Will help employees to receive salaries via instant e-transfer
C3 Card, an established pre-paid card service provider and electronic salary management company, is gearing up to launch 300,000 payroll cards by March, a top company official said.
"The new C3 payroll card enables employees to receive their salaries via instant electronic transfer, in accordance with the Ministry of Labour's (MoL) legislation which came into effect this January. The card provides enhanced financial security and peace of mind for employees, and streamlines the salary disbursal process for corporations," Dr Marwan G Samman, vice-president (Business Development & PR), told The Business Weekly.
The C3 Card initiative is in line with the general trend towards pre-paid finance options.
Research suggests that by the end of 2009, global pre-paid and stored value card transactions could reach $257 billion.
Samman says that today, close to 60 per cent of the population in the UAE is unbanked. This has presented the Dubai Internet City-based company an opportunity to launch the C3 Cards, which is a virtual bank account. Employees will have the comfort of using their PIN-protected cards at all ATM and points of sales, both in the UAE and abroad.
The C3 payroll card is reloadable and can be topped up as required. It also allows instant access to funds, even for off-site employees, or when they are on leave. "The C3 payroll card also adds value beyond mere payroll to the corporations, allowing them to use new technology to streamline their processes and helps them to cut as much as 15 per cent in cash handling expenses for the companies," Samman explained.
C3's operational headquarters is in Dubai and the organisation has a strong expansion strategy in place. It aims to capture 25 to 30 per cent of the market by 2010.
By Vinod Kumar PK
© The Business Weekly 2008
