Flexibility & avoiding the need to carry large sums of cash are key motivations for travellers

Dubai, UAE, 23 April 2013: More than 45 per cent of business and leisure travellers in the United Arab Emirates [UAE] find it inconvenient to carry large amounts of cash when they travel, according to Visa's latest Prepaid Travel Card Study[1].

The Visa Prepaid Travel Card Study found that that while cash is commonly used to pay for travel expenses, more than one third of leisure and business travelers see a prepaid travel card as a viable replacement to cash. Close to 40 per cent of business travellers saying they liked the locked-in exchange rates (set prior to travel) offered by prepaid travel cards while 41 per cent of leisure travellers like that it is safer to handle compared to cash or travellers cheques.

The study was shared last week at the Prepaid Summit: Middle East 2013 Conference & Awards held at the Shangri-La Hotel in Dubai. The summit comes amidst reports that revenues for the prepaid industry are expected to reach $18.4 billion in the UAE by 2015.

Kamran Siddiqi, General Manager, Middle East and North Africa at Visa, presented an introduction on the regional market at the Summit, which included experts and representatives from across the sector. Later in the day, Scott Salmon, Head of Prepaid Products, Asia Pacific, Central Europe, Middle East and Africa, Visa, presented an overview of the new prepaid trends. This was followed by a keynote on the prepaid value proposition by Richard Bialek, Director of Prepaid for Central Europe, Middle East and Africa, Visa.

Approximately 47 per cent of leisure travellers and 40 per cent of business travellers also agree that a prepaid travel card's flexibility to be used at ATMs, in store and online was a key reason they would choose a prepaid card. Amongst business and leisure travellers who use little or no cash, the top reasons cited were that carrying large sums of cash was inconvenient, less secure and it was a hassle to exchange unused currency.  

"Each year business travellers take an average of 2.7 trips and spend an average of AED 8,830 each time, while those travelling for leisure take 1.6 trips and spend an average of AED 10,388. Instead of carrying wads of cash, travellers want an easier and more convenient way to pay whilst overseas. This is what makes the prepaid card so appealing, it is widely accepted, safer than cash and its ability to hold multiple currencies on one card protects users from wavering conversion rates and helps limit the number of different currencies that need to be withdrawn as cash," said Marcello Baricordi, General Manager, UAE, Visa.

The most appealing features of the prepaid travel card to business travellers are as follows:

  • It can be used at any store (56 per cent)

  • It is easy to use in general (56 per cent)

  • It is easy to use for low cost items (47 per cent)

The most appealing features of the prepaid travel card to leisure travellers are as follows:

  • It is easy to use in general (50 per cent)

  • It can be used in any store (46 per cent)

  • It is easy to use for low cost items (44 per cent)

About Visa
Visa is a global payments technology company that connects consumers, businesses, financial institutions and governments in more than 200 countries and territories to fast, secure and reliable digital currency. Underpinning digital currency is one of the world's most advanced processing networks --VisaNet -- that is capable of handling  more than 24,000 transactions a second, with fraud protection for consumers and guaranteed payment for merchants. Visa is not a bank, and does not issue cards, extend credit or set rates and fees for consumers. Visa's innovations, however, enable its financial institution customers to offer consumers more choices: Pay now with debit, ahead of time with prepaid or later with credit products. For more information, visit www.corporate.visa.com.

For more information contact:
Venkat Iyer
BPG PR for VISA
Dubai, United Arab Emirates
Tel: +971 4 295 3456
Mob: +971 50 718 7383
Email: venkat@batespangulf.com

[1] [The Visa Prepaid Travel Card Survey 2013 is a survey commissioned by Visa. Interviews of 25 minutes were conducted with 608 respondents from the UAE aged 18-59 years across the student, leisure and business traveller segments. The fieldwork was conducted from December 2012 to January 2013]

© Press Release 2013