Commonwealth Bank Travel Money Card Recognised Internationally

COMMONWEALTH BANK TRAVEL MONEY CARD RECOGNISED INTERNATIONALLY

17 December 2009: The Commonwealth Bank Travel Money Card was last night honoured internationally by taking out the Best International Prepaid Card category at the prestigious OSCARDS awards ceremony in Paris.

The OSCARDS recognise extraordinary innovation in bankcard applications and is one of the highest honours a card company can receive. 15 winners were announced from a shortlist of 64 nominees, handpicked from the 500 new cards listed in the 2010 Innovative Cards Report, published by Publi-News and Altnor. Winners were chosen from a panel of international experts in the field of cards.

Launched in June 2009, the Travel Money Card is a prepaid MasterCard that enables travellers to lock in the exchange rate of multiple currencies on the same card and access their money overseas.

Michael Cant, Executive General Manager of Retail Products at the Commonwealth Bank said this award demonstrates the Bank's commitment to provide a world class prepaid travel card to its customers.

"The beauty of the Travel Money Card is its simplicity it's a convenient, safe way to access money all over the world and has the flexibility to load and transfer between multiple currencies.

"Our customers have now used our cards in over 165 different countries across all corners of the globe from Liechtenstein to Costa Rica," Mr Cant said.

Three additional currencies can now be loaded onto the card including Hong Kong dollars, Singapore dollars and Japanese Yen complementing the existing currencies including US dollars, British pounds, Euros, Australian, New Zealand and Canadian dollars.

Mr Eddie Grobler, executive vice president, MasterCard Australasia said that the Travel Money Card continues to provide a global payment solution for travellers.

"This international award and the additional three currencies on the card means MasterCard and Commonwealth Bank customers continue to be offered a world class payment solution and access to a vast global network of merchants and payment terminals," Mr Grobler said.

Available at any Commonwealth Bank branch in Australia, the Travel Money Card is accepted at more than 29.4 million locations worldwide, including more than one million ATMs - wherever MasterCard is accepted.

More information on the Travel Money Card can be found at commbank.com.au/travelmoney


For more information contact:
George Pank
Commonwealth Bank
Ph: (02) 9378 3944

Editors Notes

About the OSCARDS Awards
The OSCARDS for innovative cards is a professional event created four years ago by Publi- News, a trade publications house involved in the card banking industry. The sponsoring partners involved in this 2009 OSCARDS are Carte Bleue Visa, SPB, Affinion International and SopraGroup. The OSCARDS rewards one winner in each category from Europe, France and internationally. Categories include loyalty, services, shapes and design, prepaid cards and technology.

Other features of Commonwealth Bank's Travel Money Card
* Customers can load up to six of the following nine currencies: US dollars, British pounds, Euros, Australian dollars, Hong Kong dollars, Singapore dollars, Japanese Yen, New Zealand dollars and Canadian dollars
* Customers can load their preferred value up to AU$25,000 or foreign currency equivalent Valid for up to three years and reloadable online via BPAY or in any Commonwealth Bank branch in Australia
* PIN protected and signature enabled
* Back-up card provided in case card is lost or stolen
* Not linked to a personal bank account
* Flat purchase fee of AU$15.00
* ATM withdrawal fee of AU$3.50 or foreign currency equivalent
* Users can keep track of their spending from anywhere in the world with support online, over the phone and via SMS alerts
* Transfer funds from one currency to another free of charge
* Those purchasing the card do not have to be an existing Commonwealth Bank customer.

SOURCE: Commonwealth Bank of Australia