The Imagine Card beats stiff regional competition to pick up top honours at the prestigious smart card awards
SINGAPORE, 20 May 2013 – The EZ-Link Imagine American Express® Prepaid Card emerged as the winner of the Best Prepaid Card award at the second Annual Smart Card Awards Asia, held at Marina Bay Sands.
The annual Smart Card Awards Asia is designed to identify, recognize and award companies who have demonstrated the greatest ability in innovation with new products, continually setting the standards of excellence. The Awards panel of judges would shortlist the top five nominations for each award category subsequently put these selected nominees through an open judging process by industry practitioners via an online voting system.
Launched in October 2012, the Imagine Card is a card-issuing partnership between EZ-Link Pte Ltd and American Express. It is the first American Express-branded, contactless prepaid card in the world, and the first American Express-branded product equipped with EZ-Link CEPAS functionality, giving cardholders the convenience of using it for public transit, taxis, Electronic Road Pricing (ERP), with the Electronic Parking System (EPS) and at an extensive network of merchants accepting EZ-Link in Singapore; as well as retail purchases worldwide wherever American Express is accepted.
The EZ-Link Imagine American Express® Prepaid Card is well-differentiated from other prepaid cards. It offers merchant privileges typically only available with AMEX issued credit cards, including cash rebates; offers for dining, leisure and shopping; access to thousands of deals both locally and globally. Online privileges like Globaleshop from American Express; and access to exclusive members-only shopping portal, High Street Labels are also some of the perks that Imagine Cardholders enjoy. It is also the first prepaid card in the market integrated with the EZLink Season Pass, which offers unlimited bus travel and up to four train journeys per day. In addition, cardholders are able to suspend their card account immediately if the card is lost or stolen, and enjoy online fraud protection through the American Express SafeKey programme.
“It is an honour to be named the Best Prepaid Card in the Smart Card Awards Asia, an award voted and judged by industry players. The award is a recognition of the winning product propositions of the EZ-Link Imagine American Express® Prepaid Card, we are very proud to receive such an accolade.” said Mr. Nicholas Lee, CEO of EZ-Link Pte Ltd. “By designing the 2 Card along three key value proposition pillars – convenience, benefits & privileges and security, EZ-Link, in collaboration with American Express, is able to take the concept of prepaid card to a whole new level. We strive to continue to collaborate with American Express to put more benefits into the hands of every holder of the Imagine Card.”
This is the second award received by EZ-Link over the last twelve months. EZ-Link’s M1 Prepaid MasterCard® also took home the Ministry of Transport’s Minister’s Innovation Award in November 2012. A collaboration between M1 Limited and EZ-Link, the M1 Prepaid MasterCard is the first prepaid card that integrates telephony, global retail payments and transportation, enabling consumers to enjoy a unique experience of commuting, shopping and communication with a single card.
About EZ-Link Pte Ltd
EZ-Link Pte Ltd was formed on 8 January 2002. Its core business is the clearing and settlement of all EZ-Link card transactions generated in transit and non-transit (retail/merchant) environments, as well as the sale, distribution and overall management of EZ-Link cards. To date, more than 17 million new CEPAS-compliant EZ-Link cards have been issued. This is in tandem with the government’s plan to promote cashless payments in Singapore. In line with this vision, the new EZ-Link card is now also accepted as a mode of payment for Electronic Road Pricing (ERP) and at carparks fitted with the Electronic Payment System (EPS) when used in the dual-mode in-vehicle unit.