The United Kingdom now has its own mainstream prepaid MasterCard card, which is good news for budget-conscious consumers looking to avoid falling into debt by carefully managing their monthly outgoings.

The new cashplus product is interest free, allows you to only spend what you have prepaid onto the card and you do not need to have a bank account or undergo a credit check to get one.

Consumers will be able to use their cashplus prepaid MasterCard at 23 million retail outlets and 1 million ATMs worldwide. The card is not visually branded as a prepaid product and looks like any other MasterCard card.

Cardholders will be able to pay bills over the phone or Internet, book travel and entertainment tickets online and travel without the need for travellers cheques or the security risk of carrying large amounts of cash.

Prepaid payment cards are hugely popular in the United States, where they represent a trillion dollar industry.

Advanced Payment Solutions Chief Executive Rich Wagner says the success of prepay in the UK telecommunications market, where prepaid accounts have represented over 50% of total mobile phone payments for the last five years1, is a good indicator of the appetite for prepaid products in this country.

"Cashplus offers a secure payment facility for the millions of unbanked Britons. It gives them access to ATM machines; it can be used globally and it offers payment options previously unable to them, such as online bill payment," he says.

Phil Davies, Director, Business Development, MasterCard (Europe), added, "Prepaid cards have already been immensely successful in the United States, and we're pleased to be working in partnership with APS to bring them to the UK. These innovative and secure cards will play an important role in ensuring that previously unbanked community groups are able to enjoy the convenience and safety of paying with cards. We are witnessing the evolution of a true 'plastic democracy'."

The cashplus prepaid MasterCard retails for 9.95, with the choice between a monthly subscription fee of 4.95 covering unlimited purchase transactions for high users or a 1 pay per purchase transaction model2. Cardholders get all of the purchase protection benefits of any MasterCard product and leave the store with a live ATM card for immediate use until their embossed personalised MasterCard card arrives.

(1) Source: The Telecommunications Market 2004, OFCOM
(2) Pay per purchase transaction model available at from the end of September.

See www.mycashplus.co.uk for retail outlets.

Notes to Editor:

About APS

1. Advanced Payment Solutions was established in early 2004 to become a pre-eminent leader of general purpose prepaid cards and payment solutions in the United Kingdom.

2. Its senior management team and board of directors comprise a team with unparalleled experience in the payment industry and aim to lead UK prepay market growth and emulate the success of prepaid payment cards in the US.

3. APS' first prepaid payment card, the cashplus prepaid MasterCard, launched in September 2005, is the UK's first general purpose prepaid chip and PIN payment card.

4. Alongside developing its cashplus product portfolio, APS provides turnkey solutions for businesses to offer branded prepaid products to their customers.

About MasterCard Incorporated:
MasterCard Incorporated is a leading global payments solutions company that provides a broad variety of innovative services in support of our global members' credit, deposit access, electronic cash, business-to-business and related payment programs. MasterCard, through its principal operating subsidiary, MasterCard International Incorporated, manages a family of well-known, widely accepted payment card brands including MasterCard, Maestro and Cirrus and serves financial institutions, consumers and businesses in over 210 countries and territories. The MasterCard award-winning Priceless advertising campaign is now seen in 105 countries and in 48 languages, giving the MasterCard brand a truly global reach and scope. For more information go to www.mastercardinternational.com.