Selevision and Arab Financial Services (AFS) have signed a strategic agreement worth approximately US$550 million to cover the issuance and ongoing management of ‘Selevision MasterCard Loyalty Card’ a unique membership and loyalty card, based on a personalized MasterCard Unembossed Prepaid Card.
This Selevision MasterCard Loyalty Card will be issued to all the satellite set-top box receiver customers in UAE and Saudi Arabia by the end of 2005. The Loyalty Cards will be issued and operated by AFS, the leading card processing services provider in the region.
Customers can use their Selevision Loyalty Card for purchases at over 24.6 million merchant locations and access cash at over 900,000 ATMs worldwide.
Dr. Raed Khusheim, president of Selevision, said: “Customers get a percentage of their deposit money refunded to them every month through the MasterCard Loyalty Card, which is the equivalent of making Selevision available on hire purchase. Considering the fact that full deposit amount is refundable to the customer over a period of time, there is ‘no-risk’ on the purchase for the customer.”
Mr. Rasool Hujair, CEO of AFS, said: “AFS has long been leading the way in innovative card products, and we are honoured to be working with Selevision and MasterCard and are very excited about this opportunity as the Selevision MasterCard Loyalty Card is a unique loyalty program and the first of its kind in the region.”
TK Raman, Vice President & Country Manager GCC, MasterCard MENA said that the MasterCard Unembossed Prepaid product is a simple yet innovative payment solution based on which the Selevision Loyalty Card program has been built. MasterCard is a leader in the prepaid cards arena and will continue to provide a variety of innovative payment products and services tailored to meet the needs of customers in the MENA region.
Selevision will be launching its technology in the Middle East towards end of the year and expects to supply 800,000 homes in the UAE and Saudi Arabia with its Digital Satellite Receivers – a multi-functional ‘set top box’ - within the next 12 months.
The ‘set top boxes’ will be available for a monthly subscription of just AED 5 or SR 5 (a deposit is required), with the Selevision technology and all its advanced functionality available free of charge.
With Selevision, advertisers will be able to guarantee reaching a specific audience - pre-determined by themselves - using sophisticated technology that enables commercials to be targeted by any of a number of criteria, such as location, age and income.
AFS – which has been operating from Bahrain for almost 22 years, is owned by 45 of the region’s leading banks, and is regulated by Bahrain Monetary Agency. It is the region’s leading provider of electronic-payments and consumer finance outsourcing services to over 50 banks and financial institutions.
Established in 2002, Selevision FZ-LLC is a limited liability company, headquartered in Dubai, and specialising in media technology & services.
Selevision provides solutions to advertisers, channels and networks through its sophisticated and smart technology Dynamic Commercials Delivery System. This new communication system will incorporate the needs, preferences, and priorities of viewers.
Founded in 1984, AFS is the region’s leading provider of electronic –payments and consumer finance outsourcing services. Created by the financial industry to service and support financial institutions in the region and beyond. AFS is owned by 45 of the region’s leading banks and currently provides outsourcing services to over 50 banks and financial institutions.
Through leveraging best-in-class technology and know-how, AFS provides clients with reliable, efficient and easy-to-use systems, supported by processing services for their card issuing, merchant acquiring and consumer finance. The comprehensive range of services offered by the company include application and transaction processing, authorizations, customer service, card issuance, fraud detection and reporting, statement issuing and dispatching, dispute and chargeback processing, reporting, settlement, reconciliation and loyalty programs.
MasterCard International is a leading global payments solutions company that provides a broad variety of innovative services in support of our global members' credit, deposit access, electronic cash, business-to-business and related payment programs. MasterCard International manages a family of well-known, widely accepted payment card brands including MasterCard®, Maestro® and Cirrus® and serves financial institutions, consumers and businesses in over 210 countries and territories. The MasterCard award-winning Priceless® advertising campaign is now seen in 105 countries and in 48 languages, giving the MasterCard brand a truly global reach and scope. For more information go to www.mastercardinternational.com.
