
A great way to acquire new customers while retaining the loyal ones is to set up a gift card program in your place of business. There are many benefits of a gift card that are often overlooked by merchants.
Appeal To New Customers
Gift cards are an effective way to appeal to new customers at a business that is accepting credit cards. Gift cards encourage people who might not otherwise visit your business to take a look around and they are likely to return to make additional purchases.
Increase Brand Awareness
When your gift card is designed to match your company logo and brand, it works as a marketing tool in a customer’s pocket. As people purchase more gift cards for their friends and family on birthdays and holidays, your brand continues to be dispersed among new customers.
Improve Your Sales
Although gift cards are often set to a specific amount, many customers will end up spending more. Gift Cards encourage customers to enter your store and browse products. Once they’ve started shopping, it is likely that they’ll end up finding a product that costs more than the gift card’s value. Paying only a fraction of the price is still better than paying in full, and your customer will leave satisfied.
Reduce Fraud
The use of an electronic gift card allows for partial redemption, leaving the rest of the balance stored on the gift card and eliminating cash backs. You can also use gift cards for store credit, eliminating fraud that occurs when customers try to make expired returns for cash. Issuing gift cards in place of cash encourages more sales.
The gift card option is a merchant processing service that you shouldn’t pass up. Learn more about how you can start a small business gift card program today!

Gift Cards

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Your Customized Program
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Gift Cards Increase Your Traffic & Bottom Line:
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Studies show that 75% of customers making a purchase using a gift card spend more than 60% over the original card value
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55% of gift card recipients require more than one trip to spend the balance of their card
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90% of gift cards are used within the first 60 days
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Online gift card sales are growing by 29% per year
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97% of the top retailers & restaurants sell their gift card online
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Less than 3% of local businesses sell their gift card online

Give Your Clients' Options
Gift Card Programs Are Flexible:
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Variable or preset card value
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Customizable card controls
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Over a dozen transaction types
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Suspend lost and stolen tagging on cards
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Enhanced PIN and security code support
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Virtual gift card terminal processing
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Integrated into the POS or terminal
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Multi-store solutions with ACH funds transfers and cross-store reconciliation
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Virtual gift card option
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eGifting Service
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Online reporting
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Choice of custom or pre-designed cards
Pre-paid Cards
Current Payment Solutions offers prepaid solutions that can help you manage your payments, run promotions and reward your employees. Your company can use prepaid cards as a branded payment tool that delivers intuitive tracking and reporting capabilities. A comprehensive suite of prepaid solutions can help you reach your goals. Allowing you to strengthen your brand from driving incremental sales to lowering the costs of payroll administration — implement a prepaid program that delivers. CPS offers your business a prepaid program designed to maximize growth, value, and savings. Our innovative prepaid solutions are designed to help businesses acquire, develop, convert and retain customers.
Prepaid Cards Give You Options:
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Reloadable or one-time use cards
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Designed to match your brand
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Cards can be issued and loaded multiple ways
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MCC/Product Code Category restrictions – funds can be restricted by transaction type
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Secure administrator portal
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Detailed card reporting
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Ability to set access and funding levels for sub-administrators
Sources:
http://www.card9.com/giftcard-statistics.asp
http://grifinancial.com/id154.html
http://www.internetretailer.com/2012/04/25/many-digital-gift-card-buyers-are-last-minute-holiday-shoppers
http://www.internetretailer.com/2012/08/01/more-retailers-plan-offer-gift-cards-mobile-shoppers-can
http://www.bizjournals.com/nashville/morning_call/2011/12/unused-gift-card-total-41-billion.html
http://www.giftcardexchangeday.com/statistics.php
http://blogs.wsj.com/totalreturn/2012/08/16/should-states-be-able-to-seize-gift-cards
http://www.giftcardpartners.com/Q4GiftCardIndustryTrendReport.htm