Launch of Eclipse prepaid card

Hertford International (AIM: HIG), a provider of personal financial products and services, is pleased to announce the launch of its Eclipse prepaid debit card.

The card is designed for everyday spending and can be used wherever MasterCard® is accepted, which is estimated to be around 25 million locations worldwide. The Eclipse card can be obtained online at www.eclipsecard.co.uk and currently costs £8.95. Online payment can be done via SMS (a charge appears on the customers phone bill after they receive a unique access code to use on the website), debit and credit card as well as by e-voucher which can be purchased at any of PayPoint's 19,000 nationwide outlets.

Following the mobile phone model, the Eclipse card is available on a pay monthly or pay as you go pricing plan, allowing users to minimise their ongoing costs. Cash can be loaded onto the card at over 40,000 locations throughout the UK which include Post Office and PayPoint retail outlets. In addition, the cards can also be loaded via bank transfer, salary payments and standard debit and credit cards.

In addition to being targeted at those people who have limited access to the traditional banking system, the Eclipse card has a broad market appeal for other applications such as secure online shopping and budget control.

Unlike most other pre-paid cards, the Eclipse card is easy to obtain, even by those recently arrived in the country. This availability is made possible through the offer of a limited-spend card, created for those who do not at present have a sufficient electronic footprint in the UK. This facility ensures that all applicants are accepted. Cardholders of the limited Eclipse card have the opportunity to upgrade to an un-limited card at a later date, subject to identity verification. In such instances the limited restrictions are lifted, though the card itself will not need to be exchanged. The Eclipse card complies with all regulatory and anti-money laundering standards.

A number of value added services will be available to owners of the Eclipse card in order to improve customer satisfaction and loyalty. Services include cashback shopping through the lovecashback.com portal and discount vouchers both of which allow users to make material savings when shopping online. Other money saving services are planned for launch in the near future.

There are currently 2.3 million prepaid cards in issue in the UK. This number is expected to rise to 7 million by 2010. The Eclipse card programme will enable Hertford to target this market and provide cross-selling opportunities for other Hertford products and services such as cheque cashing and money remittance.

Commenting on the launch, Lewis Findlay, Chief Executive of Hertford said, "The Eclipse card offers the consumer a secure, reliable way to store, spend and save money outside the traditional banking system during these hard economic times."

"The launch of this product will help Hertford maximise customer acquisition and penetration in the UK prepaid debit card market, estimated to be worth £4 billion by 2010."