Total Media nets 3m card launch account

Total Media has been appointed to handle the £3m media business for pre-paid debit card Tuxedo Blue Diamond, which is being launched this week and is aimed at the immigrant market.

The agency will handle media planning and some buying for the company, which is also seeking an agency to handle its brand and digital advertising work.

Immigrants to the UK will be able to use the Blue Diamond debit card, which is supported by Mastercard debit brand Maestro, without needing to open a bank account. Customers will be able to top up the card with cash at branches of Barclays Bank and the Post Office.

Tuxedo, the company behind the card, has been launched by entrepreneur Ali Sarikhani, who founded Alpha Telecom, and former Alpha group marketing director Colin Loubser. Tuxedo is also planning to launch a range of financial services, including mortgages, for the immigrant market.

Loubser says the card will be available to buy at 25,000 stores – including those in the PayPoint network – by July and online. It will cost £9.95.

The card will work at nearly all ATM machines at a cost of up to £1.50 each time.

It is planning to promote the card at key immigrant arrival points in the UK, such as rail stations, airports and in on-flight and in-travel media on planes, trains and coaches.

There will also be campaigns across Eastern Europe, including Poland, which has a high percentage of migrants to the UK.