“Closed-loop” cards are tied to a specific merchant or
service. The cards can be issued independently of the bank and credit card
companies, and can be used either as prepaid cards or for payment at a later
date.
Typical applications include lunch restaurants, loyalty
cards, fuel cards and coffee cards.
Prepaid cards can be topped up easily by the customer on the
Internet or at a top-up point with a payment terminal. The card is debited each
time it is used until the balance reaches zero. PayEx can also offer
functionality for automatic top-up, for example at certain times or when a
certain balance is reached.
For cards where payment is made at a later date the customer or company
will receive a bill for the full amount of purchases during the specified
period.