A NEW cash payment card that does not need a new bank account to operate is to launch in France this summer.

Marketing company Aqoba is behind the scheme which will see companies signing up for the cards and offering them on subscription to customers who would use them to pay for goods and services.

Users will get special deals for certain services like VIP access to shops, hotels and restaurants, discounts and a bonus for usage.

A card subscription will cost around e30 and can be used in France and abroad. Aqoba expects to issue the first cards this summer and says they will be of particular interest to magazine publishers, mutuelle health insurers and internet
shopping sites. No money goes through Aqoba’s accounts – it has signed up Mastercard to deal with the transactions – but it will use the information gained on customers’ buying habits and preferences.