The Prepaid Press - November 15, 2007 - (Page 23)

PAYMENTS November 15 · 2007 - 23 Pinnacle and PaySpot Roll Out POS/Prepaid Solution AMR Finds Retailers Returning to Main Street Integrated Prepaid Support from Palm POS Provides New Beneﬁts of a prepaid terminal, which opens valuable counter space in the retail location. Stewart’s Shops of Saratoga Springs, NY is currently in process of rolling out this new integration to its 326 locations; other Pinnacle clients are already following suit. “We are excited to offer Pinnacle Palm retail clients this new integration option with PaySpot,” said Drew Mize, Pinnacle’s vice president of retail solutions. “By continually adding new services and integration options directly from the POS, retailers gain efﬁciencies which ultimately allow them to provide improved customer service, improved loss prevention capability and better focus on the business.” “The integration of the PaySpot product suite into the Pinnacle Palm is representative of our commitment to provide the best prepaid solution to our retailers,” said Jamison Jaworski, vice president of sales for PaySpot. “PaySpot is in step with our retailers’ needs of capturing more counter space, decreasing hardware expense, utilizing a single reconciliation point and ﬁnding an easier training process for the clerk.” Source: The Pinnacle Corporation (www.pinncorp.com) PaySpot (www.payspot.com) Urban Storefronts Take on Greater Prominence WASHINGTON, DC (October 19, 2007) Though the majority of retail stores will continue to be located in malls, retailers are slowly moving back to Main Street to diversify their storefronts, according to ﬁndings from the 2007 NRF Retail Real Estate study conducted by AMR Research. The study, which surveyed 43 retail real estate executives, found that retailers plan to have 11 percent of their stores in urban street-front locations by the end of year, compared with 8 percent last year. To compensate, companies have cut back slightly on their number of mall and strip mall locations (44% this year vs. 48% last year). The survey also found that retailers are continuing to move toward lifestyle centers, with nine percent of company stores in that format compared with eight percent last year. “Urban storefronts are beginning to play an increasingly important role in retailers’ real estate strategies,” said Carleen Kohut, NRF Chief Financial Ofﬁcer and the manager of NRF’s Real Estate Executives Council. “Throughout the country, traditional main streets are being revitalized to include an assortment of new retail shops, from department and clothing stores to coffee shops.” When determining the best location for a store, four out of ﬁve retail real estate executives say that demographic information is the most important. Half of respondents believe that other crucial factors include evaluating competitive information (51%), trafﬁc patterns (49%), and geographic factors like the existing and future population (49%). Though the real estate industry remains extremely competitive, complexity and extensive due diligence contribute to almost one-fourth of retailer respondents (24%) taking more than six months to sign a contract once a site has been approved. On average, retailers said they screen ten potential sites for each one that is approved. About one-third (36%) of stores are owned while the remainder (64%) are leased. After a contract is signed, retailers said it takes an average of three to six months if the store is part of a remodel or new construction. A groundup project often takes more than twice as long with the majority of retailers acknowledging that those projects often take more than twelve months. While many factors contribute to duration of construction, there is no denying the risk associated with not opening a site on time and on budget. Because of the complexity of the real estate life cycle, many retailers are shifting from homegrown software applications and simple desktop programs like Microsoft Excel to speciﬁc technologies that help them manage the process. According to the survey, the sale of software that manages real estate has experienced double-digit growth this year and nearly half of retailers (42%) now use these applications. “Retailers dedicate a tremendous amount of resources to identify, and ultimately operate, their stores in prime locations,” said Rob Garf, Vice President and General Manager of Retail Strategies at AMR Research, Inc. “As retailers are faced with increasingly complex accounting procedures, competitive environments, and nationwide store management, they are turning to software as a solution to help them manage each stage of the real estate process more efﬁciently.” Source: AMR Research (www.amrresearch.com) NRF (www.nrf.com) ARLINGTON, TX (October 11, 2007) Pinnacle Palm POS has completed interface and certiﬁcation efforts with the suite of prepaid solutions offered by PaySpot, Inc., a U.S. prepaid electronic payment processor. Palm POS now provides direct interface functionality to PaySpot’s suite of prepaid products, enabling a clerk’s ability to issue, charge, recharge, and disable prepaid products directly from the POS. This integration provides improved speed of service for the consumer, lower risk of shrink through efﬁcient transaction handling and reduced clerk training efforts by consolidating multiple transaction steps. Integration also eliminates the need TIO Networks Announces Membership Program Enables Customers Manage Info on TIO Network BURNABY, BC, CANADA (October 19, 2007) TIO Networks Corp.has launched the myTIO membership program that enables customers to store and use account information associated with bill payment and other ﬁnancial services directly from a TIO bill payment kiosk or hybrid ATM terminal. Enrollment in myTIO is a free service for bill payment customers. Customers who authenticate themselves with myTIO can consolidate their bill payment information, alleviating the need to remember individual account numbers. Members only need their phone and password to securely access their accounts and conduct transactions. myTIO members will be offered special rates on bill payment and other financial services and are also eligible for exclusive promotions. “myTIO is a critical component of TIO’s product strategy moving forward,” said Hamed Shahbazi, CEO of TIO Networks. “Our ability to increase customer retention, payment frequency and introduce new products and services are signiﬁcantly enhanced when we build a closer relationship with the customer. myTIO is a powerful tool to develop that relationship en masse and create greater brand recognition and customer loyalty.” MyTIO’s application programming interface, API, can be used by TIO’s distribution partners to extend the myTIO experience to any device. Management expects to deploy myTIO in select US markets in November 2007 followed by a full network deployment by the ﬁrst quarter of the 2008 calendar year. Source: TIO Networks Corp. (www.tionetworks.com) Marc Marc March March 3-5, 2008 • The Rio All-Suite Hotel & Casino • Las Vegas 8 Th Ri All Suit Hotel Casi o Las The Rio All-Suite l-Suit e Cas Casino a ‘08 THE INNOVATORS Learn from the Top Minds in Prepaid Jane Thompson WAL-MART 2,400+ Prepaid Professionals 900+ companies represented Harit Talwar DISCOVER FINANCIAL SVCS sessions Laura Kelly MASTERCARD NEW OPPORTUNITIES Drive profits via new markets and technologies TransFund$ Partners With TruckersB2B Multi-Solution Fuel Cards Targeted CHATTANOOGA, TN (October 10, 2007) TransFund$ has partnered with TruckersB2B to offer a one card solution to truckers. Chattanoogabased TransFund$, a division of TransCard, a prepaid debit card and fuel card solution provider to the transportation industry, will be offered as a fuel card processor for TruckerB2B ﬂeets. Their TransFund$ card will be offered as a one-card solution which manages fuel, cash and checks, and can even be utilized as a payroll card. Through this partnership, ﬂeets of all sizes will also be eligible to earn rebates on their fuel purchases. The system architecture provides ﬂeets with 24/7/365 customer service support, convenient online maintenance of accounts and cash ﬂow, and robust reporting that conveniences customers, drivers and administrators. President and CEO of TransCard, Craig Fuller, says, “TransCard is excited to be working with Jon (Russell, President and COO) and his team at TruckersB2B. This relationship is very meaningful for us, as we move forward with marketing of the TransFund$ card and its services to the transportation industry.” He went on to say, “with TruckersB2B’s strong marketing and proven rebate programs, coupled with the low transaction fees offered on the card, we feel that it is and will be good for the industry and for both parties.” For TransCard, a provider of turnkey prepaid debit and MasterCard and Discover-branded debit cards, the partnership with TruckersB2B provides a platform from which to launch its technologies and services to a wider audience. Source: TransCard (www.transcard.com); TruckersB2B (www.truckersb2b.com) Jeffrey Ma Protagonist of BRINGING DOWN THE HOUSE CASE STUDIES Top consumer and B2B companies help you develop profitable prepaid and stored value programs Richard Carmona 17th SURGEON GENERAL OF THE UNITED STATES Share Large Innova Please mention code XU2148PPP to receive a 10% discount! tive So lutions st Pre at the paid & Wo r l d Stored ’s Value Event www.prepaidcardexpo.com http://www.pinncorp.com http://www.payspot.com http://www.amrresearch.com http://www.nrf.com http://www.prepaidcardexpo.com http://www.tionetworks.com http://www.transcard.com http://www.prepaidcardexpo.com http://www.truckersb2b.com

Table of Contents Feed for the Digital Edition of The Prepaid Press - November 15, 2007

The Prepaid Press - November 15, 2007 Online Wireless Recharge It's a Wrap for Gift Cards Contents GENERAL PREPAID Prepaid 101: Merchandising Regulatory Rundown: Wireless Broadband, LNP, Internet Taxes, and Stored Value Legislation Guest Editorial: Honest Minutes: "The Times They Are A-Changing" 5 Minutes With Daniel Neal, CEO of kajeet The Legal Line Prepaid Wireless Roundup WIRELESS Wireless in Brief 011 Mobile Launches Mobile International Dialing Hop-on Adds GSM Phone to Product Line Virgin Mobile USA Launches New Services kajeet Adds to Handset Line MarketStar Publishes Mobile Phone Usage Study Nokia and Cellfire Team Up Verizon Selects Firethorn iVisionMobile Launches Messaging Platform Sprint Expands "Unlimited by Boost" INTERNATIONAL Spot Rates NOMAD Brings MasterCard EMS to Europe R&M Finds Potential in Africa International in Brief TELECOM & TECHNOLOGY Caveat Emptor When Negotiating IP Licensing T&T in Brief MySpace and Skype Ink Deal Octastic Announces New Media Gateway DSP Pactolus Selected by Global Crossing Tadiran Announces New Loyalty Incentive Program Oblio Telecom Launches New Prepaid Products Total Call Enhances Prepaid Calling Cards PAYMENTS A Gift Card Technology Guide Pinnacle and PaySpot Roll Out POS/Prepaid Solution TIO Networks Announces Membership Program TransFund$ Partners with TruckersB2B AMR Finds Retailers Returning to Main Street Payments in Brief Diebold to Offer Prepaid Gift Card Technology InComm to Sell nFinanSe Discover Cards iVisionMobile Offers Retailers Mobile Payments i2c to Offer Stored Value Webinars Mobilians Starts U.S. Mobile Payments Operation NetSpend Increases Savings Program Interest EXTRAS Classifieds Contact Us Our Advertisers

The Prepaid Press - November 15, 2007

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