Business & Money | Monday 16 March, 2015 9:20 am |

Dubai to play host to the 6th Annual Prepaid Summit: Middle East this week


Experts To Debate MENA Prepaid Market Summit To Award Region’s Prepaid Progress; Over 40 Local And Regional Nominations

The changing face of the prepaid cards industry goes under the spotlight at the upcoming sixth Prepaid Summit: Middle East on March 18 at the Westin Dubai Mina Seyahi.

According to Douglas Blakey, Group Editor for Consumer Finance at the event organiser’s, Timetric Financial Services, more than 150 global and regional industry players are set to join the annual event with speakers ready to table the dramatically changing landscape facing the sector. Visa is on-board as the event sponsor.

“Prepaid has seen incredible growth over the six years that we have engaged with this annual event, and presently we are witnessing a ‘sea change’ which can fuel the sector to even greater heights,” he said.

Awarding industry efforts
For the fourth year, as the region’s cashless payment sector experiences rapid growth, the upcoming Prepaid Summit Middle East 2015 looks to award and recognise industry players who have made significant contribution to its development. This year’s categories have doubled to feature 10 awards, arousing the interest of more than 44 nominations locally and regionally.

“All the nominations play a vital role in the Summit and in the global industry, acting as a driving force to encourage sector players to energise innovation.

“Indeed, the prepaid landscape has spurred on a new customer profile and this means that marketers and solutions providers must look to answer to this growing demand. The award ceremony looks to recognise such efforts and ideas which are instrumental to the sector,” Blakey observed.

Emerging trends and challenges
Blakey went on to say that this year’s Summit represents ‘a smorgasbord of current and emerging trends’, and includes efficiency from payroll systems, corporate travel expenditure management, creative use of corporate reward programmes and retail loyalty schemes, as well as innovative approaches to branding and marketing.

Other sessions include discussions on multiple-currency prepaid travel cards, the regional landscape, the regulatory framework affecting business practices, as well as security measures for corporate and private data protection.

“The Summit agenda is designed to explore the vision of a smarter, safer, more efficient future of the prepaid industry; an industry not afraid to take a new perspective,” said Blakey.

He indicated that confirmed delegates include decision-makers representing banking, cards and financial services, technology providers, retailers, researchers and analysts.
“The Summit provides a timely platform to discuss regional trends and challenges and so to ensure the continued growth of prepaid MENA-wide,” he concluded.

Registration for the pre-event workshops and one-day Prepaid Summit: Middle East is now open online at http://www.cardsinternational.com/event/prepaid-summit-middle-east-2015/attend/

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About Timetric Financial Services
Cards International, a Timetric Financial Services brand, is the leading source of global news and in-depth analysis for the cards and payments services sector. For over 20 years it has been the trusted source of reliable, timely and in-depth news and analysis for senior executives in the international cards industry.

Through its long history within the cards and payments sector Cards International is uniquely positioned to offer exclusive and propriety content. The company hosts a number of leading top-level events and conferences with key opinion leaders and subscribers, powered by robust research, sophisticated web analytics and social media to fine tune event content to the needs of the global cards and payments industry.