Mondex in Canada has unveiled the electronic cash card to be used in its Guelph, Ont. pilot project later this year.
The card was designed by Harrod & Mirlin of Toronto, one of the finalists for the Mondex advertising account that went to Bozell Palmer Bonner earlier this year.
In keeping with the positioning that Mondex is the same as cash, the face of the card depicts $20 bills.
The words ‘Mondex Electronic Cash’ appear on the front, along with the cardholder’s name and card number, and the logo of one of the two banking partners in the venture, cibc and Royal Bank.
The consumer card is printed in warm, sepia tones.
Debbie Kassirer, manager, stored value cards, card product division at cibc, says, ‘We wanted consumers to quickly understand that this was a cash card, so by seeing the physical cash on the card there is that understanding.
‘The sepia tones give it an antique look that ties something that is electronic and current to the past, and brings the past into the present.’
Adds Carolyn Burke, manager, marketing and product development, stored value cards for Royal Bank: ‘We rejected technological designs for the card because, although Mondex is technology, the benefit for consumers is not technology, it’s convenience and it should be simple.’
On the back of the card is the line, ‘Valid Only In Guelph,’ and three logos – the logo of the issuing bank, the yellow and royal blue Mondex logo, and the Bell Canada logo.
Bell is a marketing partner in Mondex and its technology will allow consumers to use the card in Mondex-compatible pay phones and home phones to retrieve funds from their bank accounts.
The card design may change for the national rollout of Mondex.
The heart of the reloadable Mondex card is a micro-computer chip which stores the electronic equivalent of cash in up to five different currencies.
Access to Mondex will not be limited to clients of cibc and Royal Bank.
Consumers with any banking card that uses a shared cash network will be able to apply for a Mondex card at one of the partner banks or a Mondex Centre.
Mondex was conceived and developed by NatWest Group, one of Britain’s largest banking entities, which has been testing the system with partner Midland Bank in Swindon, England since last July.
cibc and Royal Bank, with Bell Canada, will begin equipment installation in September and October.
A limited test of the system involving Guelph staff of the companies and some local merchants will begin at the same time.
Some Guelph consumers and other merchants will join the pilot in November with the full consumer test getting underway in first quarter of 1997.
The national rollout is scheduled for early 1998.
Advertising from Bozell Palmer Bonner is expected to begin this fall.
