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First gift cards went virtual, and now they’re going mobile. Portland, Ore.-based Giftango Corp. introduced on Wednesday a software developer’s toolkit that mobile developers can use to let users receive gift cards while staying within a mobile application. Giftango, which manages both plastic and virtual gift cards for merchants and …
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Merchants Get More Aggressive About Gift Card Reloads
A provision in the new Dodd-Frank Wall Street Reform and Consumer Protection Act of 2010 that exempts some reloadable prepaid cards from interchange regulation could make such cards an attractive option for retailers. But merchants were heavily promoting reloadable gift cards long before the legislation appeared for another reason: to …
Read More »AmEx Cuts Gift Card Fees And Expands Simon Mall Card Program
American Express Co. turned up the competitive heat in the gift card sector Wednesday by announcing the immediate elimination of monthly fees on all of its gift cards. AmEx also announced an expanded gift card program with shopping mall operator Simon Property Group Inc., the nation's largest public real-estate company …
Read More »Congress Will Study Interchange And Eyes Rules for Gift Cards
The U.S. House of Representatives on Wednesday overwhelmingly passed a sweeping credit card reform bill that leaves out retailer-backed regulation of interchange. The bill, which the Senate sent to the House Tuesday, includes a Congressional interchange study and could open the door to controls on gift cards. The House earlier …
Read More »Retailers Form Association To Defend Closed-Loop Gift Cards
The Retail Gift Card Association is recruiting new members with the aim of building a positive image of closed-loop gift cards, getting members to follow an ethics code, and countering the bad publicity directed at gift cards in recent months by consumer groups and legislators monitoring marooned cards whose sponsor …
Read More »How Some Retailers Have Bolstered Their Gift Cards’ Firepower
Closed-loop gift cards are not the new kids on the block any more, but some retailers in 2008's holiday shopping season found ways to wring more usage out of their cards despite the faltering economy and bad press about gift cards. That's the word from a newly released market assessment …
Read More »Better ATM: Amazon Gift Cards Now, Network-Branded Cards Later
A 3-year-old technology firm called Better ATM Services Inc. that configures ATMs to dispense prepaid cards is moving beyond its Phoenix-area proving grounds with local restaurants and into a test involving Amazon.com gift cards. If it works, distribution of network-branded prepaid cards could be next. During the upcoming holiday-season pilot …
Read More »Eye on Gift Cards: A First Data Glitch Strikes the Day After Christmas
A day-after-Christmas processing glitch at First Data Corp.'s ValueLink unit, a processor of prepaid card transactions, delayed gift card authorizations at some stores belonging to Wal-Mart Stores Inc. and other, unnamed merchants. While statements released by both Wal-Mart and First Data indicate the problem was fixed Wednesday, the snafu couldn't …
Read More »Discover Expands Its Gift Card Franchise Through a Big Mall Operator
Discover Financial Services LLC for the first time is selling its gift card to non-Discover customers and at retail locations through a new agreement with Chicago-based General Growth Properties Inc., the nation's second-largest regional shopping mall developer and manager. Under the program, consumers will be able to buy Discover gift …
Read More »Merchants Look to Lure Gift Card Recipients As 2006 Wanes
Disappointed by holiday sales, some retailers are turning to advertising to induce gift card recipients to use their cards before New Year's Day, according to press accounts. Chains are using both TV and newspaper ads in the effort. Wal-Mart Stores Inc. and Sears Holdings Corp. have turned to TV to …
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