CASHLESS CITY GAINING POPULARITY
By Adnews Staff
The number of Mondex Canada stored-value cardholders in Guelph, Ont. has grown to 10,000, a number Mondex didn't expect to reach until February. The company began testing the electronic cash card in the city last February. Since then, over $1.5 million of electronic cash value has been issued and more than 90% of Guelph's merchants are accepting the card. A stored-value card has cash stored on a computer chip in the card. When a purchase is made, the value is deducted from the card. It also allows person-to-person transfer of electronic cash that is not reported to a central computer system, meaning it can be used to pay taxi cab drivers, hot dog vendors, babysitters and for door-to-door deliveries. Recent activities designed to build awareness of the Mondex system include a Web site, an information kiosk at a Guelph mall and ongoing promotions with various retailers in the city. Ten banks are involved in the test of the card. They are: the Bank of Montreal, Canadian Imperial Bank of Commerce, Canada Trust, Credit Union Central of Canada, Le Mouvement des caisses Desjardins, Hongkong Bank of Canada, National Bank of Canada, Royal Bank, Scotiabank and Toronto Dominion Bank. Advertising for Mondex is done by Bozell Worldwide of Toronto.