Prepaid
is the future of payments

Prepaid payments first came on the scene in the 1930s in the form of Gift Certificates from large US-based retailers such as Macy's. This marked the early phase of prepaid retail solutions.

McDonald's launches its gift certificates, popularising the concept in the fast-food industry.

Introduction of prepaid phone cards by telecom companies, such as British Telecom, initiating the concept of prepaid telecommunication services.

Prepaid phone cards gain widespread use in Europe and Asia, showing the global appeal of prepaid services.

Barclays Bank in the UK in partnership with Visa made the first steps in launching an early open-loop prepaid card, the Barclays Connect Card.

Following the success of Barclays in the UK across the pond US-based American Express launched its own open-loop gift card, the AMEX Gift Card

Blockbuster released its gift card, replacing paper gift certificates, increasing the security of its prepaid product, and revolutionizing the way customers access entertainment rentals.

Starbucks introduced a reloadable gift card, innovating the concept of loyalty and convenience in the coffee retail market, whilst bringing the use of prepaid further into people's daily lives, with 4 million activations in 8 months.

In the 2010's prepaid morphed again this time it was all about the way people accessed prepaid payments through the use of wallets or online prepaid marketplaces such as Recharge.com, making purchasing and reloading prepaid super easy without the need to visit physical stores.