Which prepaid cards win with consumers?

In a recent article at The Storefront, they reveal the top 10 most frequently purchased prepaid cards by consumers. A survey conducted by Global Prepaid Exchanges shows that these are the most popular among consumers:

1. Bath & Body Works
2. Red Lobster
3. iTunes
4. Amazon
5. Nordstrom
6. T.G.I. Friday's
7. Lowe's
8. Walgreens
9. Olive Garden
10. Home Depot/Outback Steakhouse (a tie)

Read the full article here. Does the ranking surprise you? Are there any cards that were left off the list?

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Starbucks Prepaid Cards go Mobile

According to Mashable, there are now 1,000 Starbucks stores across the nation located in Target that can sync up with the Starbucks Mobile Card App. The iPhone app can be used to both make purchases and add money to the card.

What does this mean for the prepaid industry? Do you see more companies coming out with apps that will allow one to manage prepaid cards on their SmartPhones? While it's only available at 1,000 Starbucks across the nation, I think many companies will take note and strive to make their prepaid cards available for use in more than one form.

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The world’s largest conference company announces the launch of the Performance Marketing Expo to be held this September in Miami Beach

IIR (The Institute for International Research), the company responsible for industry leading brands such as FUSE, Front end of Innovation, The Market Research Event, GAIM, and PREPAID Card Expo, is launching a brand-new affiliate marketing/performance marketing event.

The Performance Marketing Expo, will take place September 27th-29th in South Beach at the Miami Beach Convention Center. Consistent with other IIR conferences, The Performance Marketing Expo features best-in-class educational sessions, industry insider top level speakers, super-affiliates with proven earning power, the premier online merchants and retailers, affiliate networks, and hundreds of affiliates eager to network and grow their business (and their earning potential).

What makes this event stand out from all the rest? It will include facilitated business networking and quality content brought to life by the best storytellers, representing merchants, affiliates and networks.

TOP SUPER AFFILIATES JUST CONFIRMED AT The Performance Marketing Expo
Stephanie Nelson, Coupon Mom
Todd Martini, Alex's Coupons
eCoupons * MarketAmerica * TrialPay * Parent Media
The program is currently being finalized. For More Information about getting involved, please email kpotanka@iirusa.com or visit our contact page if you have specific questions.

Join The Performance Marketing LinkedIn Group

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New Jersey Senator looks to regulate prepaid cards

According to NJ.com, the Senate President Richard Codey is calling to regulate prepaid cards to operate with more transparency. While Obama has now imposed certain regulations on credit and gift cards, no new rulings have been made for debit cards.

The Senator looks at the fees associated with prepaid cards attacking the wrong demographic of people, "They turn to these prepaid debit cards as a means to get by," he said. "Instead, they end up sitting around helplessly as they watch their hard-earned money get eaten up by hidden fees."

Read the full article here.

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Consumers Gain Control of Finances with Prepaid Cards

According to this latest post on PRNewswire more and more consumers are turning over to using prepaid cards instead of credit cards in order to regain control of their finances once again. John Chaney, CEO of PreCash mentioned "Prepaid debit cards combine the best features of cash and credit cards. For consumers who are watching their budgets, the newest generation of prepaid cards are better than a credit card."

A recent study by Mercator shows that prepaid usage has nearly doubled from $4.2 billion to $7.2 million this year. With the economy at a low, the future seems bright for prepaid.

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Prepaid card overcharged

Lydia Alcock, a teen who has been using a prepaid card to manage her money, was hit with a staggering fee of $23,148,855,308,184,500, after buying a train ticket from Grand Central. Alcock along with 12,000 people saw this bank error on their statements last month. Visa was responsible for the overcharge, and has since voided all fees that came with the charge that is 2,000 times what the US government owes. Read the full article here.

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Popularity of prepaid cards could lead to fraud

According to the Fair Issacs Corporation, the growing popularity of prepaid cards could lead to more fraud. It could come in the form of counterfeit cards, lost or stolen cards and pins. What are some of the measures that can be taken to avoid prepaid cards from becoming a major source of fraud?

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New prepaid game card for consumers

Payspan, a company that makes prepaid cards for use on the web when buying items for online games, virtual worlds and social networks, has expanded to sell their cards in Brazil and Turkey. The Ultimate Game Card is sold can be used for over 1,000 different games online. Read the full article here.

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Springbok Services introduces new prepaid cards for billpay

According to Banking Business Review, Springbok Services has created a new system to help companies manage their payrolls via prepaid cards. enPay prepaid payroll cards and Springbok Bill Pay are two new systems that will allow employees and users to leverage their prepaid cards to the fullest extent.

Employers can customize their enPay prepaid payroll card, distribute the enPay cards to employees, and then upload funds directly to the payroll card to pay salaries, reimburse out-of-pocket expenses, pay bonuses and commissions, or fulfill termination payments.

Read the full article here.

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smartOne Prepaid Solutions renews contract with Metavante Corp

According to Enhanced Online News, smartOne Prepaid Solution has renewed its prepaid card processing agreement with Metavante Corp.

Scott McCormack, vice president, First National Bank of Omaha, stated:
“Metavante delivers the processing stability and scale we need to facilitate the growth of our smartOne Prepaid Solutions offerings, as well as the flexibility to quickly offer new functionality. Shared core values between our two companies are at the heart of our relationship, and those shared values allow us to quickly enhance our offerings to meet the needs of the prepaid marketplace.”

Read the full article here.

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Consumer advocates urging government to take stand on prepaid card guidelines

According to the Dow Jones Newswire, the new law recently signed by Obama does not protect prepaid card holders. Consumer advocates are encouraging the Federal Reserve to strengthen their guidelines around prepaid cards. Currently, there is nothing holding prepaid card issuers from fraud or loosing their funds. Read the full article here.

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Prepay Solutions opens in Turkey

Hurriyet Daily News looks at the new company Prepay Solutions, based in Turkey, which opened to provide services to companies who want to enhance their services by offering prepaid solutions.

The company offers services in a few different areas:
-"B to C" gifting
-"B to B," referring to gifts for employees, clients or partners
- Government benefits
- Insurance claims

Read the full article here.

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Spotlight Returns to Jet Cards

Many corporations still looking to use private jets have revisited the idea of Jet Cards. These prepaid payment cards, allow for a minimum of $100,000 of flight time for executives to fly to meetings. By utilizing this service, companies can see exactly how much money they are going to spend on corporate travel whilst having the luxury of instant flights to their preferred destination. The New York Times reports, Prepaid jet membership cards first appeared in the United States in 1999, pioneered by Sentient Flight Group. The cards have since spread to Europe, but remain something of a novelty in Asia.

For the article mentioned in its entirety, please click here.

Spotlight Returns to Jet Cards

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Fraudulent Use of Prepaid Debit Cards

This latest article on KOLOTV.com discusses how two H&R Block customers discovered that they were victims of fraud when they found out that their 2008 taxes had been filed and that the refund had been issued on a prepaid debit card without their knowledge.

Valerie Guerrero that worked as a tax preparer for H&R Block used the prepaid debit card to make several purchases in Sparks. Some of the charges she faces are burglary, fraudulent use of a credit card, possessing a credit card without the owners consent and receiving property as a result of unlawfully using a credit card.

What are some steps that prepaid industry is taking in order to stop fraudulent use of cards?

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Will Sowell of GE Money Joins Green Dot Corporation as COO

According to this latest article from PRNewswire, Will Sowell of GE Money has joined Green Dot Corporation as their newest Chief Operating Officer. Before joining Green Dot, Will served as VP of Prepaid Products at GE Money.

The CEO of Green Dot, Steve Streit mentions, “Will is a great leader in the classic Green Dot sense. No nonsense, honest, action-oriented, success- driven and always deeply respectful and appreciative of our customer. Will's knowledge of Green Dot, banking services, the prepaid market and our customer base will make him immediately impactful on our continued success.”

It will be interesting to see where Mr. Sowell will lead Green Dot in the future.

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Airnetz Aviation's new prepaid card option

In Mumbai, Airnetz Aviation now has the option of prepaid cards for the Robinson 44, 3 seater helicopter. This will allow customers to buy 25 hours of flying time.

Omkar Mestry, Chief of Charter services, Airnetz Aviation Pvt. Ltd, had this to say about the prepaid card:

"With the global financial crisis greatly affecting spending capacity of the corporate, the businesses still have to get services like riding a helicopter for aerial tours or instant factory visits at a much cheaper price. With Airnetz prepaid card on Robinson 44 helicopter, SMEs can afford the pricing. The pre-paid card offers 25 hours of helicopter ownership at just 2% of the cost required to purchase the aircraft."

Read more about the prepaid card here.

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Discover Launches Current Prepaid Card for Teens

According to this article in Digital Transactions, Discover Fiancial Services has released a prepaid card called Current that is aimed towards teens. The difference between this prepaid card and others is that users are not held accountable for unauthorized use after the card is lost or stolen, so it has the benefits of a debit card. The Current also does not allow its users to go below the account balance, therefore eliminating overdraft fees.

The Current by Discover has a monthly fee of $5, but its account holders can save $10 by paying $50 once a year.

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Speaker Profile: Mark W. Yusko

Mark W. Yusko is the President and Chief Investment Officer of Morgan Creek Capital Management, LLC, a registered investment adviser formed in July 2004 to provide investment management and advisory services based on the University Endowment Model of investing to wealthy families, individuals and institutional investors. Prior to forming Morgan Creek, Mark served as the Chief Investment Officer for the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill (UNC) from 1998 to 2004. Mark, and his team, founded the UNC Management Company (UNCMC) in July of 2002 to provide comprehensive investment advisory services to the University including strategic and tactical asset allocation, investment manager selection, manager performance evaluation, spending policy management and performance reporting. Mark received his Bachelor of Science Degree, with honors, in Biology and Chemistry from the University of Notre Dame in 1985 and a Masters of Business Administration in Accounting and Finance from the University of Chicago in 1987.

Don’t miss Mark Yusko’s keynote speech, How Globalization has Re-Shaped the Investment Landscape: An Economic Outlook for 2009, at the Prepaid Card Expo event in Orlando on March 9th through 11th.

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Wolfe.com acquires swapagift.com

Wolfe.com, owner of GiftCards.com, recently acquired Swapagift.com, a marketplace to buy and sell unused gift cards. In addition to Swapagift.com, Giftcards.com owns Omni Prepaid, Mycoupons.com, SteringInvestments and Jambo Media. For more, read this article at The Paypers.

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February Prepaid Professionals LinkedIn Roundup Update

Here's the February edition of the newsletter we regularly send out to our Prepaid Professionals LinkedIn group members. Remember to join our Prepaid Professionals LinkedIn group if you haven't so already in order to receive these communications on a monthly basis. Enjoy!

Read the Newsletter

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