GiftCard Partners Blog

This  is quite possibly the most comprehensive infographic ever created around mobile payments. Our question for the prepaid industry, loyalty rewards program management companies, and gift card retailers and merchants:  Is our next loyalty program component in the area of mobile payments use? Source:
MostWanted via Prepaid Expo

Longtime Olympic sponsor Visa, and cell phone giant Samsung have combined forces to launch a mobile app that will allow for patrons at the 2012 London Olympics to pay for purchases with a wave of their hand. The Visa payWave technology uses Radio Frequency Identification (RFID) technology to allow consumers to pay with a wave of their mobile phone, with an approved smartphone at a specially designed mobile payment terminal. Although the technology is limited to consumers who have the approved device, this technology is believed to take less time at POS than any credit card, debit card, or cash transaction. Additionally, statistics from credit card comapnies show that consumers tend to spend more per transaction at mobile payment terminals. This technology, if it catches on from the global exposure at the 2012 Summer Games, could revolutionize payment systems. Imagine being able to redeem a gift card with a wave of your hand, instead of waiting in line to redeem your gift. The time efficiency and convenience of payment could revolutionize payments, as well as change the way consumers handle their smartphones. Phones could turn into a consumer’s, phone, computer, wallet, and bank all tucked safely into their pocket.
How do you see Contactless Payment affecting credit, debit, and gift card use going forward? For more information check out this Point of Sale News article.

It should be of no surprise that mobile payment was a choice topic at this year’s Prepaid Expo, but as purveyors of the B2B portion of retail sales; how will we get to mobile payment? Retailers and merchants are living (or about to live) the latest technology and game changing concepts about the consumer waving their mobile device to pay. But the B2B portion of the market still has major issues to overcome. The questions that the Prepaid Expo asks ring loud in order to capture consumers and also ring true for your B2B customers and subsequent end-consumers: What will be frictionless in your environment? What will bring the greatest value? What will be the best authentication? What's the best way to reduce cost? How do you make prepaid product more relevant and valuable to cardholder before, during, after the payment transaction? Interesting quote from Bill Gates about the future: "We always overestimate the change that will occur in the next two years and underestimate the change that will occur in the next ten."--Bill Gates Mobile buying is inevitable, but are you considering B2B gift card sales in your mobile prepaid strategy? If not, when will you shape your change? Read up on the
Prepaid Expo’s Live from Prepaid Expo: The Future of Prepaid & Mobile

We have written about and highlighted articles on the topic of tablet eCommerce and why they are becoming significant to retail marketing strategies, mostly from the perspective of prompting more retailers and merchants to accept gift cards online. This past Fall, eMarketer Digital Intelligence predicted that by 2014, 1 in 3 customers would use a tablet to make their online purchases. Tablet users will increase, and 1/3 of them will purchase online, whether or not they have ever made online purchases before. But even more importantly, Forrester Research reported that the purchase conversion rate for shoppers using a traditional PC is 3% and 4% or 5% for shoppers using tablets. So, retailers could see an increased lift, simply by the consumers’ choice of online tools. That speaks to the need for retailers to capture those new tablet users as customers. Are you ready for this? If a gift card holder goes online to purchase with their shiny new tablet; will they be turned away by your website? Will they ever come back? That’s just 1 piece of the tablet pie. Now, tablets aren’t just in the laptop bag or on the desk …they are IN stores, provided by the store! If retailers offer this intriguing, cutting edge technology in stores, more consumers will be introduced to them and begin to feel comfortable with them, and perhaps become more likely to use their tablet at home to make online purchases…This is in-store marketing GENIUS! In the recent Retail TouchPoints article
5 Ways to Use Tablets For In-store Commerce, we see a plethora of customer friendly tablets are being used in-store by retailers and merchants. “Tablets are here to stay; retailers need to embrace them and strongly consider how they can be used in stores to enhance brand experiences and build brand loyalty.” “Though many retailers are adopting this in-store technology, they’re just starting to scratch the surface of its potential. There are many ways retailers can use tablets to transform the in-store experience.” Says Gary Lombardo, Multichannel, Mobile & Social Commerce Product Marketing Lead, Demandware in the
Retail TouchPoints article. We are excited about these technologies and how retailers and merchants will integrate their gift card programs with their online sales efforts. What other cool ways have you seen tablets used in stores?

As mobile wallet technology becomes more common, and more retailers begin accepting programs like Google Wallet and MasterCard PayPass it is important to know how and when to use your mobile wallet technology. These tips will help maximize your experience AND keep your financial information secure.
Tap-and-pay systems: Systems like Google Wallet and MasterCard's PayPass are going to only gain momentum. The technology is improving (for instance moving away from a tap, and more towards a wave motion), and the types of locations accepting this form of payment is increasing. How different would it be to do away with metro card systems for public transit, and simply be able to swipe your SmartPhone? It may happen sooner than you think.
PayPal mobile payments: Mobile banking apps such as these allow you to make purchases, and even in some cases, transfer funds without disrupting your life. You can order pizza and pay from the couch, or even transfer bonus funds from your company to your employees, making year-end bonuses instant and convenient.
Roaming credit card readers: These devices allow small businesses and organizations, such as a Girls Scout troop in Ohio (who boasted a 13% increase in cookie sales) to use credit cards without paying a prhibitive fee. These credit card readers come at either a nominal fee (usually a small percentage of each sale) or free to the user. And don't fear about the initial security concerns, readers encrypt financial information before transmitting to the bank. Mobile wallet technology is growing, so make sure you know the basics of how to use it, when to use it, and which products to take advantage of.
For more information on mobile wallet technology check out the article in U.S. News and World Report.