Any Online Stores Can Now Offer Gift Cards
An announcement was made recently by International Card Establishment, Inc. to promote its new Virtual Terminal (VT) platform which will allow any merchant with a computer and an internet connection to offer custom store branded Gift and Loyalty cards that utilize traditional magnetic stripe cards to its customers. Priced significantly lower than the cost of current Gift and Loyalty programs, this market-changing platform enables a low-cost magnetic stripe card to yield all of the information which had heretofore been available only with smart card programs.
A merchant can simply purchase a magnetic stripe reader (under $100 US) and then plug it into their computer’s USB port. The merchant can then download a software program from International Card Establishment, Inc. and immediately launch his own Gift and Loyalty program. If a merchant used a smart card program instead the costs could easily escalate into the thousands of dollars. The VT platform is versatile though and will work with a smart chip as well as a magnetic stripe card.
The program is easy to work with. A merchant just logs on to the website of the Merchant Data Center and then can instantly see what they need to evaluate and form smart marketing campaigns:
- how many dollars of prepaid gift cards have been issued, redeemed, or reloaded,
- how many points have bee issued, redeemed or rebated within the Gift and Loyalty program
- customer data such as name, address, birthdates, frequency of visits, etc.
“The VT platform — which we believe is a truly unique Gift and Loyalty program — is the first ‘terminal-free’ approach to the market,” says William Lopshire, CEO of I.C.E. “This offering distinguishes I.C.E. in the market place and allows us to continually enhance the platform through additional plug-ins without the need for the merchant to upgrade its existing hardware.” The VT platform is equally valuable for small companies and large franchises, allowing them to offer state-of-the-art Gift and Loyalty card programs. No longer are such programs only available to large nationwide merchants. Businesses in a wide range of industries already take advantage of this opportunit, including some in apparel, food, sports equipment, spas, automotive repair, and furniture.
It is also possible to have I.C.E. execute custom marketing campaigns via the Merchant Data Center for a fee. Such an offering will allow the merchant to focus on its core business, yet still take advantage of the information obtained from the I.C.E. CRM database. For example, a merchant could arrange for a card to be mailed to the individuals in their Gift/Loyalty database with upcoming birthdays. The card would invite the customer to come in for 10% off in honor of their birthday.
