The History of Prepaid: An Infographic

Just back from Prepaid Expo 2012, CoreCard commissioned an infographic that tracks the progression of the Prepaid industry. With the popularity of mobile wallets and prepaid debit and gift cards, the History of Prepaid is both a timely and interesting timeline.

The History of Prepaid Infographic highlights the changes and progression of Prepaid from the 1970’s to predictions for 2013.

Click here to see The History of Prepaid Infographic.


About Corecard: The CoreCard® software solutions provide the most feature-rich platform for issuers and processors to manage a full range of card products including prepaid/stored value, fleet, credit, debit, private label, healthcare and government cards as well as accounts receivable. Embedded multi-lingual and multi-currency capabilities support global customers on one platform.


CoreCard’s flexible deployment model means the CoreCard® solutions, configured specifically for each customer, can either be licensed and deployed at the customer site or outsourced to CoreCard’s processing operation center, with an option to bring the customized software in-house at a later date.

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Paybefore Announces Winners in European Awards

The first Paybefore Awards Europe were presented today in London at the Gift Card, Gift Voucher and Reloadable Card Summit. Paybefore honored 12 companies in four categories and announced Best-in-Category winners for the first time.

“Prepaid, as an efficient payment, loyalty and rewards platform, is a global phenomenon,” said Paybefore CEO Marilyn Bochicchio. “The introduction of Paybefore Awards Europe provides the opportunity for Paybefore to specifically highlight businesses offering prepaid products in Europe and to applaud their success in addressing local market needs.”

In addition to Bochicchio, Loraine DeBonis, Paybefore editor-in-chief; Andrew Johnson, director general of the UK Gift Card & Voucher Association; and Remigiusz Montwiłł, founder of the Polish Gift Cards & Voucher Association, served as judges for the awards.
 
The Best-in-Category winners are:

Most Effective Prepaid Solution
Toyota U.K. Fuel Card Program
• Citi Prepaid Services

Most Innovative Prepaid Solution 
paysafecard
• paysafecard group

Top Prepaid Retailer 
New Look

Breakout Company of the Year 
PrePay Solutions

“Paybefore is committed to bringing the world of prepaid to our subscribers every day,” added DeBonis. “These awards are an extension of that commitment to showcasing the companies that are keeping prepaid at the forefront of innovation and execution beyond the U.S. market.”

Congratulations to all the winners on behalf on the Gift Card, Gift Voucher and Reloadable Card Summit team and Paybefore!

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Live from Prepaid Expo: The Future of Prepaid & Mobile

We wrapped up our last day at Prepaid Expo 2012 by looking ahead at Prepaid in the Future: The Consumers, Products, and Technology in 5, 10, 15 Years, and Mobile - how to do it, Uncovering Mobile Payment Opportunities in Developed and Developing Markets, and the Mobile Wallet and NFC at the Point of Sale: How It Has Been Introduced and Where It Is Heading.

There will be a huge opportunity to do more in Prepaid in the future. 

Prepaid sits at the vanguard of mobile and has had a big role in innovation in the past. There's a lot of room to grow, mobile will be the forefront of innovation. We've just started to scratch the surface - from cash to electronic vehicles for payments. $2.3 trillion still done in cash. Prepaid sits at the center of all of the new mobile applications being developed.

Prepaid has been shouldering its way in terms of other payment forms. There are still a lot problems to be solved, especially in terms of Prepaid. It's still in it's infancy.

There will be a movement toward moving financial literacy and education toward mobile platforms, SMS, social media, etc., Being as inclusive as possible, allowing consumers to experience the brand as a whole.

The global current trends are certainly in this industry's favor, it seems.

The barriers to Prepaid: Do consumers get what we are, what we do, how we can help them? Along with the baggage, the image/reputation. Social media will be a key media to do deliver these messages. The threat to prepaid growth: execution. How can we deliver value and use prepaid to solve real world problems?

Analytics and data insights will be key to understanding our consumers and identifying how to help them and what their needs are - to increase the value of Prepaid in their lives and deliver on this. Our products will have to better and smarter, mobile allows a lot to be done from this framework.

A cashless society will eliminate many of the pain points consumers are currently experiencing. Prepaid cards will have more rewards in the future.In mature markets, we have to accelerate the opportunity. In emerging markets, it's about enabling.

So how exactly can the Prepaid space leverage mobile?

Incorporate mobile into every touch point, have different options/device options, mediums, along with specific user experience for each environment. There are many opportunities for each. For example, 62% of holiday shoppers started on one device, moved to another to complete purchase.

We also need to develop standards for the industry. Albeit no one can control it, except for the consumer.
Although 55 ways of doing something - one way is easier and leads to mainstream adoption. We need to focus on infrastructure too: Privacy..., will lead to innovation. Push to cloud makes it much easier to manage infrastructure

Think about user experience and how to make to make it fun for the user. From a solution/design enhancement angle, mobile will become more nimble and cloud-based. A successful app will start from scratch, with a dedicated focus but who build by consensus. NFC payments are the future, but we need to address the needs of the consumer too. Right now, we are that HD/Blu-ray/DVD phase except with 18 formats?

Things to consider:
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?

The future: Expect lots of transformation in the next 5 years. "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

We can't call the winners, but we can call the huge opportunities that lay ahead.

Mobile Payment Opportunities in Developed and Developing Markets?

India, china and Africa have virtually no infrastructure for cashless payments but everyone has a cellphone. A revolution will happen in these markets in the next 5 years.

Give consumers super-easy apps to get them used to payment apps in the future. Imagine mobile/digital goods or services that can also be utilized in a brick and mortar store.

Mobile Payments: 2012 & Beyond:

There's been too much association between NFC and wallets.

User behavior online is directly connected to user behavior offline, in-store.

Wallets will live on the cloud and be accessible from your desktop and connected to your networked profiles. There is still a need to create a seamless, integrated experience between offline and online. At the end of the day, consumers will adopt the most ubiquitous, easiest, intuitive wallet available.

Valerie M. Russo is a Senior Social Media Strategist at IIR USA with a technology, anthropology, marketing and publishing business acumen.  She will be attending Prepaid Expo USA 2012 and covering the event live via Twitter and the Prepaid Expo Blog. She is a published poet and also maintains a literary blog. She may be reached atvrusso@iirusa.com. Follow her @Literanista. 

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Live from Prepaid Expo 2012: Emerging Payment Systems

We wrapped up the Regulation Summit today with a presentation on Emerging Payment Systems: Legal, Regulatory and Compliance Considerations from Kara Kuchar, Special Counsel, SCHULTE, ROTH & ZABEL LLP, and Tomas Campos, General Manager of Online and Mobile, BLACKHAWK NETWORK.

Innovation has led to new economic models and regulations and considerations:

Who "owns" the mobile wallet customer? Who "owns" the data in this new ecosystem?

Regulation is going to have to keep up. As new challenges come up, new opportunities will arise for people to step up and provide solutions and new services.

Emerging Mobile Payments Trend examples changing the space:
Mobile wallets: Paypal, Google, Isis
Mobile as POS: Square, Verifone, Intuit GoPayment
P2P transfers: QuikPay, Pingit
Direct Carrier Billing: Boku, Zong, PaymentOne

There will be a need to develop and implement policies to cover security and fraud risks for these new services and consider state and federal laws.

As well as a consideration for these issues within contracts with partners, allocating liability.

Lastly, Regulatory framework covering both Regulation E and Regulation Z.

Valerie M. Russo is a Senior Social Media Strategist at IIR USA with a technology, anthropology, marketing and publishing business acumen.  She will be attending Prepaid Expo USA 2012 and covering the event live via Twitter and the Prepaid Expo Blog. She is a published poet and also maintains a literary blog. She may be reached atvrusso@iirusa.com. Follow her @Literanista. 

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Save the Date: Prepaid Expo 2013

We look forward to seeing you in Florida next year for Prepaid Expo 2013!

We invite you to RSVP via LinkedIn now and save the date.

Our Prepaid Expo 2013 event will take place March 4-6, 2013 at The Peabody in Orlando, Florida.

Immerse yourself alongside the prepaid industry in learning cutting edge opportunities and furthering business goals across all prepaid and stored value products.

Register early and lock in the best rate available!


To register, visit www.prepaidexpousa.com
Call:  1 888-670-8200                    
Email: register@iirusa.com

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Live from Prepaid Expo 2012: The Fate of Payroll Cards

Next in the Regulatory Summit today we discussed The Fate of Payroll Cards: Restrictions and Regulations Across the US with the following panel:

David Newville, Senior Policy Analyst, CENTER FOR FINANCIAL SERVICES
Cathy Beyda, Of Counsel, PAUL HASTINGS LLC
Richard Santoro, VP Government Affairs, MASTERCARD
Nizam Antoo, VP Product Integration, ADP

Almost every state offers a choice between payroll cards and direct deposit.  Paperless paychecks benefit both employers and employees.

2011 observations:
- Payroll card legislation has been mostly quiet
- Durbin: Has not really affected availability of Payroll Cards
- Prepaid Access Rule: Banks and program admin want access to employee I-9 files

There has not been a lot of innovation in this space: Payroll & Direct Deposit. What's next?
Who will take it further (mobile) and still be compliant? Payroll cards need to catch up to the rest of Prepaid.

Stickiness: How do you get someone to use the card beyond 6-8 months?

There is a void of understanding when it comes to Payroll Cards even from policy makers - people mistake Payroll Cards for Gift Cards.

The opportunity is here to go beyond what we have now and step up, to define success, and to challenge the consumer mistrust that exist.

Valerie M. Russo is a Senior Social Media Strategist at IIR USA with a technology, anthropology, marketing and publishing business acumen.  She will be attending Prepaid Expo USA 2012 and covering the event live via Twitter and the Prepaid Expo Blog. She is a published poet and also maintains a literary blog. She may be reached atvrusso@iirusa.com. Follow her @Literanista.

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Live from Prepaid Expo 2012: Slideshow

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Live from Prepaid Expo 2012: Regulatory Summit: Gift Card Issues

We began this afternoon with the Complying with State Consumer Protection Laws Session presented by Donald Mosher, Partner, SCHULTE ROTH & ZABEL and Elish Meyers, Legal Representative, RETAIL GIFT CARD ASSOCIATION.

Definition of gift cards, paper certificates, online bar codes,  payroll cards,...

Laws are different for open, closed and semi-open on a local, state, and federal level and they are constantly changing. One law change can effect your program somewhere else as well as your partnerships.

Gift cards' unredeemed balances are recognized as unclaimed property in many states and must be reported and remitted to the state.

New Jersey and law changes: effective last year all gift cards must be registered, impacts gift cards, SVC, money orders, and Travelers Checks, rebate cards...

Federal Card Act became effective in August 2010. Generally prohibits exp. dates of less than 5 years and fees for inactivity less than 12 months. Also look at applicable state laws.

Nine states have issued cash back rules consumer protection rules: CA, CO, ME, MA, MT, OR, RI, VT and WA.

Valerie M. Russo is a Senior Social Media Strategist at IIR USA with a technology, anthropology, marketing and publishing business acumen.  She will be attending Prepaid Expo USA 2012 and covering the event live via Twitter and the Prepaid Expo Blog. She is a published poet and also maintains a literary blog. She may be reached atvrusso@iirusa.com. Follow her @Literanista.

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Live from Prepaid Expo 2012: The Economy & Prepaid

Our Economy Keynote: The Economy & Prepaid: The Big Picture of the World’s Economy and What it Holds for our Industry was presented by Wayne Best, Chief Economist at VISA.

Takeaways:

Factors for Growth in Prepaid:

Back from the brink
Instability of Euro, Future*
US GDP Growth
Luxury segment growth: Visa Consumers
Labor: Salary wage growth down although employment is up
Housing: No good news
Gas prices: continue to rise at accelerated rate

*4 scenarios for future of euro: Fiscal targets met, Greek austerity collapses, Germany exits, all Euro countries exit

Supply Side:
Government programs
Employers
Healthcare Programs

Demand Side:
Budget Consciousness
Payroll card recipients
Underbanked/unbanked consumers

Largest segments in 2011 were:
Bill payment
Healthcare

Low hanging fruit is gone but opportunities still exist, we will just have to look harder, in more areas, more income groups, more merchant segments.

Valerie M. Russo is a Senior Social Media Strategist at IIR USA with a technology, anthropology, marketing and publishing business acumen.  She will be attending Prepaid Expo USA 2012 and covering the event live via Twitter and the Prepaid Expo Blog. She is a published poet and also maintains a literary blog. She may be reached atvrusso@iirusa.com. Follow her @Literanista.

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Live from Prepaid Expo 2012: Branding & Prepaid

Our session on Branding & Prepaid: How Effective Communication Strategies Can Combat and Differentiate your Product from Debit & Credit today was moderated by Marilyn Bochicchio, CEO of PAYBEFORE.

Panelists:
Tony Chang, Head of Prepaid Marketing, VISA INC.
Diane Scott, CMO, WESTERN UNION
Laura Kelly, SVP & GM of the Americas for Global Payment Options, AMERICAN EXPRESS
John Dwyer, Sr. Account Executive, CPI CARD GROUP
Jeffrey Lewis, Director of Prepaid and Alternative Payments, DISCOVER

Brands & solutions must be trusted especially in the case of financial survival. This leaves room for change and innovation without losing the consumer.

Your brand as a card shouldn’t override the brand being introduced to the consumer.

American Express looks at payments as a global stream, their view is full spectrum. As an aspirational card, they have a responsibility to innovate and meet the needs of consumers. If you don't grow, you die. They tailor their prepaid offerings further via customer requests.

Western Union: Consumers want no hidden fees and simpler, more transparent information. Consumers don't want to carry cash, they actually want to put their money on a card.

Why would banked customer choose a prepaid card? To become a companion financial solution, to fill gap(s). It's transparent. Additional functionality.

Marketing is different for each audience, regardless of the medium/channel. Marketing to millennials is different than marketing to parents or employers.

Social media, digital banners and apps are huge crucial for immediate response, interaction and a powerful, cost-effective tool to service consumers.

Valerie M. Russo is a Senior Social Media Strategist at IIR USA with a technology, anthropology, marketing and publishing business acumen.  She will be attending Prepaid Expo USA 2012 and covering the event live via Twitter and the Prepaid Expo Blog. She is a published poet and also maintains a literary blog. She may be reached atvrusso@iirusa.com. Follow her @Literanista.

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Live from Prepaid Expo 2012: Evolving Your Marketing & Product - and How the Game is Changing for Every Industry

Jeffrey Hayzlett, former Chief Marketing Officer & Vice President, EASTMAN KODAK, Best Selling author, “The Mirror Test" and "Running Gauntlet" presented the Prepaid Expo 2012 branding Keynote today.

He talked about adapting or dying and what happened at Kodak: They didn't change. They wanted to protect the profit margins of products that were doing well and in that process just stagnated. They forgot they made emotional technology, they forgot to drive change.

Jeffrey Hayzlett on stage at Prepaid Expo 2012

You're not in the Prepaid industry. You're in the change industry. Be an agent of change. Two types of Change agents: Those who do nothing and...

Clock changers: Actually changes the clocks that everyone else complains about being off. Problem solvers. Cheerleaders who reinforce goals, who seamless operate between departments and divisions.

Reasons we fail to innovate:
1. Fear
2. Tension
3. Radical Transparency
4. Risk
5. Promises

Don't forget your customers own your brand, you are just the shepherd.

Valerie M. Russo is a Senior Social Media Strategist at IIR USA with a technology, anthropology, marketing and publishing business acumen.  She will be attending Prepaid Expo USA 2012 and covering the event live via Twitter and the Prepaid Expo Blog. She is a published poet and also maintains a literary blog. She may be reached atvrusso@iirusa.com. Follow her @Literanista.

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Live from Prepaid Expo 2012: Serving the Consumer: At the Table with Consumer Advocates

We began today with a panel on Serving the Consumer: At the Table with Consumer Advocates moderated by Rachel Schneider, VP Innovation and Research at CENTER FOR FINANCIAL SERVICES INNOVATION with...

Panelists:
Michelle Jun, Senior Attorney, CONSUMERS UNION
Lauren Saunders, Managing Attorney, NATIONAL CONSUMER LAW CENTER
John Hagy, Chief Legal Officer, METABANK
Patrice Peyret, CEO, PLASTYC INC.
Lisa Henken, VP of Customer Experience, NETSPEND

What does it mean to offer valuable Prepaid services to the consumer that fit the Compass Principles?

Netspend tries to offer innovative ways to meet the needs of consumers today and their needs in the future. There is no one size fits all, products need to grow as needs evolve.

The number one anxiety for consumers is money so services need to look at themselves as providing financial services while making it stress-free and painless.

Streamliing fees, ensuring privacy and fraud protection really is beneficial for consumers, ensuring a quality product.

Also full financial integration not just Prepaid, also great customer experience and services, clear and concise liability and other disclosures. Full financial systems.

Education is the key in helping consumers.

Valerie M. Russo is a Senior Social Media Strategist at IIR USA with a technology, anthropology, marketing and publishing business acumen.  She will be attending Prepaid Expo USA 2012 and covering the event live via Twitter and the Prepaid Expo Blog. She is a published poet and also maintains a literary blog. She may be reached atvrusso@iirusa.com. Follow her @Literanista.

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Live from Prepaid Expo 2012: 2012 Paybefore Awards Ceremony

Paybefore honored its 2012 Paybefore Awards Winners and revealed for the first time the Best-in-Category winners as well as Industry Achievement Winners.

The Best-in-Category winners are: 


Best Gift Card Program
One4all Gift Card
The Gift Voucher Shop

Best General Purpose Reloadable Program
Western Union Reloadable MoneyWise Prepaid MasterCard
Western Union

Best Government-Funded Prepaid Program
Benefits Direct
Prepaid Resources

Best Prepaid Incentive, Reward, Rebate or Loyalty Program
Paylution Visa Prepaid Card
hyperWALLET Systems Inc., The Bancorp Bank, FIS Payment Solutions Group

Best Employee Benefit/Transit Prepaid Program
Walmart Money Network MasterCard Paycard
Walmart, First Data

Best International Travel/Remittance Prepaid Program
Israel Postal Bank Visa Prepaid USD Card
Israel Postal Bank, Payoneer

Best Emergency/Insurance/Non-Government Benefits Prepaid Program
Aviva Visa Options Card
Aviva, FIS

Best Youth/Student/Campus Prepaid Program
SpendSmart Prepaid MasterCard
BillMyParents

Best Health Care/Health Benefits Prepaid Program
InComm/Medagate OTC Network Solution
InComm

Best Prepaid Gaming Card
Gift Card Payment Network
Openbucks

Best Digital Currency
paysafecard
paysafecard group

Best Effective Prepaid Marketing (tie)
Discover Campus Card Marketing Toolkit
Discover Network

Green Dot Comprehensive Marketing Program
Green Dot Corporation

Best Prepaid Card or Packaging Design
Walmart MoneyCard
Walmart, Green Dot Corporation, GE Capital Retail Bank

Best Virtual or Mobile Prepaid Application
Google Wallet Prepaid Card
Google, First Data, MasterCard

Best Consumer Value in Prepaid—U.S. Solutions
Western Union Gold Prepaid MasterCard
Western Union

Best Consumer Value in Prepaid—International Solutions
Freedom Prepaid Card
DCB Bank Ltd., Itz Cash Card Limited, Visa

Most Effective Prepaid Solution
Amway Automation Program
Itz Cash Card Limited, Amway India

Best Non-U.S.-Based Prepaid Program
Orange Cash Prepaid MasterCard
Everthing Everywhere, PrePay Solutions

Most Innovative Prepaid Program 
Google Prepaid Card
Google, First Data, MasterCard

Top Prepaid Retailer
Giant Eagle

Breakout Prepaid Company of the Year
American Express

The final award of the night, Industry Achievement, was given to Anil D. Aggarwal and Jonathan Weiner, chairman and CEO and executive vice president, respectively, for processing technology company TxVia.

Congratulations to all the winners!!!

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Live from Prepaid Expo 2012: Arriana Huffington on How to be a Game Changer

Our final keynote today on Innovation in Prepaid, Arianna Huffington, President & Editor in Chief of the HUFFINGTON POST MEDIA GROUP, presented How to be a game changer.

Galileo could have never predicted all the changes into the world today. Innovators are relentless in their passion, in their pursuits. Very often the obstacles are not just external, many times they are internal.

She launched a blog for the brightest minds to get their views online in real time at a time when people didn't understand what a blog was or what it was for. The vision was to create a platform for people to express themselves in an easy conversational way. She moderated comments in the beginning, to ensure a civilized conversation and aggregated content. 

Innovators don't need to reject the "old" to flip an industry on its head.

Her detractors would ask why would you risk failure, you are a published author. The internet is a young person's game. Meanwhile her mother often used to say failure is a stepping stone to success. She listened. Her first book was rejected by 36 publishers.

Once you find success, you still have to constantly iterate, otherwise you succeed and then you stagnate. You need to keep evolving. Companies often fail because they don't change enough. They stick to the same strategies which gained them success in the past but times and technology constantly change.

Valerie M. Russo is a Senior Social Media Strategist at IIR USA with a technology, anthropology, marketing and publishing business acumen.  She will be attending Prepaid Expo USA 2012 and covering the event live via Twitter and the Prepaid Expo Blog. She is a published poet and also maintains a literary blog. She may be reached atvrusso@iirusa.com. Follow her @Literanista.

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Live from Prepaid Expo 2012: Social Media: Changing the Prepaid Marketing Game?

Recap from Social Media: Changing the Prepaid Marketing Game? Panel:

Moderator: Aaron Mann, CEO, SOCIALARC
Panelists: Mike Fletcher, CMO, GIFTANGO
Douglas Rozen, Senior Vice President, AIMIA (incorporating Carlson Marketing)
Michael Hursta, VP, Prepaid Category Manager, FIRST DATA

What is the value of your customer per transaction - level of intimacy? This concern is unique to the Prepaid space but for the most part the challenges the industry faces are the same as for others.

Online social tools allow you to really get to know consumers in a whole new way - another form of ROI: data.

A social media strategy isn't singular, it should have multiple goals but social media definitely needs to be run from a strategic standpoint.

It also shouldn't work in a vacuum, SMS is popular to use as are other promotional marketing.

Use social media to mine your audience for maximum impact on your future marketing. Who is your customer? Filter/target directly to them.

Valerie M. Russo is a Senior Social Media Strategist at IIR USA with a technology, anthropology, marketing and publishing business acumen.  She will be attending Prepaid Expo USA 2012 and covering the event live via Twitter and the Prepaid Expo Blog. She is a published poet and also maintains a literary blog. She may be reached atvrusso@iirusa.com. Follow her @Literanista.

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Live from Prepaid Expo 2012: Harnessing the Power of Social Media to Engage Customers & Drive Your Brand

Scott Stratten is President of UNMARKETING and he presented our Social Media Keynote address today.

Social media empowers consumers to release and voice their "press release" faster than ever before, globally - your payment app better work.

When things hit the fan, social media is your opportunity to be awesome.

Social media is your front line. Consumers only care about what you do, not your logo, not your branding. Marketing is a verb, it's what your company does every day, everything you do.

Mission statements don't matter. People spread awesome (content)! It's only how it is shared that has changed.

Social media has changed how things are changed, most things are now shared through Facebook.

Even if you hate Facebook or Twitter, understand it because that's where your customers are - don't ignore it.

QR Codes are great for example but use them accordingly - think before you do - use them properly.

Not everyone should use social media. If your company sucks, it will suck harder socially. If you hate people, social might not be the route to go.

Inversely, every one is on social. The niche: human.

Don't try to be everywhere, pick one platform and grow it.

Valerie M. Russo is a Senior Social Media Strategist at IIR USA with a technology, anthropology, marketing and publishing business acumen.  She will be attending Prepaid Expo USA 2012 and covering the event live via Twitter and the Prepaid Expo Blog. She is a published poet and also maintains a literary blog. She may be reached atvrusso@iirusa.com. Follow her @Literanista.

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Live from Prepaid Expo 2012: ABCs of Mobile Payments

Presented by James Sufrin, VP of Orbethur Technologies of America Corp. and Mike Fletcher, CEO of GiftTango....

Strong adoption of digital B2B Channels – Driving force for content getting into market

Mobile Payment Today:
Key Fact #1: 1 out 6 phones will have NFC by 2014
- 302 million smartphones shipped in 2010, 71% growth over 2009’s shipment levels
- Paypal launched NFC peer-to-peer mobile app
- Google Wallet – will standardize NFC use
- Global Platform has finalized key specifications enabling massive commercial roll, outs on OTA management, TSM, certification
- GSMA issued a statement
- Joint Ventures
- Visa, Mastercard

Payments:
- Square=POS
- Mobile wallets: Many or one?
- Coupons, Products, & Promotions: Instant, Text promotions, Interacting with real-time TV use

Services:
- Service: NFC payments or more much more than payments?
- Identification

Mobile Wallet App/UI:
- Basic:
- Payment card emulation
- Notifications
- Extended value:
- Transactions logs
- Settings & preferences
- Passcode management
- Added Value:
- Mobile offers & passwords
Mobile Adoption around the world:
- Imminent adoption for digital in the UK
- Mass adoption for US for Gift Cards: Holiday Season
NFC: How to get there:

One universal & ideal NFC ecosystem does not exist
- Key questions:
- Whom to partner with?
- Which infrastructure?
- What services to push?
- What pricing strategy?

Valerie M. Russo is a Senior Social Media Strategist at IIR USA with a technology, anthropology, marketing and publishing business acumen.  She will be attending Prepaid Expo USA 2012 and covering the event live via Twitter and the Prepaid Expo Blog. She is a published poet and also maintains a literary blog. She may be reached atvrusso@iirusa.com. Follow her @Literanista.

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Live from Prepaid Expo 2012: Social Media: The Landscape

Aaron Mann

We began this morning at Prepaid Expo 2012 with a session on Social Media: The Landscape, 5 Important Trends for Marketers, and Real-World Social Best Practices presented by Aaron Mann, CEO of SocialArc. "Socialarc specializes in the design and implementation of social marketing campaigns that work - for our clients and for their audiences."

5 Big Social Landscape Trends to watch:

1. Social Commerce: Amazon, Groupon, Etsy, Gilt
2. Makers: Kickstarter, Do Network
3: SoLoMo Convergence: Twitter, Foursquare, Facebook, Yelp
4. Sharing, Discovery & Curation: Twitter, Quora, G+, Stumbleupon, Pinterest, Facebook
5. Game Mechanics: Words with Friends, Sims, CityVille

5 Marketing Trends:

1. Relationships at scale: From Niche to at Scale
2. Always on Strategy: Move away from Campaigns
3. Quality content: Not Quantity
4. Platform Intergration: No Silos
5. Measurement & Business Results: From Experiments to ROI

5 Guiding Principles from SocialArc:

1. Social Strategy Needed: Insights, Strategy, Tactics
Identity:
- Business objectives
- Success Metrics
- Competitive Landscape
- Audience Profile
- Audience Values

Follow @Socialarc on Twitter.


Valerie M. Russo is a Senior Social Media Strategist at IIR USA with a technology, anthropology, marketing and publishing business acumen.  She will be attending Prepaid Expo USA 2012 and covering the event live via Twitter and the Prepaid Expo Blog. She is a published poet and also maintains a literary blog. She may be reached atvrusso@iirusa.com. Follow her @Literanista.

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Live Coverage of Prepaid Expo 2012 Begins Monday

There's still time to register to attend Prepaid Expo 2012 taking place in Las Vegas, Nevada, Monday through Wednesday, next week (walk-ins are welcome) but if you can't join us, we will be covering the event live here and via Twitter.

Follow the official hashtag #PPEXPO for live on-site blogging and tweeting to catch anything you might have missed!

Also follow us on Twitter: @Prepaidexpo and join the conversation by tagging your tweets with #PPEXPO. You also might want to check in on Foursquare and see who's arrived. You can also visit us here at PrepaidExpoBlog.com daily for brief recaps and takeaways from some of our sessions.

Photos will be posted every day to Flickr and video footage will be available later on at YouTube. You can also add your own photos to our group pool. For one-stop-shop live coverage, visit www.prepaidexpousa.com.

Registered attendees be sure to download the Prepaid Marketplace app to make the most of your time at the event. Registered members can view who will be in attendance, request meetings with other members, create a personal event schedule, and manage the entire network directly from your web-enabled device or smartphone.

See you in Vegas!


To register, visit www.prepaidexpousa.com
Call: 1 888-670-8200                
Email: register@iirusa.com

* Please mention your priority code when registering to save $100 off the standard and onsite rate: XU2548BLOG.

Valerie M. Russo is a Senior Social Media Strategist at IIR USA with a technology, anthropology, marketing and publishing business acumen.  She will be attending Prepaid Expo USA 2012 and covering the event live via Twitter and the Prepaid Expo Blog. She is a published poet and also maintains a literary blog. She may be reached at vrusso@iirusa.com. Follow her @Literanista.

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Test Drive an Expert: Amir Wain, i2c, Inc

Amir Wain is the CEO of i2c, Inc., he will be our featured expert on the topic of  Mobile, Processing at the 7th Annual Prepaid Expo, taking place this year in Las Vegas, Nevada, on March 12-13, 2012, where attendees will have the opportunity to schedule one-on-one meetings with Amir and other experts from an array of Prepaid specialties.

We had a chance to connect with Amir before we head out to Las Vegas next week. Here is what he told us:


What are the most pressing issues/trends in your subject area that prepaid professionals should consider and/or watch closely in the coming year?

1. Prepaid is much more than GPR or payroll cards; it is now a platform for payments innovation.

2. The global growth of prepaid will accelerate as companies take advantage of the vast untapped opportunities in markets outside the US

3. In the area of emerging and mobile payments, we will hear much more about user experience and innovations in POS infrastructure as opposed to breakthroughs in enabling technologies such as NFC.

What are the 3 most commonly asked questions/concerns you hear from clients?

1. What should be my mobile strategy?
2. What are the roles and responsibilities of various players in the value chain?
3. When I ask a capability question – every processor says yes; how do I select a processor?

What is/are the most common mistake(s) and oversight(s) people make in the prepaid space related to your area of specialization? 

1. Companies get lured by the sex appeal of “mobile” without thinking through all the details

2. Try to replace plastic with mobile without rethinking the product, work flows and how to leverage the advantages of this amazing device called mobile that all of us carry.

3. Focus on point solutions rather than a long-term product strategy.  

The typical discussion goes as follows:

Prospect: Do you have a mobile solution?
i2c: For what exactly?
Prospect: You know, a phone-based mobile solution.
i2c: For cardholder account access? For text alerts? Mobile wallet? Or for a loyalty and/or rewards program? How do you plan to use it?
Prospect: All of it, I guess? I'm starting a new business, and mobile is going to be the future.


About Amir:


Amir Wain is a pioneer in the prepaid card industry. He founded Innovative Private Limited, a software-development firm, in 1987 and led the development of the transaction processing platform FastCash. Propelled by the success of Innovative and expanding market opportunities, Wain founded i2c Inc. in 2001 and with his team, launched My Card PlaceSM (MCP), i2c’s customizable, feature-rich card processing platform. Under Wain, i2c has introduced a number of prepaid industry firsts, including its Campaign Manager, Giftogram and i-Coupons products.

He introduced the term “Prepaid2.0” to describe the change in mindset that embraces previously underserved cardholders as valuable customers and leads to comprehensive and flexible lifestyle products that incorporate value-added services and foster customer loyalty. At i2c, Wain continues to develop his vision with strategies to meet the needs of the evolving prepaid marketplace

Test Drive a  Mobile, Processing Expert 


You can schedule a meeting with Amir Wain at Prepaid Expo here, if you need help determining how to navigate and participate strategically in mobile and online options for your company.

To register, visit www.prepaidexpousa.com
Call: 1 888-670-8200                
Email: register@iirusa.com 

* Please mention your priority code when registering to save $100 off the standard and onsite rate: XU2548BLOG.

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