GiftCard Partners Blog

At GCP, we are constantly monitoring gift card usage… well, usage in a “bulk way”. Check out our recent favorite picks for gift card usage!

It's baack, we have blogged about it before, but now it walks among us, so it seems time to revisit Google Wallet.  It is the first smart phone app, only available on a very select few smart phone models, that allows you to complete payment transactions using your phone, instead of a credit card, or the prehistoric form of payment, cash.  Google wallet is revolutionizing commerce, and how people recieve rewards.  Imagine how easy it would be for a company running a health and wellness program to simply place electronic CVS/Pharmacy gift cards in their employees' Google Wallet accounts, instead of going through the hassle of ordering physical cards, and having to have the cards activated. As revolutionizing as Google Wallet could be, it will still take time to catch on.  For one, it is not yet widely available, and it would be a bit of a stretch to say that people will switch cell phones, or even carriers for this technology.  Additionally, it remains to be seen how many consumers will actually use the technology, given that a wide margin have expressed discomfort in using mobile technology for financial purposes, give the possibilities of identity theft and hacking. Google Wallet will revolutionize commerce, and the face of the gift card industry, just not immediately.  
For more information on Google Wallet, from someone who has actually tested the technology, click here

This week Verizon Wireless and Intuit introduced technology that is changing the face of small and medium sized businesses.  Ever been to your local mom and pop shop, only to discover they are hesitant or unable to take your credit card? Well fear no more, for all of you carrying around cash-less wallets, this new technology will come in handy for you! Intuit and Verizon Wireless rolled out the GoPayment system, a mobile app for a smartphone or tablet, with a small, pocket-sized credit card reader that actually transforms your mobile device into a credit card reader.  Compatible with Android, Blackberry, and iOS the GoPayment system allows businesses to give any customer the option of paying with plastic, instead of having to turn down potential business.  GoPayment allows users to add tips, taxes, and even syncs with newer versions of Quickbooks, which basically means the accounting for small businesses will do itself, if this system is implemented.  This is the answer for small businesses, mobile businesses, or any business that is eager to bring ease of payment to its clients.  How would you use this system? Do you feel secure with a system like this housing your financial information? Do you think it could be used as instant gratification for employee rewards and sale of gift cards? Let us know what you think about GoPayment by leaving a comment!  
For more information on Intuit and Verizon Wirless' GoPayment system click here.

Don’t dismiss those hard earned reward points, pass them on!

Readers of this blog are likely power-users of their own loyalty programs. We work in the incentive, loyalty, or gift card industries; so we know how they work and we know how valuable these points are.. But did you know that they are valuable enough to pass along in your will? Although rules vary from program to program, many major airline rewards programs allow loyalty program participants to share their accrued points with fellow program members. That’s what is in it for YOU; what’s in it for YOUR Company’s loyalty program? “The biggest incentive is continued customer loyalty. By allowing these types of transfers, companies would either (1) gain new customers to make up for those they have lost or (2) cement customer loyalty to their programs by showing customers just how much they care about their continued business.” says
Payments.com in their article
Card and Airline Rewards: ‘Till Death Do Us Part (Or Not).
Check out the article for a list of airline and credit card programs that participate in passing along of rewards when you pass-on. If you are a loyalty program power user or you are administering a loyalty program, you’ll likely be interested in Gerry Beyer’s (Texas Tech University School of Law) insights from the new report,
“Rewards from the Grave,” which he co-authored with Mikela Bryant of the "Estate Planning and Community Property Law Journal."    

Paybefore Update, Vol. 5, Issue 10