One Stop Business Services Shop

Gift Card Program

A cash-generating product that doubles as a miniature “billboard” in your customer’s wallet. Card balances decline as the card is used encouraging repeat visits and limiting cash refunds.

Loyalty & Membership Programs
Acquire customers and retain them, that’s the goal. Now you can automatically keep track of point balances and transaction activity for a multitude of rewards and incentive programs.

Merchandise Credits
Cards can be loaded with the exact value of a product return for store credit. Declining balance keeps cash in store by limiting refunds.

Advertising & Promotion
The marketing applications of stored-value cards are as wide open as the imagination—from electronic coupons to co-branded cards paid for by one or more merchant suppliers.

How Store Valued Gift Cards Work

Sales
Merchants use in-store displays to merchandise Gift Cards much like they would any small impulse-buy product—by the register with counter signs and colorful card hangers. A customer purchases a Gift Card with cash, check or credit card for any dollar amount desired. The amount purchased is recorded as “stored value” or “prepaid” in the host database.

Redemptions
The Cardholder presents the gift card for full or partial payment of a purchase. The merchant swipes the card through their POS terminal for authorization and transmission of transaction data on the host platform. The card’s magnetic stripe identifies the card number and merchant location for which the card has been issued.

Reload Incentives
The cardholder can purchase additional value or “reload” the card for any amount—by phone. The merchant can offer an incentive to customers to encourage card reloading. For example: increase the customer’s stored-value amount by 20% (i.e. a $50 reload is recorded as $60 in stored value for the cardholder).

Data Processing
The stored value card system operates in real time as a closed loop debit network. Transactions, such as card activation, sales, voids and balance inquiries from the point of sale, are transmitted to the Data Center. The transaction request is fulfilled or authorized, data is captured in the merchant / client database and an approval or requested information is transmitted via the POS terminal. The POS printer produces a paper receipt of each transaction—including the card balance—for the merchant and the customer.

Most merchants can use their existing POS equipment

Stored Value applications run on the VeriFone Omni 3300, 3350, 3740 & 3750, Tranz 330, 380, & 460, the Nurit 2085 and 3000 terminals, Ingenico Elite 510, and the Thales Talento. Hypercom applications are processor specific. PC Charge, a windows based software application, can process all of your credit card needs as well as all Stored Value transactions (PCCharge Perks adds Stored Value processing to PC-based systems). Windows-based applications for PosiTouch and Micros are curently under development.

We have a touch-screen capable application that can process all transactions while installed in any windows computer or POS System.

If a smaller “footprint” is desired, a Verifone 380×2, capable of housing two separate applications (i.e. credit card and gift card) is a viable solution. In any case, you are currently using a Verifone terminal and printer, a Stored Value terminal can be added to the existing configurations using a “Y” connecting cable. The use of a printer is recommended for production of receipts and reports.

The advantages and benefits of our Gift Card program are many, both for the merchants and their customers. By ensuring both parties are happy with the gift card system, universal acceptance and approval is promoted.

Some of the main benefits of our system include:

  • Cash flow is enhanced by collecting payment prior to delivery product and services
  • Attracts and retains new customers by building brand awareness and creating customer loyalty
  • Reloadable features keep customers loyal as merchant becomes destination versus an impulse
  • Switching from paper to plastic results in increased consumer participation and increased sales and average ticket size
  • Unused balance remains on gift card, which keeps customer coming back
  • Our Gift card provides a customized marketing tool for the restaurant, complete with customized logo, creating a “billboard in the wallet”
  • Extensive management reporting provides monitoring and security controls