Smart Transfer, a division of Alphyra, a supplier member of the British Hospitality Association and Europe’s leading cash acceptance network, has launched the Smart Salary Card.

The Smart Salary Card is a prepaid debit MasterCard card which provides employers with a secure and cost-effective means of paying salaries to the UK’s estimated 2.8 million adults without bank accounts.

The catering and hospitality sector is the second largest employer of Eastern European workers. Between May 2004 and December 2005, 345,000 workers from Eastern Europe registered with UK employers, many of whom have difficulty opening their own bank account in the UK.

The Smart Salary Card from Smart Transfer is aimed at reducing administration and banking costs for employers, and removing the risk of handling large amounts of cash on the premises. At the same time, it provides employees with an effective means of storing and accessing their salary.

Setting up the Smart Salary Card is quick and easy for businesses, who are issued with the chip and pin-enabled cards and the software to active the cards and arrange for salary payments to be transferred electronically to employee card accounts.

Salaries are paid with a single e-transfer, saving time in payroll issuance and helping organisations to reduce staff turnover and the associated hiring and training costs, by offering employees a banking option which will help them manage their finances more easily, and enable them to make card-based purchases in-store and on the web.

For more information, please contact Julian Younger on +44 (0)20 8750 6146 or [email protected]