Ryanair, a
low-cost European airline, is to issue MasterCard prepaid cards,
managed by Access Prepaid Worldwide, in the UK from 4 October
on.
The Ryanair Cash Passport will also work on
ATMs for cash withdrawal, as well as online and for purchases at
merchants.
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For the airline carrier, the introduction of
the Ryanair Cash Passport is another means to charge consumers a £6
administration fee for bookings made on any other card, including
any other MasterCard prepaid card.
The introduction of this card comes a few
months after consumer watchdog Which? found that whilst the
actual cost to a merchant to process a debit card
transaction is usually no more than 20 pence and 2% of a
credit card transaction, numerous examples of companies charged far
higher fees.
Ryanair had been identified as among the worst offenders of this
practice, with a family of four being charged £40 in booking fees
for a return flight with the company.
The positive side is that, as with any other
prepaid card, it does not require any credit checks or a current
account. There will be no transaction fees on purchases on the
Ryanair website and none on any other UK purchases until the end of
March 2012.
US Tariffs are shifting - will you react or anticipate?
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By GlobalDataIn June, travel companies were ordered to end the use of
hidden debit card surcharges by the Office of Fair Trading,
following a super complaint by consumer watchdog
Which?
The OFT said travellers spent £300m
($479m) on card surcharges in the airline industry alone.
