Citibank issues prepaid disposable travelers card

JAKARTA (JP): Citibank launched on Thursday the Citibank Visa TravelMoney card, a prepaid disposable card that allows travelers to withdraw cash at any Visa ATM in the currency of their destination.

The vice president of Citicorp Travel Payment Services, Ian Nott, said the card's biggest benefit was that it could be bought and used by people who were not Citibank customers.

He said it worked like an ATM card, protected through an individual personal identification number (PIN) protected. The funds are stored in a host system.

"The card offers travelers a simpler and more convenient way to carry and withdraw funds as they don't have to wait for hours at the bank or money changers, like they have to do with regular traveler's checks," he told a news conference.

Nott said that the card, an electronic alternative to travelers checks, can be purchased at any Citibank branches in amounts ranging from US$400 to $10,000. Up to eight additional cards can be purchased to allow multiple users access to a central pool of funds.

"We plan to extend the card's facilities so that it can serve as a debit card and have its nominal value added without having to buy a new card. Hopefully, we can realize the plan later on this year," he said.

The card debuted in 1996 in many countries outside Asia and Australia.

Indonesia is the fifth country in the region to launch the card after Australia, Singapore, Philippines and India.

The country manager for Travel Payment Services, Maurene Soemarjono, said Citibank projected a promising card sale in markets which were dominated by regular traveler's checks.

"In Indonesia, we are hoping to be able to grasp up to 50 percent of the total regular traveler's check market worth abut $525 million a year," she said.

"Our target markets are people who travel aboard quite frequently, including businesspeople, overseas students and families."

Nott said the card has no expiration date to allow cardholders to withdraw local currency in any amount, subject to daily transaction limits set by the ATM acquirer at their destination.

"And if you have a remaining balance at the end of your trip, you can return to the branch where you purchased the card and cash it in or apply the balance to a new Citibank Visa TravelMoney card," he added. (cst)