(From left) iSynergy MD K.K. Ng, soccer personalities Manvir and Shebby,
Simon Loh and Jim Cheah at the launch of the prepaid cards yesterday

STAR: MASTERCARD International expects 25,000 of its prepaid cards, co-issued with e-pay Sdn Bhd and iSynergy Sdn Bhd in conjunction with the 2002 Fifa World Cup, to be sold out by the end of May, said e-pay managing director Simon Loh.

The co-branded, limited edition card, which functions as an electronic purse with pre-fixed spending limits, can be topped up in multiples of RM50 and used to pay for goods and services at the 8 million locations worldwide that display the MasterCard sign.

"This card has numerous benefits including helping to manage spending as it has a fixed credit and spending is limited to RM200 per transaction and only five transactions are allowed per day." Loh said after the launch of the card in Kuala Lumpur yesterday.

Loh said the card could be topped up at any of iSynergy's 400 e-Purse locations at Petronas petrol stations, at any of e-pay's 2000 terminals found at high traffic locations like Guardian Pharmacy outlets, ProJET stations, QS Foto, Senheng and most handphone retail outlets.

Another 1,000 e-pay locations would be announced within the next six months, Loh added.

MasterCard International vice-president and country manager for Malaysia, Jim Cheah, said issuing the card in conjunction with Fifa World Cup allowed MasterCard's co-branding partners the opportunity to leverage on MasterCard's status as a sponsor for the World Cup.

"This limited edition card with soccer legend Pele on the face was specially designed in conjunction with the World Cup and will give our partners the opportunity to reach their target audience in a unique way," Cheah said.

In conjunction with the launch of the card, the partners have also lined up a number of promotions and contests for new cardholders who also get value-added services like emergency car breakdown services, home services such as plumbing, locksmith services, pest control and even maid service through a tie-up with Safeway Assist Sdn Bhd.

The contest will offer new cardholders the chance to win a trip for two to attend the World Cup semi-final or quarter-final matches, while for every top-up worth RM50, the cardholder can enter a contest with a Kelisa car as the prize.

Promotions include discounts of up to 40% at over 8,000 Gateway merchant locations nationwide, free membership at the cybernation website and 5 MB of mailbox storage space for e-mail as well as access to chat groups.