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Events |
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Recent Events3rd EDC Payments and Cards CouncilMay 31, 2007Frankfurt, Germany On May 31st, EDC held its “3rd EDC Payments and Cards Council” in Frankfurt, Germany. Similar to previous years, the council has provided a platform for discussion on key issues and topics amongst senior executives of the cards and payment industry within Germany. This year’s focus has been on the growing role that prepaid cards are playing in the German as well as European cards environment. The first keynote speaker was Dr Tilo Schürer of Landesbank Berlin, arguably the leading financial institution in the prepaid arena in Germany who provided a comprehensive assessment of the current status of prepaid in Germany. Interestingly, he strongly favoured increased competition on prepaid cards in particular from the banking community to provide the product with more credibility in the general public. Second keynote speaker was Robert Courtneidge of law firm Salans, who is a legal expert on card and payment related issues. He provided an overview of the current regulatory environment impacting providers of prepaid or e-money products across Europe. He demonstrated different market entry scenarios, balancing product functionalities with regulatory requirements and costs, but also highlighted regulatory inconsistencies across different jurisdictions. On behalf of EDC, Samee Zafar talked about the need to develop clear value propositions for prepaid products and gave examples of how prepaid products could be integrated with other technologies, e.g. contactless or mobile phones. Ulf Geismar provided an overview of the new business model for prepaid cards, highlighting different pricing structures and opportunities to tap new customer segments or to cross-sell. The event was very well received and council attendants participated in very lively discussions. A total of 20 senior executives participated, representing banks, processors, payment schemes, central bank and e-money issuers. All presentations are available at www.edgardunn.com For more information, please contact Ulf Geismar in our Frankfurt office. Edgar, Dunn & Company |
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