit cards because of poor credit ratings. It follows the launch of the Mirror’s pre-paid card Quidity last October.

CITY A.M. – CITY MOVES: WHO’S SWITCHING JOBS

23.07.07

Tuxedo Money Solutions

Mark Simon, has become CEO of Tuxedo Money Solutions, a pre-pay credit card provider based in the City. Simon was formerly the youngest ever IBM branch wealth manager in Europe and brings a wealth of experience.

Finextra.com – Tuxedo Money Solutions names Mark Simon CEO

05.07.07

Tuxedo Money Solutions, growing fast in the emerging pre-paid card market, has been boosted with the appointment of Mark Simon as CEO.

Tuxedo, which is privately owned, and chaired by Ali Sarikhani, founder of Chiltern plc ,appointed Simon last week to succeed founding CEO Andre Bishoff who stepped up to Non Executive Director to give him time to pursue new initiatives.

Mark Simon, who joins immediately, was IBM’s youngest ever Branch Manager in Europe in 1991, and later Executive Assistant to the Global Head of Sales and Service at IBM’s Corporate HQ in the USA, before co-founding his own business in financial services application software. Backed by 3i plc, the business grew successfully before being sold in 2000.

Between 2000 and 2006 Simon held the post of CEO of ComMedica, a spin out of Imperial College London, which under his leadership won the largest contract ever awarded for the delivery of diagnostic imaging software.

Finextra.com – Tuxedo Money Solutions names Mark Simon CEO

22.03.07

Total Media has been appointed to handle the £3m media business for pre-paid debit card Tuxedo Blue Dia¬mond, which is being launched this week and is aimed at the immigrant market.

The agency will handle media planning and some buying for the company, which is also seeking an agency to handle its brand and digital advertising work.

Immigrants to the UK will be able to use the Blue Dia¬mond debit card, which is supported by Mastercard debit brand Maestro, without needing to open a bank account. Customers will be able to top up the card with cash at branches of Barclays Bank and the Post Office.

Tuxedo, the company behind the card, has been launched by entrepreneur All Sarikhani, who founded Alpha Telecom, and former Alpha group marketing direc¬tor Colin Loubser.

Tuxedo is also planning to launch a range of financial services, including mortgages, for the immigrant market.

Loubser says the card will be available to buy at 25,000 stores - including those in the PayPoint network - by July and online. It will cost £9.95.

The card will work at nearly all ATM machines at a cost of up to £1.50 each time. It is planning to promote the card at key immigrant arrival points in the UK, such as rail stations, airports and in on-flight and in-travel media on planes, trains and coaches.

There will also be cam¬paigns across Eastern Europe, including Poland, which has a high percentage of migrants to the UK.

The Independent On Sunday – Debit cards on offer – no bank needed

18.03.07

Immigrants to the UK will be able to use a debit card without the need to open a bank account.

Tuxedo, a new company set up by Ali Sarikhani, the entrepreneur who founded Alpha Telecom, is to launch a new "Blue Diamond" debit card supported by Mastercard.

Immigrants and others among the six million people in the UK who do not have a current account will be able to top up the card with cash at branches of Barclays Bank and the Post Office.

The card can also be used to transfer money overseas and the backers of Tuxedo hope to undercut traditional wire companies such as Western Union and MoneyGram.

The Blue Diamond card will be heavily marketed at key immigrant arrival points in the UK such as Victoria bus station in London. It will also be advertised in places such as Poland and Bulgaria - countries of origin to huge numbers of immigrants to the UK. It is estimated that 1,000 economic migrants arrive in the UK from Eastern Europe every day.

The card will work at nearly all ATMs at a cost of up to £1.50 each time. It will be sold at shops and will cost £9.95. The card will be free to pay for goods in stores and its founders claim it can be used in nine million locations in over 100 countries.

Holders of the Blue Diamond card will not be required to have a bank account and will not be subject to credit checks.

Mr Sarikhani was born in Tehran but moved to the UK in 1979. He grew Alpha Telecom from a £6m business to a £60m company in 18 months before selling it in 2003. He is also a Labour supporter and donated £10,000 to the party in 2001.

The Observer – Business & Media – Cash on cards for migrants

18.03.07

A new company plans to make money from economic migrants arriving in Britain by providing them with a debit card that can be used to withdraw cash from foreign bank accounts.

Tuxedo Money Solutions, which is backed by Ali Sarikhani, a British businessman born in Iran, is about to launch the product, called Tuxedo. It can also be loaded up in exchange for cash paid in at leading banks and building societies, and then used to purchase goods and services throughout the country. Cardholders can use it as a cashpoint card to withdraw money from ATMs.

It is backed by Maestro, a division of Mastercard, and licensed by the Financial Services Authority. Tuxedo intends to hand out application forms for the card at towns and cities where immigrants arrive. It will target eastern European workers and those from further afield, including the Indian subcontinent and the Far East. Many are paid in cash and find it difficult to open UK bank accounts, or are reluctant to do so - partly because some want to avoid tax.

Tuxedo will charge a small fee for each transaction. It claims that the average migrant has an annual disposable income of around £5,000. Around 4.9 million people born overseas live in the UK, although the card will be aimed at the minority who have arrived recently.

Net immigration is about 130,000 per year according to the government, but the true figure is probably far higher.

The Mail on Sunday – The Labour donor… and the cash card that will help immigrants transfer up to£5.6bn a year out of Britain

18.03.07

Immigrants are being offered cash cards by a Labour donor hoping to profit from a rush by workers to transfer billions of pounds out of the UK.

Iranian-born Ali Sarikhani, a friend of Tessa Jowell's husband David Mills, has set up the Tuxedo Blue Diamond card for people without bank accounts who have money to send abroad to friends or family.

Cash 'loaded' on to the cards will be accessible to duplicate cardholders in 900 locations across 100 countries worldwide.

But the launch of the scheme raises fresh doubts over the Government's claims that immigration boosts the country's gross domestic product by £4billion a year.

An annual £5.6billion worth of funds is transferred by immigrants out of the country, according to figures provided by the Department For International Development.

Andrew Green, of MigrationWatch UK, said: "The main beneficiaries are the immigrants, who are able to send home about £10million a day, not the host nation. It is a loss when that money leaves and we have to buy foreign capital to make it up. Freedom of movement of capital is right and proper but it is a loss that is often overlooked."

The new cards will be sold on buses and even ferries as migrants enter the country looking for work. Tuxedo is investing £5.1million in the scheme, advertising across a range of ethnic TV channels and in publications across Asia and Eastern Europe as it targets the lucrative immigrant market.

Migrants will be able to load their cards with up to £2,500 and then pay bills with the card, withdraw cash, send up to £200 a day abroad or order duplicate cards to be used for withdrawals by friends and family from cash machines abroad.

To set up a Tuxedo card, a UK-based customer need only provide a photocopy of a passport of any nationality. No bank account or credit check is required.

Mr Sarikhani and his fellow directors hope to make money by selling the cash cards for £9.95 and charging up to £1.50 in the UK for cash machine withdrawals and £2.25 abroad. Purchases with the card have a 2.95 per cent fee.

The 61-year-old businessman is a non-executive chairman of Tuxedo Money Solutions and donated £10,000 to Labour in 2001. A trained chartered accountant, he made his fortune in tax consultancy.

He and Tuxedo's chief executive officer, Andre Bischoff, were also involved in a successful buyout of Alpha Telecom, which has a lucrative share in the pre-paid telephone market favoured by immigrant workers in the UK.

Mr Sarikhani became a British citizen at the age of 23 and lives in a mansion close to Hampstead Heath in North London.

He became friends with Mr Mills when his company Edasco acquired CMM Corporate Services which was then run by the Culture Secretary's husband.

The Sunday Times – New smart card called Tuxedo

18.01.07

A PREPAID banking and money-transfer card aimed specifically at recent immigrants will be launched this week. Tuxedo, a creation of the original management and backers of the Alpha Telecom prepaid phone-card company, will serve as a cheap bank account and money-transfer service once it is loaded up with cash. The card will cost £9.95, and holders will be able to give a matching card to family or friends overseas, allowing them to make cash withdrawals or pay for goods without having to spend on money transfers.