Turkey’s Garanti Bank and mobile phone operator Turkcell have teamed up with MasterCard to launch a prepaid card. The aim is to tap into the country’s significant unbanked population.
Cep-T Paracard is a SIM based secure service that can be used with any mobile handset device. To use, customers simply pre-load money to the card via Garanti PoS machines at Turkcell’s 1,200 communication centres (TIMS) or at any Garanti Bank ATM. They can then use the card to shop at any store that accepts MasterCard, collect bonus points, load minutes onto their mobile phone using the preset menu on their phones and transfer money. Customers can also earn free minutes and redeem purchases against bonus points collected.
Garanti Payment Systems CEO, Mehmet Sezgin, says: “We are entering a new era of mobile financial services with the launch of the Cep-T Paracard. This new product integrates the mobile world with the banking one to provide many benefits for mobile phone users. Currently, two thirds of the population in Turkey does not use banking services, either due to their age or income. With the launch of this new prepaid card service, we aim to gain a further 1.5 million additional unbanked customers through Cep-T Paracard within the next three years, with the end goal of a total cashless society by 2023.”
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