How Prepaid can benefit the leisure and hospitality sector

How simple is the change? If you accept credit cards now you also already accept network branded prepaid cards as they can look and work the same for the retailer. Installing a contactless system can be done quickly by companies such as Streamline and Barclays Merchant Services and are easier to manage than credit card terminals. Installing these systems for events taking place in muddy fields with a high footfall is a little more difficult but your supplier will get it working for you. Introducing a prepaid option for online payment simply means making it clear on your website that you accept credit, debit and prepaid. Prepaid cards are powered by companies such as Visa and Mastercard so the rest of the process will be no different. Introducing a prepaid customer loyalty programme and your own gift cards can be done by companies such as Grass Roots Group and Ovation Incentives who will manage the whole of the process from set up to management. How is the hospitality sector going to benefit? The benefits are numerous but will depend whether it's contactless or another form of prepaid that you adopt. Contactless systems reduce the time it takes to process each customer, which is particularly beneficial during the busy lunch time period and at events when everyone is clamoring to get served at once. If you think about how many people can stampede through the London Underground at peak times using their Oyster card you'll get an idea of how quickly you will be able to process payment. These systems also reduce the need to handle money (or even cards or terminals), and therefore decrease the accompanying hygiene risks. Prepaid cards give you access to the unbanked and those who don't want to release their credit card details (which is a growing worry and is particularly relevant if you accept bookings online and request a deposit). The unbanked includes people under the age of 18 and people who want to remain anonymous. Some diners won't want the bill to appear on their credit card statement but also won't want to use cash. Businesses are also increasingly issuing prepaid cards to manage entertainment budgets. Prepaid can allow people to gift your dining experience to friends as presents. You can also reach new customers through services like Groupon. In both cases you will be paid before the diner even enters the restaurant which is obviously great for cashflow. Who is this system targeted at? Prepaid is becoming a payment method for everyone. In the developing world people are moving from cash to prepaid as their very first contact with 'plastic' money. In the UK those of us with credit cards and bank accounts have been slower to embrace it. However we have now become much more aware of the limitations of credit cards and debit cards and we are demanding more efficient ways to pay. We don't want to queue, we don't want to be charged for paying for something using plastic, we don't want to cut out vouchers (but we want discounts) and we don't want to give our details to strangers and risk having our identity stolen. What have the responses been like so far? I think there has been a lot of confusion as to what prepaid is or why you would want to pay in advance. People understand Oyster cards (if they've travelled in London) they understand prepaid mobile and they pay for many things in advance without even thinking about it (such as postage stamps and all inclusive holidays). However prepaid is not understood as a term and if they have heard it they tend to think of it as just a card, but that's like saying that credit is just a credit card. Prepaid covers a huge range of payment solutions that make life easier for businesses and for customers. People who understand it quickly become enthusiasts. What are your predictions for the future with this? I think we're set for an explosion that will be similar to the internet as business sectors start to understand how prepaid can benefit them. Prepaid will also become a c