Atlanta: Options for how seafarers get paid and send their money home are finally beginning to expand. One method making waves is the OceanPay® Visa® Prepaid Card.
Ken Goins, the firm’s ceo, said the card’s genesis came from a need to find a solution for cross-border compensation payments made in cash on a global scale.
Goins says the OceanPay Card provides a “business solution with a value proposition” in the form of a client process improvement, efficiency driver, cost savings tool and benefit to the individual crewmember.
The benefit to the crewmember, he says, is accomplished through a safe, secure, cost-effective, and convenient tool to help crewmembers manage their financial affairs and lifestyle while away from home for so many months at a time.
The card is now being used by more than 60,000 crewmembers on hundreds of vessels around the world.
In case of emergencies, the OceanPay Card platform can make real-time payments.
The OceanPay Card is less expensive than converting cash to local currency for purchases when travelling around the globe or even having to do multiple currency exchanges.
Seafarers have access to a fully integrated web-browser platform that allows them to view their card balance and transaction history, request a companion card, send a wire to virtually any bank account in the world, or send money for cash pickup — all without leaving the ship.
“Crew can make financial decisions 24/7, from anywhere in the world,” Goins tells Maritime CEO.
A new product being rolled out this week will be a direct to bank account option, eliminating the management of beneficiary bank accounts by the employer, simplyfying the global payroll distribution process for a shipowner or shipmanager.
“In addition,” Goins says, “the new product will empower crew and provide them with more choice and flexibility regarding their wage disbursement.”
OceanPay Visa Prepaid Cards are issued by The Bancorp Bank pursuant to a license from Visa U.S.A. Inc. The Bancorp Bank; Member FDIC. OceanPay Cards can be used everywhere Visa debit cards are accepted.
