Tune Card

It took me almost two years to get a credit card when I was living in Australia (as a student). The reason why I kept getting turned down was because:

a. I had hardly any money in my bank account b. I moved around in a metal heap with four wheels (probably worth just a bit more than a skateboard) c. I lived with my relatives (parasite style) d. I worked for a typical “your friendly neighbourhoodâ€? computer store and my wages were paid in cash at the end of every day

As far as the financial institutions were concerned, I was a ghost. Approximately AUD$5.00 was levied every year to keep my account going. That was probably how much I was worth to the bank.

In spite of that, I still needed a credit card badly. This is because, even back in 1997, the Australian government and companies had already put a lot of their subscriptions, payments for services and renewals online. Without a credit card, I had to drive all over the place to make payments. It was not only costly in terms of fuel consumption; it also wasted valuable study time. Studying the opposite sex on campus, that is.

After about two years of pleading and explaining to the banks that I am worthy of a card, one bank manager took pity on me and submitted my application with her strong recommendations. To cut the long story short, I was finally approved! My credit limit was an amazing AUD$400.00! Hahaha, no typos there. That did not matter to me. AUD$400.000 was more than enough for me to get my payments done. Besides, it was linked to my bank account so if I needed to use it for bigger purchases, all I needed to do was to “payâ€? in excess and maintain a debit balance. Things were so much more convenient after that. The greatest time saver was being able to pay my never-ending parking summons online.

I really did not need the line of credit. All I needed was a payment tool which allowed me to pay online. Ahhhh… you can see where I am going with this now, right? I needed a debit card (some of you might be more familiar with the term “prepaidâ€?). Unfortunately, the idea of a prepaid card back then was still quite unheard of by many people.

This brings me to Tune Card, a prepaid VISA card by Tune Money. Launched on the 19th by Y. B. Dato’ Dr. Awang Adek Hussin, Deputy Finance Minister II, the Tune Card is poised to reshape the terrain for spending. I was particularly keen to hear the segment on online spending. Warren, Jesrina and I were pleased that Tengku Zafrul and Datuk Kamaruddin Taib of Camtech Asia were able to spend some time with us even though everyone from VIPs to media were vying for their attention. Datuk Kamaruddin had given us valuable insight into his thoughts and how the Financial Process Exchange (FPX) is going to be an integral part of the Internet in the months to come.

I do not intend to do a sales pitch for Tune Card. So you can read more about it here. Nevertheless, you can already see that if cards like that were easily available when I was studying, I would have been able to lead a much more optimized lifestyle… and that is just me (a broke university student). Think about the many other niches out there. Niche markets for making money online. I know the first one that comes to mind is porn but you can do better than that. Focus people! Online gaming for example is dominated by young adults who have difficulties getting approval for credit cards. Finally an answer for this multimillion Ringgit industry! Anyway, if you are a merchant, you should be excited. I strongly believe that this is going to have significant impact on the amount of Ringgit spent on online transactions.

Readers, get creative. Use this channel as a means to target new markets. Hmmm, maybe now I can start commoditizing all the Facebook virtual hugs and kisses… just like a kissing booth. Sell my hugs and kisses online. Anyone want to buy a virtual kiss? Anybody? Anybody?

P/S: Special thanks to Tengku Nadia (Manager, Cards Business Development @ Tune Money) for correcting my terminology.