Citibank issues First Debit Scholarship Card using CTL's Prepaid Technology

Press release from the CTL Press Office, March 3rd, 2006

Citibank's Polish division, Citibank Handlowy, has announced the launch of the first Debit Scholarship card in Poland using Card Tech Limited's (CTL) prepaid technology. The card, which was issued together with the Higher School of Public Administration in Bialystok, will enable students to access their scholarship funds through Automatic Teller Machines (ATMs) and POS terminals connected to the Visa network.

Katarzyna Przybyla, Director of Card Products in the Transaction Banking division of Citibank Handlowy, said "The Debit Scholarship card can be used to pay for selected goods or services in over 80,000 service and sales outlets accepting Visa Electron cards in Poland. It is the latest in a range of prepaid Visa Electron cards we offer our corporate clients who can issue different types of cards with customized graphics, available amount of funds, card distribution and activation methods."

Citibank Handlowy and CTL's relationship dates back to 1997 when the bank first licensed and installed START, CTL's Visa sponsored card and merchant management solution for start-up institutions. It has since migrated to CTL's PRIME platform on which, in 2003, it successfully issued real-time debit card products to its corporate clients in Poland.

Edith Kessler-Charalambous, General Manager Business Expansion at CTL, said “Prepaid has been identified as the new wave of technology offering multiple opportunities and huge potential to the card payments industry. Citibank Handlowy has demonstrated that it is at the forefront of this market and CTL has, once again, demonstrated its technological leadership by enabling its clients to seize on new market opportunities, quickly and efficiently.”

CTL's PRIME card management solution provides the bank with a flexible platform to issue and process prepaid cards for a multitude of purposes, including gift cards, travel cards, teen cards, payroll and money transfer cards. With built-in templating features to allow for the definition of new prepaid card types, PRIME also offers a cost effective solution for clients wishing to initiate new prepaid programmes with other industry sectors.  

About Card Tech Limited
Card Tech Limited has been providing payment association certified solutions to the bankcard sector since 1989. More than 190 banking clients from 70 countries use CTL software and processing services.

CTL solutions include card issuance, merchant acquiring, authorisation, message switching, encryption key and PIN management, e-commerce and fraud management. Addressing every aspect of the card management business cycle, they are developed and supported by a dedicated team of over 300 CTL specialists across five regional offices in London, Nicosia, Moscow, Kuala Lumpur and Dubai.

About Citibank Handlowy
Bank Handlowy w Warszawie SA is one of the leading financial institutions in Poland offering a wide range of corporate, investment and consumer products and services under the Citibank Handlowy brand. We have modern distribution channels, a network of more than 160 branches as well as highly professional and experienced staff. We offer innovative products based on the world-class technology.

The Bank was set up as a result of the merger of Bank Handlowy w Warszawie SA - the oldest bank in Poland - and Citibank (Poland) SA in March 2001. As a result, a strong local banking institution has been created and included in the global network of Citigroup - the world's largest financial institution providing services to about 200 million individual, corporate, governmental and institutional customers and employing more than 275,000 people.

Citigroup membership ensures access to international experience, state-of-the-art technologies and top quality financial service for customers in more than 100 countries.