William Hill launches innovative pre-paid MasterCard
Priority Access pre-paid card tackles withdrawal issues by allowing customers to withdraw cash or pay for items directly from their William Hill accounts
William Hill has signed-up with MasterCard to launch a pre-paid card which gives customers immediate access to money held on their William Hill accounts anywhere a debit or credit card is accepted.
The Priority Access card, which has already been rolled out to the operator’s VIPs, is linked directly to customers’ William Hill balances and can be used to withdraw cash or pay for goods using their William Hill account.
The card, which scooped the prize for Innovation of the Year at the eGaming Review Marketing and Innovation Awards last week, enables customers to access winnings as soon as bets are settled, as opposed to the standard three to five working days for withdrawals.
“The problem for customers is that winning money online is not always as much fun as winning cash at the races where you can collect and spend winnings straight away,” Jamie Hart, William Hill director of innovation and customer experience, told eGaming Review.
“If you have a winning bet online on a Saturday, the cash may not hit your bank account until the following Wednesday so, to rectify that, we have cut out the middle man and are enabling customers to spend their winnings straight after bet settlement.
“Some of our customers who’ve pulled off a big win might also want to spend their money on the kind of entertainment they may not want on their joint-bank account statement,” he added. “The Priority Access card solves that dilemma too – no need to wait before you celebrate.”
And according to Hart, early signs have shown that Access Card holders are now making fewer withdrawals and betting more frequently, with more cash held on account leading to a greater propensity to bet.
“If you are given a tip minutes before the off the bookie you tend to bet with is the bookie you’ve got a balance with, and with this card customers are more likely to keep a balance with us as they can access their money straight away,” Hart said.
The operator plans to roll the card out to as many as 100,000 frequent customers before the start of the domestic football season.