First Data Corp. First Data Corporation, announced the extension of the First Data OfferWise solution to providers of offers and the first wave of First Data’s network of more than 4 million U.S. merchant locations.

“Financial institutions have created one of the most powerful platforms in the world and we are excited to work with First Data to make this platform easily accessible to the creativity of web and mobile app developers,” says Eckart Walther, CEO of CardSpring. "We have been delighted by the response of developers and publishers, who are using our platform to bridge the gap between online and offline shopping, bringing the disruption of online commerce applications and marketing solutions to the world of retail."

Over 500,000 merchant locations are now enabled to leverage the OfferWise solution for customized offers programs and other electronic incentive solutions, with more than 100 publishers using the platform to develop innovative, card-linked services. This same group of First Data merchants generated tens of billions of dollars in transaction volume at the point of sale both online and in-store in 2011.

Introduced in February, the First Data OfferWise solution is an open platform that simplifies the offer redemption process and creation of card-linked services for consumers and merchants. The OfferWise solution, in conjunction with the CardSpring API, allows offer publishers or application developers to electronically attach offers such as deals, ecoupons, and loyalty programs to one or more of a consumer’s payment cards or mobile wallet to enable streamlined and automatic redemption of the offer at the point of sale. The OfferWise solution can link to any type of payment card including all major credit association brands, PIN, or signature debit.

“Digital, virtual, and mobile gifts are the future of the gift card industry,” says Timothy Bentley, founder and CEO of Giftly. “We have seen incredible adoption of our service by consumers who want the convenience of giving a gift online and choosing one or more locations for redemption. Through our work with OfferWise, we can add capabilities to our service that will revolutionize the experience for consumers and close the online to offline loop for merchants.”

"An effective loyalty program for local merchants is critical given that 50% of their revenue comes from the top 15% of their customers. Existing card-based loyalty programs are ineffective as they require a lot of work from the customer in order to get rewards and engage with the business,” says Sean Rad, CEO of Cardify. “OfferWise has enabled Cardify merchants to offer customers a hassle-free and personalized loyalty experience by linking the program to the credit cards consumers already own and redeem in real-time."

Adoption of the First Data OfferWise card-linked service by publishers enables merchants to choose the type of marketing and incentive program that meets their needs. Merchants can access programs from any of these publishers with one connection into the OfferWise platform. These programs are designed to help merchants drive new customers to their locations and keep those customers coming back. Merchants can take advantage of these solutions with no changes to the point of sale, operations or infrastructure.


[This article was posted on June 27, 2012, on the website of ABA Banking Journal, www.ababj.com.]         

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