Paybefore Honors Innovation in Orlando, Announces Europe Winners
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Read about our winners and view event photos.
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The Paybefore Awards Europe ceremony will be held during Prepaid Expo Europe on 18 April in London. Best-in-Category honorees will be announced for the first time.
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On March 4, Paybefore celebrated 72 programs in 23 categories, naming for the first time Best-in-Category honorees at the 7
th Annual Paybefore Awards Ceremony, which capped off the first day of Prepaid Expo USA in Orlando, Fla.
This year—for the very first time—there was a sixth judge, consisting of the votes of visitors to Paybefore.com, who participated in the selection of the Best-in-Category winners. In all, more than 3,200 people voted, and their votes made the difference in the Best in Category choice in nine categories.
“It’s a dynamic time in electronic payments. Our Paybefore Awards winners are innovators that solve payments problems, reach new consumers and advance the industry,” said Loraine DeBonis, Paybefore editor-in-chief.
“As the world changes, so do the payment and money management needs of individuals, businesses and government agencies,” added Marilyn Bochicchio, Paybefore’s CEO. “Paybefore Awards recognizes the organizations that use financial services to make people’s lives better, which is why it is so exciting for us to honor those who champion innovation and excellence.”
2013 Paybefore Awards Best-in-Category Winners
Best Network Branded Gift Card
- Western Union Gift and Greeting Cards
Most Effective Closed-Loop or RAN Prepaid Card Program
- Do It Yourself Home Improvement Gift Card from InComm
Best General Purpose Reloadable Card Program—U.S. Solutions
- PayPal Prepaid MasterCard
Best General Purpose Reloadable Card Program—International Solutions
- American Express Global Travel Card
Best Third-Party Payroll Card Program
Best Corporate Payroll Card Program
- Walmart Money Network Payroll Distribution Service from Walmart and Money Network, A First Data Company
Best Prepaid Incentive, Reward, Rebate or Loyalty Card Program
- Vitality HealthyFood Card from Walmart and HumanaVitality
Best Benefits Distribution Card Program
- Aetna Flu Care Card Program from Aetna and Citi Prepaid Services
Best Business-to-Business Prepaid Card Program
- TPC Payables Prepaid Visa Card from The Payments Company and The Bancorp Bank
Outstanding Mobile Wallet or Mobile Application
- moneto Prepaid MasterCard Mobile App from DeviceFidelity and MasterCard
Best Virtual or Digital Program
- $10 Starbucks Card eGift for $5, LivingSocial Deal from Starbucks, LivingSocial and CashStar
Most Effective Marketing Campaign
- 2012 Visa Prepaid National Consumer Campaign
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Best Retail Merchandising of Prepaid Cards/Emerging Payments Products
- Green Dot Retail Marketing
Best Prepaid Card or Packaging Design
Best Consumer Value
- BlackboardPay from Blackboard Transact; Money Network, A First Data Company; and Discover Financial Services
Most Effective Payments Solution
- UEPS/EMV Debit SASSA MasterCard from the South African Social Security Agency and MasterCard
Best Non-U.S.-Based Program
- Power to Pay Program from ItzCash Card Limited, Canara Bank, National Payments Corporation of India and Indian Institute of Technology-Bombay
Most Innovative Program
- MTA Reload Card from MTA Bridges and Tunnels, ACS (a Xerox Company) and Visa
Best Retail-Based Prepaid Card Program
- Walmart Prepaid Card Program
Expanding the Boundaries of Prepaid
Outstanding Newcomer
- KAIKU Visa Prepaid Card from Kaiku Finance
Breakout Company of the Year
Judges’ Choice
- ACF International: Action Against Hunger (Action Contre la Faim) from Citi Prepaid Services and ACF International
- Aetna ValuePass from Aetna Card Solutions, UMB Bank, StoreFinancial Services and ConvergenceHealth and
- NetSpend Community Connect
- Visa Prepaid Card Distribution via ATMs from Better ATM Services Inc.
Congratulations to all of our winners. You can read more about them here.
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Brooks Smith and Roy Sosa Honored for Industry Achievement
The final awards of the night were for Industry Achievement—Paybefore’s highest honor given to individuals who advance the industry through innovation and advocacy. A panel of five past winners selected Brooks Smith, president and CEO, InComm; and Roy Sosa, co-founder and CEO, Rȇv Worldwide, as this year’s winners.
“Brooks started InComm in his garage in 1992, and beginning with long distance phone cards, has pioneered the growth of the prepaid industry to encompass a wide variety of products that benefit consumers, retailers and partners,” said Bochicchio. “And while Brooks’ resume as the leader of InComm is impressive, it’s not the only thing that prompted the judges to select him as an Industry Achievement Winner. Instead it was Brooks’ leadership outside the office, talking to regulators and lawmakers, particularly in New Jersey, to bring about much needed changes to a law that stood to damage the entire industry and leave consumers without the products they want.”
Sosa was recognized for his trailblazing work in bringing financial tools to unbanked consumers around the world. In addition to implementing 38 programs in 12 countries, Sosa is committed to working with regulators in a variety of markets, most recently speaking at the G20 meetings in Los Cabos, Mexico. “As a leading advocate for underserved consumers, Sosa first championed prepaid in the United States and now is doing so in Latin America and beyond,” said DeBonis.
“We are proud to recognize these two pioneers of prepaid for their amazing work to move the industry forward,” she said.
Winners who are attending Prepaid Expo who haven’t already received their trophies should pick them up at Paybefore booth #643 in the exhibit hall. Also stop by the booth during the show to enter a drawing for an iPad mini. A winner will be announced at the conclusion of the conference.
Paybefore Awards Europe Winners Announced
On March 4 Paybefore also announced winners in its 2nd annual Paybefore Awards Europe. Below is a list of distinguished winners, who were selected by a five-judge panel, including Andrew Johnson, director general, UKGCVA; Siobhan Moore, senior associate, Locke Lord and UKGCVA board member; Dr. Hugo Godschalk, PaySys Consultancy GmbH, managing director/partner; Prepaid Forum Deutschland, founder, as well as Paybefore’s Bochicchio and DeBonis.
Join us at Prepaid Expo Europe where we will announce the Best in Category winners. (Register with Paybefore’s discount code XU2740PAYB4 to save 10%).
Best Gift Card or Voucher Programme
- £5 for a £10 Starbucks Card eGift, LivingSocial Deal
Starbucks, LivingSocial, CashStar
- ASDA Closed Loop Gift Card
First Data
- Westfield
Flex-e-vouchers Limited
Best Prepaid Incentive, Reward, Rebate or Loyalty Card Programme
- ASDA Pocket Money Card
First Data
- Samsung and Citi Prepaid Services Continue to Triumph with Appliance Cashback Programme
Samsung & Citi
- Western Union MyWU Prepaid Card
Western Union
Top Prepaid Retailer
- Asda
Supported by InComm Europe
- TUI Travel Money & Gift Card
PrePay Solutions - TUI
- Visa Open-Loop Gift Card and Gift Card Mall
Tesco
Best Consumer Value
- Aktif38 UniPasso Card
Aktif Bank
- paysafecard
paysafecard group
- Western Union Reloadable Prepaid Card
Western Union
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Best Corporate- or Government Funded Programme
- Brent Council Direct Payments Initiative
London Borough of Brent
- Citi Prepaid Services and Simple Payment
Citi
- XXImo Mobility Card
XXImo BV
Most Innovative Programme
- Bratislava City Card
First Data
- PayPal Access Prepaid
MasterCard
PrePay Solutions - PayPal
- Ukash
Outstanding Mobile Wallet or Application
- Barclaycard - Payment App
Barclaycard
- O2 Wallet
O2 Money Telefónica UK
- The RBS Group Retail Banking App
Monitise
Breakout Company of the Year
- Ceridian Stored Value Solutions
- Prepaid Financial Services
- Wave Crest Group Limited
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