Strong prepaid payment card opportunity for India banks: survey

Indian consumers want to own and use prepaid payment cards, with eight out of 10 (84 per cent) planning to own such a product in the near future said a survey by Visa for the VRL Prepaid Summit South Asia 2010.

The survey found that while current prepaid payment card ownership in India was low at only 2 per cent, four out of ten respondents were aware of the product (40 per cent)
 
The survey asked 910 respondents from six major cities in India (Delhi, Mumbai, Chennai, Kolkata, Bangalore and Hyderabad) about their attitudes towards prepaid cards and the factors influencing their usage of the product.

Those respondents who already own or want to own a prepaid payment card said their reasons for purchasing the product were easy availability (59 per cent), to enjoy the benefits of cashless transactions (56 per cent), the convenience of carrying a card versus large amounts of cash (51 per cent), and the fact that the card reduced the need to visit the ATM (49 per cent).

“Our research confirms Indian consumers are looking to use prepaid payment cards as a payment method. Since prepaid card ownership is still at a nascent stage in India, there is a huge opportunity for financial institutions to grow their prepaid card business and enable more people to experience the benefits of a modern payment system,” said Neel Nilakantan, Regional Director, Prepaid Products, International, Visa.