Tebca and Servitebca win on PayBefore Awards 2008
for Bonus Alimentación and Plata Servitebca programs

Plata Servitebca is Latin America's first network branded general purpose prepaid card targeted to meet the needs of unbanked and underserved individuals. After three years on the market in Venezuela, the number of cards in consumers' hands is approaching a quarter million. And, if Anabel Pérez, CEO of NovoPayment, Inc., the program manager, has her way, it won't be long until every one of Venezuela's 13 million-plus low income, economically active adults is a cardholder. The card provides a way, she says, to empower people and change lives.

April 2008. Plata, as the card is known, is analogous to "bucks" in English and, according to Pérez, the name makes it clear that the purpose of the card is to replace cash. The card, which is branded with MasterCard, Maestro or Visa, is issued by Servitebca, Servicio de Transferencia Electrónica de Beneficios, C.A.

The program launched in 2005 to address the economic reality that approximately three out of four Venezuelans operate in an all-cash environment because their low incomes make them unattractive candidates for banking services. Many of the individuals in this category hold temporary or informal jobs such as street vendors, housekeepers, or cab or bus drivers, according to NovoPayment. Pérez adds that despite the patchwork of employment, these people—as a group—represent 45 percent of the domestic purchasing power in Venezuela. Providing them with services can be a profitable venture, she says.

But achieving profitability relates to scale, and achieving scale means getting Plata cards into people's hands and building repeat usage. Those goals have given Plata its focus to achieve success:

• Accessibility. The card and related services must be available in locations that are convenient for the target audience and at times that meet the unpredictable schedules of bus drivers, waiters and others who work long or nontraditional business hours.
• Affordabililty. The cost of the card and using card-based services must be affordable to the target customer base in accordance to their incomes.
• Infrastructure. The card and related services must conform to the infrastructure that is familiar to the target customer base.

Consistent with this focus and based on the input of prospective card users, Servitebca designed its program to be feature rich and widely available.

In addition to basic card functionality, including purchasing and ATM access, the Plata card's transaction set includes peer-to-peer transactions from one Plata card to another, using SMS; remittances; balance inquiries at ATMs, telephone, Internet and SMS; reloading at point-of-sale devices; and automated utility bill payments.

Plata cards are available directly from Servitebca through Plata kiosks and money centers, located in offices of Venezolano de Crédito Bank, which serves as the BIN sponsor for the program. The cards also can be reloaded at these locations. In addition, cards can be purchased and reloaded at a variety of commercial locations in subway stations and other transportation corridors, as well as in small stores throughout the country such as bakeries and drug stores.

For many users, these cards are the first and only payment medium they've ever had besides cash and represent the first step in creating a cash-flow history and financial identity.

To further expand awareness, distribution and use of Plata cards, NovoPayment, Servitebca and Venezolano de Crédito Bank have established strategic alliances with the business community. This has resulted in the expansion of the Plata card to support a wide variety of additional applications including paying wages, pensions, incentives, sales commissions and bonuses. The card also can cover travel and sales expenses, and provide employees access to cash. Many businesses use the card for procurements and petty cash, while others have introduced Plata-based loyalty programs and gift cards.

Starting in late 2006, Servitebca launched large scale co-branding programs, which maintain the features and functionality of the underlying Plata card but add an extra service dimension.

An alliance with EDC, a major energy supplier, enables low-income consumers to pay their energy bills automatically, every time they reload funds. As a result, EDC realized a significant drop in overdue bills, NovoPayment reports. And cardholders, 85 percent of whom are women, are more confident that their electrical service will not be turned off because of late payment. "Maintaining electrical service is important to women", Pérez explains. "They are in charge of the family's food, and not having electricity puts that food at risk."

A program with Movilnet, an affiliate of CANTV, the national telecommunications company of Venezuela, seeks to replace disposable prepaid cards—widely used in Venezuela—with the reloadable Plata card to prepay mobile balances. With Plata, Movilnet has reduced distribution costs significantly by offering customers who prepay their mobile phone bills the convenience of being able to buy airtime via Internet or text message, 24 hours a day.

With the support of an extensive, multiphased rollout, including significant educational initiatives and advertising support, the Plata card is gaining traction. The first phase positioned the card as a secure, reliable and reloadable prepaid card. The second phase stressed key benefits, using testimonials. The third phase emphasized locations where the card can be purchased and used, reloading capabilities and the benefits of the co-branding programs.

At the end of the third quarter of 2007, the Plata cards were being used more than 400,000 times each month.

It's a start, says Pérez. The numbers are important, but what is even more important is the human factor. "Our cardholders belong to a new society of payments. We have listened to our customers and done a good job. We are proving that we can build a sustainable business serving the underbanked community".

Source: PayBefore.com