The payment landscape has changed considerably since last
year’s Cards and Payments Europe event, and this year’s CPE Awards
gala dinner acknowledged some of the outstanding innovations that
are helping payment players to recruit and retain customers in an
uncertain economic climate.

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Cards International has announced the winners for its Global Awards
Dinner 2009, which was held on 18 June in Prague.

The prestigious black-tie event included senior payment industry
executives from all over the world, and this year’s roster of
winners is noteworthy in that it includes not just large and
long-established players such as Standard Chartered and BNP
Paribas, but also many relatively small, nimble players who are
also making an impact on the cards industry.

A panel of judges selected the winners from among those
organisations nominated by readers and included the editorial team
from Cards International, Financial News Publishing, and an
external panel of recognised international industry
consultants.

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Nominees

MasterCard/Orbiscom

Barclaycard/Goldfish/Morgan Stanley

Winner

First Data/EUFISERV

The announcement of a joint venture between the electronic payments
processing giant First Data and the EUFISERV banking network is a
reflection of the changing European payments market in light of the
Single Euro Payments Area.

The joint venture resulted in First Data significantly boosting the
volume of transactions it processes, and also enabled EUFISERV to
become SEPA-compliant.

BEST NEW CREDIT CARD LAUNCH

Nominees

Abbey Zero

Citibank Platinum Select India

Winner

AsyaCard

Turkey’s Bank Asya’s multi-application chip and PIN card
incorporates MasterCard’s OneSmart Chip Authentication Programme
features with an integrated transit and toll application and
contactless technology, heralding one of the most versatile and
advanced contactless credit cards ever launched. MasterCard and
Bank Asya launched AsyaCard in July 2008 and by the end of last
year over 1.35 million cards were in use.

BEST NEW DEBIT CARD PRODUCT LAUNCH

Nominees

Barclays UK contactless debit card

Maybank

Winner

Standard Chartered Bank India

The 2008 launch of Standard Chartered’s 1Money card enables
cardholders to select to pay with debit or credit functionality on
the one card. According to the bank, there has been a 28 percent
yearly growth in the number of credit card applicants and a 41
percent increase in the number of those who sign up for a debit
card, while the value of both credit and debit card transactions
has grown by 20 percent and 41 percent respectively.

BEST NEW PREPAID CARD PRODUCT LAUNCH

Nominees

PayPal Top-Up card

M-Cube/Ryanair

Winner

Net+

The Net+ prepaid card, launched in conjunction with Neovia and
MasterCard and incorporating chip and PIN technology, allows
cardholders to instantly access funds from a Neteller account at
over 26 million retail point of sale locations and 1 million ATMs
worldwide. The physical version of the MasterCard card allows users
to access funds within the user’s e-wallet at points of sale or by
withdrawing cash at ATMs. The virtual version of the card offers a
secure way to shop and pay online.

BEST NEW CO-BRANDED OR AFFINITY CARD PRODUCT
LAUCH

Nominees

M-Cube/Ryanair

Qantas/Westpac Earth

Winner

BNP Paribas/Orange

BNP Paribas’ co-branding tie-up with mobile phone operator Orange
is one of a string of deals signed since French laws on co-branding
were relaxed at the end of 2007, and the link-up between France’s
BNP Paribas and telecom giant Orange has created two co-branded
card products in the space of a year, including the Steel
co-branded credit card incorporating a loyalty programme.

BEST INNOVATION IN LOYALTY PROGRAMME

Nominees

RHB Tesco Card

Winners – Tie between:

Fiserv

Fiserv has launched one of the most innovative and timely solutions
in the loyalty and rewards space with its UChoose programme, which
combines issuer and merchant-funded rewards on one platform,
enabling smaller financial institutions to offer the kind of
rewards that have so far been dominated by larger issuers.

Welcome Real-time

The partnership between Welcome Real-time and India’s Venture
Infotek has launched the next generation of loyalty offerings in
India, allowing card payment businesses and retailers to deliver
personalised offers and redemption alternatives at the point of
sale, along with lower marketing costs and enhanced loyalty
benefits.

BEST NEW COMMERCIAL CARD ISSUER

Nominees

Bank of America

Dubai First

Winner

JPMorgan Chase

JPMorgan Chase gained another boost in the corporate card market
with the launch of the Chase Freedom card, a MasterCard-branded
fuel card with a set of rebates and discounts in alliance with oil
companies. JPMorgan also launched corporate platinum and gold card
offerings in 2008, offering premium benefits such as VIP airport
lounge access, concierge services and insurance packages.

BEST CARD PROCESSOR OF THE YEAR

Nominees

SIA-SSB

Global Payments

Winner

Equens

Equens has been at the forefront of developing payment processing
services in the SEPA era, and 2008 saw it secure a number of
significant contract wins. It also established a joint venture with
Italy’s ICBPI, which increased Equens’ transaction volume by nearly
20 percent and consolidating its position as a key player in the
SEPA era.

BEST MERCHANT ACQUIRER OF THE YEAR

Nominees

Deutsche Bank Global Transaction Services

Elavon

Winner

PayLife

Austrian domestic processor PayLife signed new issuance and
acquiring deals in 2008, most notably linking up with Six Card
Solutions, the Swiss processor formerly known as Telekurs Card
Solutions, to provide issuing and acquiring processing for the
debit sector. PayLife is the largest domestic acquirer in Austria,
with a market share of 80 percent, mainly in debit.

MOST PROMISING NEW ENTRANT

Nominees

KTF

Winner

Rêv Worldwide

Rêv Worldwide is a global network of payment companies aimed at
tapping into underserved markets, with a special focus on
delivering financial inclusion through prepaid and mobile payment
applications. 2008 saw the launch of its platform offering global
connectivity and currency support to carry transactions across
countries, currencies and payment types including card-based,
mobile, retail and online transactions.