Innovation Project 2014, discussing the future of the payments industry
The GiftCard Partners team is a week away from packing up again and heading to Cambridge, MA to attend the
Innovation Project. The payments industry event is sponsored by
PYMNTS.com. GCP had the opportunity to attend last year and we are looking forward to this years event. The show will attract power players from all aspects of the payments and commerce world to discuss the future of an industry that is constantly being transformed by mobile devices, the cloud, big data and emerging technologies.
The All Payments Expo: Where Great Minds Come Together
The All Payments Expo
(APEX) is already in full swing this morning in Las Vegas and the GiftCard Partners team is looking forward to taking part in the discussions, collaboration, and merging of minds throughout the payments industry this week. The APEX allows a forum for Alternative Financial Services, Emerging Payments, Omnichannel Retail Strategies and Prepaid to come together to focus on areas of growth and convergence in payments. GCP was excited about the opportunity to sponsor a unique luncheon and joint session between
Retail Gift Card Association (RGCA) and
Incentive Gift Card Council (IGCC), of which we are members of both. The IGCC
stated, “Both associations share goals in promoting best practices and helping the industry grow and believe collaborating on the topic of B2B will create a powerful learning opportunity and one that will eliminate redundancy and streamline our message between groups.” Let the collaborations begin!
Gearing Up for the 2014 All Payments Expo
We are two weeks away from the 2014 All Payments Expo that will take place at The Mirage in Las Vegas this year. As regular attendees of the event, the GiftCard Partners team is looking forward to seeing both new and returning faces in the payments industry and speaking with new loyalty, incentive and payment companies who can use gift cards as part of their reward complement. The APEX brings together Alternative Financial Services, Emerging Payments, Omnichannel Retail Strategies and Prepaid all in one location to focus on areas of growth and convergence in payments. Check out more on the APEX
here.
Google Wallet Dumps Gift Cards...Does It Matter?
Google announced earlier this month that as of August 21st it would suspend support on Google Wallet for gift cards and loyalty cards (often utlizing point systems). This seems like it could be a blow to the gift card industry, like for those who sell bulk gift cards, as it limits the ways gift cards can be distributed and redeemed. However I am scratching my head to figure out if we, the gift card industry should even care that much.
Mobile Payments, a Hot Topic for Retailers Navigating Technology
GiftCard Partners', CEO, Edward Shulkin, and COO, Deborah Merkin, were recently invited to the 2013
pymnts.com Innovation Project. The event brought together retailers, payments industry experts, and thought leaders in the payments industry to discuss present and future trends.
The hot topic of the event: mobile payments. “What the GCP team noticed was the overall difference in the way mobile payments and commerce are viewed by retailers when compared to the view within the payments industry,” writes GCP’s writer, Rachel Merkin, about their experience in the article,
Payments Industry Identity Crisis. To learn more about the trend of mobile payments and how it may affect the future of the payments industry, read the
full article and see what topics were discussed and what the GCP team took away from the event.
