As organizations across the world embark on their digital transformation journey, cloud-based technologies have become the need of the hour and a gateway to boundless opportunities. Today, small as well as medium businesses today are leveraging cloud technology to provide efficiency, cost-effectiveness, and other advantages to their clients. The fin-tech industry is still in the early stage of cloud adoption, growing at a steady pace. In recent years, several fin-tech platforms have emerged with innovative cloud-based payment processing services, offering beneficial services to businesses and users.
Headquartered in New York, Prepaid Ventures is the frontrunner in this reimagining of the fin-tech industry. It is one of the leading cloud-based payment processing, program management, and prepaid debit card solutions providers in the USA. The company aims to offer innovative solutions and financial management technologies to businesses looking to grow and evolve into the electronic payments network.
Inception History of Prepaid Ventures
The Prepaid Ventures’ Founder Andrew Siden has shared the interesting story behind the inception of the company. He begins, “In 2005, I entered the alternative financial services space, and in 2007, started PPV. I never realized how many people were unbanked and how the big industry was. At the time, the government estimates were 60 million under banked. Banks were not available to them, people not having financial services that they needed, or even a choice, so people used alternative services and check-cashing.”
As Andrew started his journey in the check-cashing industry, he would work various shifts. He noticed each week at 11 pm, the nurses from the local hospital would have a shift change and would come to cash their paychecks, leaving the store with cash in a dangerous neighborhood to go home at night. This situation didn’t sit right with Andrew, and he saw an opportunity to help check cashers and customers.
Prepaid cards were neither used widely at that time, nor was it common with the check-cashing stores. To overcome this problem, Andrew figured out a way to customize a prepaid card for check cashing stores and their customers. This inspired him to start Prepaid Ventures. He raised capital, and NexsCard was formed. Through tenacious effort, research, and with a few false starts, Andrew persevered and designed a product to meet the needs of customers and bridged a gap in the check-cashing industry.
The Dynamic Founder of Prepaid Venture
The success of Prepaid Ventures is entitled to Andrew Siden, the founder and CEO of the company. He has a wide knowledge of financial services and electronic payment processing experience. He began his career at Smith Barney as a Guided Portfolio Manager and ultimately became an Equity Trader with Knight Capital Group. In 2003, Andrew left Wall Street to pursue the rapidly evolving Alternative Financial Services (AFS) market, where he joined a leading check-cashing business based on New York. Andrew implemented his extensive corporate strategies, leveraged technology, and improved compliance & operational procedures, ultimately launching Prepaid Ventures and developing its initial product, the NexsCard Prepaid Visa Card.
Exclusive Products and Outstanding Services
In 2009, after two years of developing and fine-tuning Prepaid Ventures’ initial card program, Prepaid Ventures introduced the launch of NexsCard, a Visa prepaid debit card. NexsCard allows checking cash customers to load cash onto a network-branded prepaid card at their local check cashier, or obtain direct deposits, and to use the card anywhere with Visa brands approved. Prepaid Ventures exclusively partners with Visa to provide its prepaid card solutions. After NexsCard achieved critical mass, Andrew started pursuing other payment space-related projects.
“From full-service program management to consultative services, we strive to deliver excellence and an unrivaled client experience.”
Today, Prepaid Ventures is renowned as one of the leading providers of payment processing, system management, prepaid debit card solutions, leveraging its in-house technology to introduce other products for itself and third parties. This includes corporate prepaid cards, payroll cards, general purpose reliable cards, and remote deposit capture of checks. Consumers have become more digitally oriented and increasingly involved in online check cashing.
Mobileteller system of Prepaid Ventures has been specifically developed to ensure the smooth and uninterrupted virtual interaction among the agents and their customers. The company empowers clients with its disbursement services and flexible payment management software with bank-level security, focused on replacing manual paper-based processes with electronic payments and documents.
Prepaid Ventures collaborates with several different supply chain providers, which results in a seamless, vertically integrated solution in a complex marketplace. It has also entered the merchant processing space to add to its full-suite of processing, payments, and program management services. Because of this, the company uses a customer approach and customized consultative client, coupled with the agile methodology to develop new solutions.
Winning Marketing Strategies
Prepaid Ventures adopted many marketing strategies throughout the lifespan of each of the card programs that has launched throughout the years and has successfully done so. Marketing has evolved tremendously as social media marketing has taken how businesses operate by storm and has completely changed the trajectory of how businesses get any recognition in any industry. Businesses are now left with this ultimatum of adapting to this change. Prepaid Ventures has taken this change and has opened up every channel to thrive within the environment such as taking part in internet marketing, email marketing, direct selling, utilizing all social media outlets and much more.
Unique Client Co-ordination
Prepaid Ventures offers a wide range of customizable financial products such as multiple wallets, online bill pay, direct deposit, mobile apps, websites, IVR’s and more for businesses looking to enter the electronic payments marketplace. The solutions function as a foundation that enables companies to grow their customer base and benefit from new technological trends. Prepaid Ventures follows a consultative approach, which involves understanding the needs of the clients and their customer base. The main purpose of the company is to become a partner to the client rather than to stay limited to a transactional relationship. And as each client has a unique vision, Prepaid Ventures does not rely on a one-size-fits-all approach.
Future Perspective
Andrew, the CEO of the company is looking forward to expand PPV into different spheres within the AFS market such as gift cards, secondary card programs, and payroll cards in upcoming years. Moreover, Prepaid Ventures will continue to build upon existing programs such as Avid Prepaid, NexsCard for Business, and a remote deposit capture feature-mobile teller to keep projecting the company forward.
Advice for New Entrants from the CEO
“My advice to a first-time entrepreneur is that it’s ok to be wrong. It’s ok to get knocked down because that will happen for sure. If you are the founder and do not have a total belief in what you are doing, the odds are you will become beaten down by all of the things that can and will go wrong. Somewhere between courage and commitment is faith, and it takes complete faith to be successful. You should be open to ideas, while at the same time be steadfast in your beliefs.”
