Our History

EMerchants was formed in 2001 after witnessing the emergence of the Electronic Prepaid Industry in the US. The industry established itself on the back of the unbanked, approximately 30% of the US population was unable to be eligible for a bank account, due to the fact that unless you had a social security number you did not qualify. Illegal immigrant workers paid by cheque were left to the mercy of pawnbrokers who would convert their payroll cheques for cash for an absorbent fee. The RBA equivalent in the US concerned with this issue allowed technically competent companies to process cards that worked on local networks as long as the funds held were not deemed at risk.

Comparing US figures to Australian unbanked statistics did not present a very positive business case for starting a prepaid card in Australia as there were less than 1% unbanked. However, EMerchants saw an opportunity to develop a business case based around services, products and entire processes generated by this Electronic Prepaid Infrastructure. These services/products were currently only offered at financial institutions that normally dealt in this space (Banks). By providing another option to customers it would allow for greater choice and flexibility. The products and services referred to are what we see today as Gift, Loyalty, Staff Incentives and Rewards, E-Tolls and Corporate Expense and Travel as well as services such as Direct Entry (ACH) Settlement and Identification.

EMerchants business model is based on providing host based stored value services over existing infrastructure. The established Electronic Financial Transaction (EFT) network in Australia is EFTPOS, EMerchants has direct connectivity to this network and authorises all transactions through this presence. To satisfy the regulators that card holder’s funds are not at risk, EMerchants does not hold the funds in its name nor is it signatory to the account. All settlements with interchange partners are performed by an ADI in bulk.

EMerchants is audited by external auditors monthly/half yearly and annually to ensure reconciliations are true and correct. EMerchants first transaction occurred in November 2004 and we have since authorised over 1 million transactions, issued over 1 million cards and successfully settled over $150m. Primary markets for EMerchants are Corporate Travel and Expense, Staff Incentives and Rewards, Gift and Loyalty. EMerchants philosophy is not just to provide a piece of plastic with access to cash, our technical department is constantly developing applications to provide even more benefits when using our products.