TORONTO, ONTARIO--(Marketwire - May 5, 2011) - SelectCore Ltd. (TSX VENTURE:SCG), a provider of prepaid telecom and financial solutions for the credit challenged and unbanked consumer market is pleased to announce that it has received approval for its Iridium brand from the United States Patent and Trademark Office.
Mirroring its proven business model in Canada, SelectCore now plans to launch Iridium MasterCard in the United States with an initial roll-out by the third quarter through the Company's top 2,000 existing retail locations.
Unlike Green Dot (NYSE:GDOT) and NetSpend (NASDAQ:NTSP) who successfully focus on large corporate retail distribution, SelectCore is uniquely positioned to capitalize on the untapped independent retail channel by leveraging its proprietary point-of-sale technology and considerable experience.
According to NACS (the National Association of Convenience Stores), there are over 146,000 convenience stores across the United States of which 62.7% are dominated by single-owner / operators. This, in management's opinion, represents a significant opportunity for the Company to continue growing its US retail network.
A great deal of SelectCore's success to date has been a result of its retail partners' ability to connect with consumers of the same ethnic background and language. "Our typical locations are located in areas where the highest concentration of underbanked consumers shop" explained Keith McKenzie, CEO of SelectCore, "This provides SelectCore with direct access to a captive audience."
Iridium will be the first of its kind prepaid card that is issued in both Canada and the United States. Iridium MasterCard is accepted at millions of locations worldwide from retail stores to online, mail, and phone orders. Card features include online account access, text message and email alerts, bill pay, money transfers, ATM cash access and more. No credit check or bank account is required and cards can be reloaded over and over again with up to a $5,000 balance.
According to a recent article on Forbes.com and the most recent FDIC national survey, 25% of households in the United States are unbanked or underbanked, representing over 60 million adults. In 2010, value-loads on open-loop prepaid cards alone totaled $165 billion and is expected to grow to $400 billion by 2013.
"Iridium provides unbanked consumers with financial empowerment in a society that is quickly shifting to electronic forms of payment" commented Ryan Deslippe, President of SelectCore, "Expansion into the US is a natural progression for us, especially with our already established retail network"
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