A travel debit card provider that currently sells through Phones4U outlets is looking to extend its distribution through travel agents.
EZPay, which is a subsidiary of the phone retailer, sells the Escape cards for £9.99 and offers travellers free payments and access to their cash while on holiday.
Paul Smith, managing director of EZPay, said a rough estimate he did while on a two week family holiday in Lanzarote suggested he would have saved £70 using the card.
He said agents could offer customers some added value by selling them an Escape debit card that will soon come loaded with a rewards programme that will offset the initial cost of the card.
Smith said EZPay looks at the foreign exchange rates offered by all the leading providers including the Post Office, Travelex and leading banks each morning to make sure it has market leading rates.
The cards are currently available in Euros, US Dollars and sterling. Cards can be charged up with cash free in store, via a bacs bank transfer or for a small charge with a debit card, credit card at the Post Office or at a Paypoint terminal.
Most customers currently choose to use bacs which can be done via text.
The Mastercard Escape debit cards have been on sale in Phones4u stores for a year during which time tens of thousands have been sold, up to 8,000 in busy months.
Smith said: “We would be interested in attracting face-to-face agents who sell on the high street and also web-based agents as well.”
Agents can retain the full revenue from the sale of the card, EZPay earning its income from the transactions associated with each card.
Although it is costly to over-brand the cards themselves, a support website can be branded to agents’ requirements.
Agents do not hand the cards themselves to customers but sign them up and send them home with a pack to complete the procedure. Customers can have a working card within around five days.