Winners Announced at Epic 2012 Prepaid365 Awards

LONDON, June 13, 2012 /PRNewswire/ --

Prepaid365, the UK's leading prepaid card comparison portal, announced the winners of the 4^th Edition of the Prepaid365 Awards sponsored by T24 Prepaid with consumers across the UK voting for their favourite prepaid cards across different categories such as Travel, Everyday Money, Money Transfer, Payroll, Gaming, Online Shopping and Youth.

The Prepaid365 Awards were launched in 2009 and the 4^th edition of the awards witnessed 86 providers competing across 22 different categories. The 2012 edition received a tremendous response with over 345,000 consumers voting to decide the destiny of the awards.

Divya Sharma, Marketing and PR director at Prepaid365and prepaid marketing consultancy Emotion Associates, commented: "The response to the 2012 Prepaid365 Awards was of truly epic proportions. We had 37,000 responses in 2011, which was great, but with over 345,000 validated responses having been received across emailed surveys and social media, the 2012 edition of the awards represents by far the most comprehensive consumer endorsement for prepaid card providers.2011-12 may have seen a consolidation and shrinkage of the prepaid card industry with a number of programme managers and  prepaid card providers  disappearing from the marketplace but in terms of consumer awareness, interest and usage of  prepaid cards  - the market has grown in leaps and bounds and the response to the awards this year has been staggering indeed."

Winners on the night included

    
    Best Prepaid Card Overall                  -    Virgin Pay As You Go Prepaid Card
    Best Newcomer Prepaid Card 2011-2012       -    Orange Cash
    Best General Spend Prepaid Card            -    Net+ Prepaid MasterCard
    Best Travel Prepaid Card                   -    Caxton FX Global Traveller
    Best Unbanked Prepaid Card                 -    Cashplus Prepaid Gold MasterCard
    Best Privacy Prepaid Card                  -    Virgin Pay As You Go Prepaid Card
    Best Gaming Prepaid Card                   -    Net+ Prepaid MasterCard
    Best Payroll Prepaid Card                  -    Cashplus Prepaid Gold MasterCard
    Best Incentives/Rewards Prepaid Card       -    Virgin Pay As You Go Prepaid Card
    Best Youth Prepaid Card                    -    Splash Plastic Prepaid Card
    Basic Back Account with Prepaid Card       -    Cashplus Prepaid Gold MasterCard
    Best Online Shopping Prepaid Card          -    Virgin Pay As You Go Prepaid Card
    Best Free Prepaid Card                     -    Net+ Prepaid MasterCard
    Best Gifting Prepaid Card                  -    Apple iTunes Gift Card
    Best Moneyshare Prepaid Card               -    Lycamoney Prepaid Card
    Best International Prepaid Card            -    T24 Black Prepaid Card
    Best Prepaid Card Innovation               -    MoneyCorp Explorer Prepaid Card
    Best Prepaid Marketing Campaign            -    Travelex Royal Wedding Cash Passport
    Best Prepaid Card Website                  -    my Travel Cash Prepaid Card
    Best Prepaid Card Design                   -    Spark Prepaid Card
    Best Programme Manager - Small Programmes  -    Prepaid Financial Services
    Best Programme Manager - Large Programmes  -    Prepaid Financial Services

Philip Meyer, Managing Director of Transact24 Ltd, said: "We are delighted to have done so well in this year's prestigious Prepaid365 Awards. The achievement is a great testament to the expertise and enthusiasm of the T24 team who have played a major role in bringing the innovative T24 Black product to a discerning market.  The T24 Black VISA Prepaid Card represents true value, rolling up the benefits of premium travel insurance as well as priority pass membership. Secure and reloadable, this is the ultimate high end credit card alternative."

Rupert Lee-Browne, Chief Executive at Caxton FX commented: "At Caxton FX, we pride ourselves on delivering innovative, great value products and the very highest standards of customer service. We're delighted, therefore, that - for the fourth consecutive year - consumers have recognised these dual benefits through this award. The Prepaid365 Awards provide an all-embracing, robust and impartial benchmark across the burgeoning prepaid sector and have become one of our core measures of the overall customer experience. Ultimately, we're in the business of helping people enjoy a great travel experience - this award proves demonstrably that our customers feel we're succeeding."

Amit Sharma, CEO and Senior Prepaid Consultant at Prepaid365 and founder of the Prepaid365 Awards,  commented that "We launched the  Prepaid365 Awards  as we wanted prepaid awards to reflect consumer views and opinions and give UK consumers a voice to shape the growth of prepaid in the UK. Some of the providers like Net+, Cashplus, Caxton FX and Virgin Money are now starting to rack up a history of wins at the awards each year and that indicates that year on year, they continue to deliver value and innovation to match customer expectations and that drives loyalty and customer retention. My heartiest congratulations to all the winners and runners up."

"It is also worth taking a moment to thank all our sponsors T24 Prepaid, Optimal Payments, Century Bancorp, Emotion Associates, Kalixa Prepaid and Lebara Money for making the awards possible and to consumers who voted in their thousands across surveys and social media for their favourite prepaid cards."

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. Visit http://www.prepaid365.com to review and compare prepaid cards for Money Transfer, Travel, Gaming, Shopping, Payroll and Expense management, Privacy, Gifting and Business.

What all the Winners Said

• Julie Mitchell, Campaign Manager at Virgin Money, stated:  "We are extremely proud that the Virgin Money Pay As You Go prepaid card has won so many awards. It particularly means a lot, because our customers voted for us. The card offers customers a way to manage their finances and make all types of purchases whilst being rewarded for their spend. It is another way that Virgin Money make our customers better off. Prepaid365 are great for the industry as they provide customers with a one-stop-prepaid-shop to help them choose the right card for their needs."  
• Rich Wagner, Chief Executive Officer, APS, was delighted with the award wins and commented  that "APS are delighted to win three consumer awards this year.  I'm very proud of our team as we continue to listen to our customers' needs and build better products for them.  We never will stop innovating as we constantly look to reward our customers with more product capabilities than any other payment solution on the market.    It's also great to have Prepaid365 to support awards where the consumer chooses winners not just industry experts as its those consumers who really know what the best products are as they are the users of them every day."
• Philip Hanson, Director Marketing and e-Commerce, Travelex: 'We are absolutely delighted to again be acknowledged at the Prepaid365 Awards by consumers and our customers for the Travelex prepaid currency card and the work we have done to build awareness of the category here in the UK. Last year's Royal Wedding was a special occasion for the UK, with thousands of inbound visitors as well as many Brits using the extended weekend to travel abroad. The souvenir card provided a fun way for us to build awareness of the benefits of prepaid cards at a particularly relevant time. As the global currency specialist, Travelex prides itself on leading the way in educating consumers, providing the best value and exceptional service; through secure and convenient ways to send and spend money abroad. These awards are testament to the team's hard work in delivering on those goals. A special thank you to everyone who took the time to vote.'
• Danny Chazonoff, Chief Operating Officer at Optimal Payments, commented: "We are delighted that the Net+ Prepaid MasterCard has been recognised - again - by consumers as the best general spend, best gaming, and best free prepaid card in the market.  Our commitment to continued investment in innovative product developments is unrivalled in the industry and the fact that these awards are voted by consumers is a wonderful commendation of our prepaid card offering."
• Rupert Lee-Browne, Chief Executive at Caxton FX, commented: "At Caxton FX, we pride ourselves on delivering innovative, great value products and the very highest standards of customer service. We're delighted, therefore, that - for the fourth consecutive year - consumers have recognised these dual benefits through this award. The Prepaid365 Awards provide an all-embracing, robust and impartial benchmark across the burgeoning prepaid sector and have become one of our core measures of the overall customer experience. Ultimately, we're in the business of helping people enjoy a great travel experience - this award proves demonstrably that our customers feel we're succeeding."
• Philip Meyer, Managing Director of Transact24 Ltd, said: "We are delighted to have done so well in this year's prestigious Prepaid365 Awards. The achievement is a great testament to the expertise and enthusiasm of the T24 team who have played a major role in bringing the innovative T24 Black product to a discerning market.  The T24 Black VISA Prepaid Card represents true value, rolling up the benefits of premium travel insurance as well as priority pass membership. Secure and reloadable, this is the ultimate high end credit card alternative."
• Mark Horgan, CEO at Moneycorp, stated:  "We're delighted with this award, as we've put a lot of hard work into making the Moneycorp Explorer card a genuinely multi-currency card. As the only prepaid card that can carry up to 14 currencies, it allows users to travel further afield than anyone else. The prepaid card market is hotting up as more and more travellers appreciate the security and transparency that these cards offer. Moneycorp's goal is to stay one step ahead of the competition by offering consistent innovation and greater flexibility."
• Noel Moran, CEO of Prepaid Financial Services, was delighted with the results and commented:  "We are delighted to win an award in this category again for the fourth year in a row. In addition the growth of PFS has been reflected in the additional award for provision of large B2B programmes. We have invested significantly in our technology and overall prepaid offering over the last 4 years and this is the culmination of that investment."
• Milind Kangle, CEO of Lycamoney Ltd, said: "All of us here at Lycamoney are extremely proud to have won the Prepaid365 award for 'Best Money Share Prepaid Card'. Our premise has always been to strive to make life a little easier not only for customers that travel around the world, but also by providing additional companion cards  which enables our customers to send money to their family and friends back home for free. We are passionate about providing an exceptional service to meet the needs of our customers and believe that there will be further developments to come in this sector. The Lycamoney team will continue to work tirelessly to bring customers further innovations with the Lycamoney prepaid card."
• Myles Stephenson, Founder and CEO of my Travel Cash, said: "We are absolutely thrilled to have received such recognition from the public. Consumers independently judge the Prepaid365 Prepaid Card Awards, so to be voted the winner on those merits alone is phenomenal. The website is an integral part of the overall my Travel Cash product.  It's the gateway that enables customers to order a card, find out about our offers and products and contact us about any queries. It's also where cardholders manage their account and top up their balance. It is absolutely essential that the website is generating maximum customer satisfaction and adding value to the my Travel Cash prepaid card concept. We want our customers to have the best experience possible when using the site and the Prepaid365 award has assured us that we are getting this right. With customer service at the fore we will strive to continuously improve our services and products."
• Lee Britton, Commercial Director at Prepaid Financial Services that launched the Spark Prepaid Card, commented:  "Our spark card programme, distributed through payzone, has seen significant success as one of the few recent instant issue products in the UK market place. We are thrilled that the success of the programme is now also reflected with the excellent card design"
• Jason Rees, Director of New Business at Everything Everywhere (Orange Cash), commented:  "We are delighted to have won the 'Best Newcomer Prepaid card award', and it is great to gain this consumer recognition.  The team has worked very hard on this product and this is a great achievement for us."

To find out more about the winners and runners up at the 2012 Prepaid365 Awards, visit the Prepaid365 websites at http://www.prepaid365.com/prepaid-card-awards-2012.html

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

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

• Website:            http://www.prepaid365.com  
• Twitter:            http://twitter.com/prepaid365  
• Facebook:           http://www.facebook.com/Prepaid365UK
• Prepaid365 Blog     http://www.prepaid365.com/buzz/  

• 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 market Prepaid Credit Cards both 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