SECTION 1 -

The Company also benefits from its savoir‐faire in dealing with public authorities, assisting them in
designing the regulatory frameworks required for employee and public benefit programs.
1.2.7 New Services' sales and marketing expertise
Over the last few years, New Services' expansion has been driven by a solid and dynamic
commercial strategy that has allowed the Group to win corporate customers and set up and expand
its networks of affiliated merchants, which sign affiliation contracts on an individual basis.
Over half of New Services' work force is made up of sales and marketing staff. The
commercial strategy is based on a segmented approach that is adapted to demand, with
individualized sales teams for major customer accounts, call centers for small and medium‐sized
companies and on‐line marketing for very small businesses.
New Services' marketing approach is underpinned by the entrepreneurial spirit and
innovative spirit of the teams, a performance‐based approach and extensive on‐the‐ground presence.
1.2.8 Unique technological know‐how and a tradition of innovation
Since the 1960s, New Services has successfully built up a unique savoir‐faire in managing
voucher programs, using a variety of formats. The Company has been able to maintain an innovative
approach, contributing to its expertise and experience.
One driver of growth in New Services' markets is the gradual migration to electronic formats,
in keeping with the global shift from cash and check payments to electronic solutions. Citigroup
estimates that electronic payments should account for approximately 80% of global payments in
2010. In contrast, more than two‐thirds of all payments were made with cash or checks as recently as
2000. The proportion of payments made by prepaid cards or other non‐traditional solutions
(excluding classical credit and debit cards) increased from 5% in 2000 to 12% in 2005, and should
continue to grow to approximately 18% in 2010, according to Citigroup.
The chart below shows the breakdown of global transactions by payment type in 2000 and
2005, as well as Citigroup's estimates for 2010.
5%
29%
12%
38%
18%
52%
66%
50%
30%
2000 2005 2010E
15
Prepaid cards & other
(“Pay Before”)
Debit cards (“Pay Now”)
Credit cards (“Pay After”)
Checks & cash
The shift to electronic formats should boost market growth by allowing New Services to
create more products with increasing sophistication. The use of electronic media will make it easier
to target customers with specific requirements (such as under‐ and un‐banked persons), while
providing quicker and more secure authorization of government and public authority subsidies,
employee business expenses and payments to affiliated merchants. The new technological solutions
will allow the Group to adapt its product and services offering to new consumer trends by offering
beneficiaries greater flexibility.
In order to benefit fully from the technological shift, New Services and MasterCard Europe have
formed the PrePay Solutions joint venture, which is a leading player in the market for electronic prepaid
solutions. PrePay Solutions has three key functions in the Group: it generates service revenues from the
conception and implementation of innovative technological solutions; its status as electronic money