Angry Birds is everywhere. I see Angry Birds t-shirts, toys, and all kinds of other products. To be honest, I always wonder if anyone actually buys that stuff. I mean, it’s a fun game and all, but I think wearing a shirt with Angry Birds on it is a little much. Not to say anything of having a debit card with the same design.
Rovio Entertainment, the creators of the popular Angry Birds mobile game, will be teaming up with prepaid product provider Kaiku Finance to launch the Angry Birds Visa Prepaid Card, it was announced Monday.
The card is set to be available in 2013. Terms of the deal between the two companies were not disclosed.
Users have a choice of selecting four different Angry Bird debit card designs: The Red Bird, The Yellow Bird, Bomb Bird and the Bad Piggies.
With the card, users can load funds with direct deposit, PayPal, from a credit card, from a bank account, or by transfer from another Kaiku Card. They will also have access to over 50,000 surcharge-free ATMs in all 50 states, as well as Canada, Mexico, Puerto Rico, Australia, and the United Kingdom, free direct desposit, free apps for iPhone, Android and Blackberry smartphones. free 24/7 customer service, and no inactivity fees or minimum balance requirements.
Kaiku also has something called Kaiku Karma, where users are paid $10 for every friend that they refer who spends $100 in three months.
Users are also allowed to send money to family or friends that don’t have a Kaiku card for a $0.95 fee.
Since being launched in 2009, Angry Birds has proved to be extremely popular, having been downloaded one billion times. Its latest spin-off, Angry Bird Space, was downloaded 10 million times in 10 days, following its launch in March.
Combining those numbers with the growing popularity of prepaid cards, an industry which grew 20% in 2011, according to the Mercator Advisory Group, and both companies see a way to expand their brands.
“Rovio and KAIKU share a common philosophy in that we love to delight our fans with products that are affordable and packed with great features that fit today’s lifestyle,” Andrew Stalbow, Rovio’s EVP of Strategic Partnerships and General Manager of North America, said in a statement.
“We launched KAIKU with a commitment to be a next-generation prepaid product for all kinds of consumers,” Jon Round, CEO of Kaiku Finance said in a statement. “Angry Birds is one of the most popular global games today and therefore epitomizes widespread appeal. This makes Rovio an ideal partner to help us make prepaid a smart and affordable financial option in today’s increasingly cashless and mobile society.”
Other recent Rovio news
In July, Rovio released its follow-up to the Angry Birds franchise, called Amazing Alex, a puzzle game which follows a border character with an active imagination and excitement for puzzles.
The game topped the iOS Apple Store charts in its first week.
It was announced in August that punk band Green Day had teamed up with Rovio to launch 10 levels for Angry Birds Friends, a Facebook version of the popular app which let people play against friends on the social network.
There are also two new Angry Birds games on the way:
Angry Bird's Red Planet game, which was inspired by NASA’s Mars Curiosity Rover, which is expected to be coming out some time this year; and Angry Birds Star Wars, which is coming out November 8.
You can see the trailers for the two new games below:
(Image source: https://www.kaiku.com/ab)
