CardFlex, Tay Two Co. Sign Letter of Intent to Develop Prepaid Debit Card for the Japanese Market

COSTA MESA, Calif. (Feb. 7, 2012) — CardFlex Inc. and Tokyo-based Tay Two Co. announced today an agreement to explore development of a CardFlex-branded prepaid debit card program in Japan.

Under the terms of a Letter of Intent, CardFlex (www.cardflexnow.com) and Tay Two will finalize a licensing agreement by June 30, 2012, that will create a separate company called CardFlex Japan. Through that entity, Tay Two will license the CardFlex name for use in the Japanese market. CardFlex, in turn, will contribute its industry expertise to the venture, including its proprietary procedures and technologies.

“The opportunities for prepaid are present in almost every country, but we are especially upbeat about Japan and we believe Tay Two is our strongest possible partner in that market,” said Andrew M. Phillips, founder and president, CardFlex.

The program would extend Tay Two’s retail reach in a new and interesting way. The firm already manages approximately 100 stores that buy and sell new and used books, video games, hardware, DVDs, CDs and more. The CardFlex partnership would allow Tay Two to offer a new payment method to its existing retail customers.

“We believe the prepaid card business will be very profitable in Japan,” said Kaoru Arai, senior vice president, Tay Two. “A strong relationship with CardFlex, with its superior industry know-how, gives us a solid foundation upon which to build that business.”

The two companies first met in mid-2011. Ongoing conversations revealed a “seriousness of purpose and market intelligence” that would lead to “a very, very powerful new force in the industry,” said Phillips.

Adds Trae Cassell, senior vice president of prepaid, CardFlex: “We see this as a natural extension of our North American strategy. In Japan, as in the U.S., we’ll continue to build the CardFlex brand through superior service to marquee clients while developing new tools to speed payments.”

ABOUT CARDFLEX

Through its relationship with First California Bank, CardFlex (www.cardflexnow.com) is a major provider of prepaid cards. The Costa Mesa-based card issuer is also a developer of leading-edge, technology-driven products in the prepaid industry. Its recently announced TipCentral product allows businesses in such industries as restaurant and entertainment to process gratuity payments to employees on a prepaid MasterCard through a secure web portal. The company’s FlexFund technology allows organizations to disperse funds instantly to any number of employees by any means—ACH, direct deposit, prepaid card, even old-fashioned paper check—dramatically reducing the costs associated with traditional payment methods.