Financial firms team for mobile access to funds

H&R Block Emerald Prepaid MasterCard cardholders will soon have mobile access to their accounts through a partnership among H&R Block, Metavante Mobile Financial Services and Monitise Americas L.L.C.
Customers will be able to check their balances from their mobile phone and receive account reload mobile alerts, said the companies. During the 2008 tax season, H&R Block issued 2.6 million cards on which tax refunds were applied.
“When banking services perform as advertised, they build relationships,” said Frank D’Angelo, group president, Metavante Payment Solutions. “The hope for reloadable prepaid cards has been equipping financial institutions to offer an alternative to checking accounts as an entry-level product and eventually transition non-traditional customers into traditional banking relationships.
“The ever-present nature of the mobile phone in America makes it an advantageous customer service channel for consumers already bypassing traditional financial institution channels,” continued D’Angelo. “As prepaid itself becomes a mainstream financial product, using mobile-phone text messaging functionality for balance inquiries can enable relationship building by allowing consumers to manage their account whenever and wherever they choose.”