Increased Revenue & Cash Flow
Gift Cards generate more revenue for the company because there is no need to refund the unspent value in cash or smaller denomination vouchers – the unspent value stays on the card for later purchases, this results in either never spent values (referred to as breakage) or part Gift Card and part cash purchases for the residual.
Gift Cards are not activated until time of purchase, therefore until activated are worthless. Most traditional voucher’s are live and require purchase by the merchant retailer up front, thus Gift Cards do not drain cash flow.
Security:
It is widely accepted by retailers that fraudulent vouchers redeemed are virtually unavoidable and now considered a cost of business. When fraudulent vouchers have been redeemed it is either after the sales process that this is discovered, hence too late or if investigated, they are often presented by genuine customers who have inadvertently received a fraudulent voucher. In this instance it is desirable to redeem the voucher rather than upsetting genuine customers.
Conversely, the cost of investigating fraudulent vouchers outweighs the value of the transaction. With the sophistication of digital scanning and printing technologies it is difficult to fraud proof traditional vouchers. The process of procuring traditional vouchers, no matter how diligent the suppliers, has plenty of opportunities for traditional genuine vouchers to escape into the market fraudulently.
Fraudulent use can be minimised with Gift Cards – The cards are worthless until activated. All transactions can be reported and traced instantly and easily. The cards themselves have a unique number range for each card type, this has to be activated by the eftpos network and is only activated to the relevant merchants terminals for each card range. The balance on the cards is managed by the stored value system. Each transaction sends the data to “the host” for verification that the “card account” has enough credit for the transaction. If not the transaction is declined at Point of Purchase. This is the same process as credit card or eftpos purchases.
Brand Recognition & Marketing Vehicle:
Gift Cards are an excellent vehicle for brand recognition, and marketing tool. The ability to manage Gift Card programmes that are flexible and promotion specific.
Never before has this ability been so accessible to the Australian market. Gift Cards command wallet real estate and are a powerful incentive to shop at the store, one of the few marketing mediums that are able to drive customers in the door and is completely measurable – even to a particular promotion. Gift Cards are not just a form of currency, but the single most powerful and cost effective marketing tool your organisation can implement.
Reduced Costs:
Gift card transactions are processed electronically, which provides better tracking and greatly reduces the operational overhead that is currently associated with paper certificates.
Programs are constantly being developed and Cards4all tailor-make individual programs to meet the needs of our clients. We strive for the best program to make you competitive and profitable!
Card Programs allow you to save money, save time (saving even more money), reduce human error and streamline your business. Making it more competitive, more PROFITABLE and better at meeting your customer’s needs.