4th Prepaid Middle
East Summit closes on optimistic note
Prepaid Summit: Middle East 2013
Conference, Expo and Awards Networking Dinner,
Concluded on April 17th, 2013
The Middle East looks set to lead the heady growth of
the prepaid market worldwide, according
to leading experts gathered in Dubai today at the fourth Prepaid Summit Middle
East 2013.
“In
the last twelve months, the Middle East has emerged as our number one region in
terms of prepaid card spends across all Asia-Pacific, Central Europe, Middle
East and Africa territories – basically this hemisphere. In just one year, total
prepaid spend in the Middle East has over taken India, Australia and Africa, traditionally
the areas where we’ve seen the greatest prepaid spend over the past 10 years,”
said Scott Salmon, Head of Prepaid Products, Visa APCEMEA (Asia Pacific,
Central Europe, Middle East and Africa) in his key note address to delegates.
 |
| Scott Salmon, Head of Prepaid Products, APCEMEA Visa Inc |
“This
reflects the transformation we’ve seen in the prepaid business in the Middle
East as there is more active
engagement by a range of different stakeholders including banks, retailers, exchange houses, airlines,
corporations and government agencies. As we enter the mainstreaming
stage of prepaid in the Middle East, the next significant opportunity we expect
to see unfold is in the travel sector – both for leisure as well as corporate
prepaid travel cards,” Salmon said.
Visa
Inc. the leading payment technology company is on board as Title Sponsor for
the summit.
The prepaid sector has grown by
50 per cent in the MENA region over the last 12 months according to Kamran
Siddiqi, General Manager, MENA at Visa, who opened the summit with an
introduction on local market.
“Prepaid Summit in the Middle
East is a reminder of how prepaid has gained ground. The prepaid sector has
grown by 50 per cent in the MENA region over the last 12 months and today is
the accepted solution across many industries such as healthcare and insurance,
among others, he said.
 |
| Francesco Burelli, partner at Value Partners, and the member of Editorial Advisory Board for Cards International |
“From our perspective in Visa,
prepaid allows us to reach consumers who don’t have access to credit or debit
cards – there is a huge growth opportunity, more so with the sector’s synergy
with mobile payments. As a trusted partner, Visa continues to work with
governments and regulators to ensure the safety, convenience and efficiency of
the payment networks,” said Siddiqi.
Salmon’s address was followed by
a session on the prepaid value proposition by Richard Bialek, Director of
Prepaid for CEMEA at Visa.
These sentiments are echoed by Francesco Burelli,
another leading card expert and a regular at the summit. Burelli presented a
session on evolution of prepaid in the region and also identified key drivers
of prepaid growth.
 |
| Andy Cook, VRL Financial News |
“The Middle East is growing at a faster pace than
other regions. New opportunities are emerging driven by the fact that so far
prepaid has been mainly leveraged for payroll purposes leaving significant untapped
opportunities in the unbanked and youth segments,” said Burelli, partner at
Value Partners, and the member of Editorial Advisory Board for Cards
International.
More
than 20 prepaid experts shared their insight in the potential and opportunities
of the prepaid as close to 120 participants attended the
one day summit at Dubai’s Shangri
La Hotel.
“The
2013 summit is the best event in terms of participation and the range of expert
sessions we had. This is the fourth prepaid summit in Dubai and clearly the
market has come a long way from when we introduced this event to the
market,” said Andy Cook of the event organiser, VRL Financial News.
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