Hansel, the Finnish government’s central purchasing body, has selected Prepaid Financial Services (PFS) to manage its first prepaid card programme for the country’s Criminal Sanctions Agency (CSA), the organization responsible for the Finnish prison system.

Go deeper with GlobalData

Data Insights

The gold standard of business intelligence.

Find out more

The new programme, started in May 2016, makes prepaid cards available to inmates on arrival in both open and closed prisons across the country.

In the beginning, the prison personnel will load available funds on to each inmate’s card and then subsequently IBAN payments can be made by family members and by the institutions themselves for salary payments.

Each card is linked to a specific IBAN number and a specific prisoner, which enables the CSA to rationalize funds disbursements to a prepaid account, which acts in the same way as a basic bank account.

CSA project manager Eija-Riitta Nelin said: "Offering a cashless alternative is beneficial to both our prison service and to inmates as we will be able to disburse spend on the cards on a constant basis.

How well do you really know your competitors?

Access the most comprehensive Company Profiles on the market, powered by GlobalData. Save hours of research. Gain competitive edge.

Company Profile – free sample

Thank you!

Your download email will arrive shortly

Not ready to buy yet? Download a free sample

We are confident about the unique quality of our Company Profiles. However, we want you to make the most beneficial decision for your business, so we offer a free sample that you can download by submitting the below form

By GlobalData
Visit our Privacy Policy for more information about our services, how we may use, process and share your personal data, including information of your rights in respect of your personal data and how you can unsubscribe from future marketing communications. Our services are intended for corporate subscribers and you warrant that the email address submitted is your corporate email address.

"This not only allows us to eliminate any issues with the safety of prisoners’ transactions but also allows us economies of scale by operating a more streamlined and efficient system across all of our prison network."

Prepaid Financial Services CEO Noel Moran said: "Finland has always been ahead of the curve when it comes to its penal policies and although developing a prepaid card solution for a prison service was not without its challenges, if any government was going to successfully navigate these waters, it was Finland."