MasterCard and Accor Services set up pre-pay joint venture company
- MasterCard and Accor Services have set up a new joint venture company to target the fast-growing European pre-paid market.
- Accor will be the majority shareholder in the joint venture with a 67% stake. MasterCard holds a 33%t stake in the new company, dubbed PrePay Solutions. The joint venture is underpinned by Accor Services' UK subsidiary PrePay Technologies, which was acquired in 2007. PrePay Technologies has so far issued more than 20 million pre-paid cards in the UK and holds a licence to issue e-money in 17 European countries.
- It is expected that Accor will tap the corporate and public sector markets, while MasterCard will tout the pre-pay opportunity to member banks.