Making Payments Safe

The prepaid market is one of the world’s fastest growing non-cash payment methods as more and more businesses discover prepaid products for payroll and promotion, and find it is safe and efficient.

Once regarded mostly as tools for unbanked consumers, prepaid products and online accounts have entered the mainstream. Online-only accounts today compete with current accounts of traditional high street banks, and prepaid cards are seen as a safer and cheaper alternative to cash and cheques, as well as a safe tool to control spending. The founders of PayMix realised early that this finance segment had huge expansion potential. They invested significantly in the development of their own corporate and consumer portal to achieve their vision of becoming one of the leading European online account and card payment providers for corporate customers. Offering additional co-branding solutions to non-financial companies and businesses, PayMix is well on its way to becoming a trusted partner of the business community.

Exclusively Online

Licensed as a financial institution by the Malta Financial Services Authority, PayMix offers online business and consumer accounts as an alternative to a traditional banking account. Customers can affect SEPA payments and other international payments in Euro through the SWIFT network, receive payments and make account-to- account transfers. The Business Account can also be used as a payroll solution, thus providing businesses with the opportunity to cut payroll processing costs.

Partnering with MasterCard

Moreover, customers can apply for a MasterCard corporate and personal prepaid card and instantly load funds from their business and personal accounts to their prepaid cards. Corporate customers can apply for multiple corporate cards for their employees to pay for business-related expenses. “On the other hand, consumers also have the option to have their card attached to their personal account. This means card payments will be deducted directly from the personal account, and the consumer does not need to pre-load the card,” PayMix Chairman Michael Franz explains.

Many merchants and retailers also like to sell their own branded prepaid cards to boost customer engagement and brand loyalty. Non-financial companies can tap into PayMix’ co-branding programme. “The co-branding partner can customise the prepaid cards’ design and logo and use the card as an additional promotional tool,” Michael Franz highlights. PayMix offers a safe turnkey solution as its portal is already integrated with a card processor, counter-part banks, payment gateways and other payment service providers. PayMix also manages the day-to-day operations of the co-branding programme, including a 24/7 customer support for lost and stolen cards.

Security Matters

When PayMix was set up in 2014, security was part of the basic blueprint. “PayMix has proven fraud and payment security tools in place, including 3-D Secure, security code verification, encryption and multiple firewalls, as well as real-time transaction monitoring. Our fraud team works 24/7 to ensure customer security,” CEO Ivan Isola says. PayMix ambition for the next two to three years is to become autonomous by developing and maintaining all solutions in-house. “This will enable us more flexibility to customise solutions to meet client needs and, more importantly, guarantee a reliable service,” the CEO adds.

Digital Shift

Prepaid cards are often regarded as a stepping-stone from traditional to digital payments. Highlighting that traditional card payments will continue to be in the value chain for the foreseeable future, Michael Franz says, the industry will slowly shift towards digital alternatives. “To manage this shift, we are committed to maintaining a consumer-centric mindset while ensuring that our solutions are delivering convenience and security,” Ivan Isola says.