PREPAID REWARDS
What’s the story?
Do you know how a prepaid
card can be used in your
reward strategy?
We know it can be baffling, so
we caught up with
Debbie Rose, a veteran in
the space. After spending
14 years with P&MM Debbie
joined Mando, marking a
year’s service by launching the
Universal Card, building from
experience in launching the
first ever corporate gift card
within the employee
benefits sector.
Can you tell us about prepaid
cards for reward – why are they
so popular?
The idea for using prepaid in
this industry is driven from the
need to give a brandable reward
offering choice to audiences that
reminds them of where their
reward came from. A voucher
isn’t brandable and is restricted
and a cheque or BACS payment
is lost into a bank account
balance.
Prepaid cards are all about
getting a client’s brand directly
into their audience’s hands,
offering maximum exposure to
the brand, delivered efficiently,
whilst providing ultimate choice
to the end user. It cements
relationships with audiences
using our alternative payment
solution with a strong focus on a
positive cardholder journey and
the ability to analyse usage to
help tailor future programmes.
Prepaid products
provide flexible
solutions where
vouchers, cash,
or BACS style
payments are
not the answer.
The digital world is creating
many new applications for this
technology, where people want
to use cashless payments in
a way that is controlled and
separated from the rest of their
finances. Increasing online fraud
is a good example of a change
driver as consumers want the
flexibility of being able to buy
over the Internet, but have an
increasing awareness and fear
08 | www.incentiveandmotivation.com
of financial details being hacked
or misused. The collection and
storing of bank account details
for payments can be an admin
heavy process, not to mention
the data protection issues.
Prepaid eliminates these issues.
You know the reward market
well. What are the problems
people come up against with
other reward models?
The reward market is
proliferated with many options
which is great for choice. Giving
audiences a choice makes
them feel like they’re in control
and calling the shots. But too
much choice can sometimes be
overwhelming and even lead
to them not making a decision
at all, otherwise known as
‘choice fatigue’. In my opinion its
becoming increasingly important
to support audiences with their
choices.
Paper vouchers are dated
and soon will be no more.
They are the poor relation to
other reward choices often
causing the recipient issues
on redemption, which quite
frankly, in an environment
where speed and efficiency are