Brightwell Payments Adds EMV Euro Card to its OceanPay® Program

Brightwell Payments, Inc., a payments company offering comprehensive prepaid debit card solutions, announces the addition of an EMV Euro card to its maritime payroll program, OceanPay. The new OceanPay Prepaid MasterCard settles in Euros and was implemented onboard Crystal Cruises in April. The OceanPay Prepaid MasterCard complements the program’s existing USD OceanPay Visa® Prepaid program enabling clients to select one currency, or a dual currency program, to best fit their business model and payroll needs.

“Adding Euro payment functionality with EMV technology to the OceanPay program allows us to expand our program reach, offer additional functionality to our clients and prospects, and support our strategic initiatives to expand internationally and target additional companies within maritime and other industries,” said Kenneth M. Goins, Jr., CEO of Brightwell Payments.

The OceanPay Prepaid MasterCard offers many cardholder features and benefits available on the existing USD OceanPay Visa Prepaid Card, including onboard wire services, online account access and automatic alerts, cash withdrawal access, and POS transaction capability. With EMV technology, the cardholder benefits from added security and increased POS acceptance throughout Europe.

“Crystal Cruises expressed its desire for an EMV Euro card and we believed that the added functionality would benefit not only existing customers, but better position us to expand the OceanPay program worldwide. After a significant effort by our team members and close coordination with Crystal Cruises, I’m pleased to announce that our newest OceanPay product is up and running successfully,” replied Goins.

Crystal Cruises implemented the new card on its ships in April, making it the first OceanPay client to offer an EMV Euro card to its crewmembers in addition to the standard USD OceanPay Visa Prepaid Card. Discussions with several prospective new clients as well as existing clients to add an EMV Euro card program are currently in the works.

OceanPay is a proprietary, comprehensive end-to-end paycard solution designed to mitigate the unique challenges and concerns of existing payroll processes faced by the maritime industry. The turnkey solution provides currency exchange and onboard money remittance services, companion cards, and onboard card encoding and printing. The OceanPay program is currently offered on 169 ships worldwide.

About Brightwell Payments, Inc.

Brightwell Payments, Inc., formerly Prepaid Solutions, Inc., is an international payments company offering comprehensive prepaid debit card solutions for corporations and consumers. Its services include marketing, design, distribution, and fulfillment services in support of maritime and domestic payroll, general purpose reloadable and loyalty, award, and promotional card programs. In 2011, the company won Paybefore Magazine’s “Most Effective Prepaid Solution” award for its maritime payroll product, OceanPay. Brightwell Payments is headquartered in Atlanta with additional offices in Chicago, Milwaukee, and Miami.

About Crystal Cruises

Crystal Cruises was created in 1988 with a vision to set a completely new standard in luxury travel and world exploration. Today, Crystal Cruises operates the two top-rated luxury ships in the world: the 922-guest Crystal Symphony (launched in 1995) and the 1,070-guest Crystal Serenity (launched in 2003). Crystal is wholly owned by Nippon Yusen Kaisha (NYK), one of the largest shipping companies in the world. To learn more, visit www.crystalcruises.com.

MasterCard and the MasterCard Brand Mark are a registered trademark of MasterCard International Incorporated. The OceanPay Prepaid MasterCard is issued by the Transact Network Limited pursuant to a license by MasterCard International Incorporated. Transact Network Limited is authorized and regulated by the Financial Services Commission, Gibraltar. Transact Network Limited: Victoria House, Suite 11, 26 Main Street, Gibraltar.

OceanPay Visa Cards are issued by The Bancorp Bank pursuant to a license from Visa U.S.A. Inc. The Bancorp Bank; Member FDIC. OceanPay Visa Cards can be used everywhere Visa debit cards are accepted.