Better ATM Services to Pilot Distribution of Discover Multibrand Gift Card (Dec. 4, 2012)
Dec. 4, 2012
Better ATM Services today announced what it describes as the first ATM-issued, multibrand prepaid card. The myGIFT One Card Many Choices Discover Prepaid Card enables consumers to shop and dine at nine national restaurants and retailers, including Express, Lowe’s, Outback Steakhouse and Macy’s, according to the Mesa, Ariz.-based ATM technology provider.
As part of the pilot, the ATM-dispensed gift cards, which are made of a thinner material than a typical gift card that enables them to pass through the cash mechanisms of ATMs, are available at walk-up Banner Federal Credit Union ATMs at certain Banner Health locations throughout Arizona. Banner Federal Credit Union serves more than 68,000 employees of Banner Health’s 10 hospitals.
“Just like we did with Visa a year ago when we launched in a couple different places in a local area, ran that for a season and then opened it up wider. That’s the same process we’re using here,” Better ATM Services CEO Todd Nuttall tells Paybefore. (Visa announced in October, a nationwide rollout of its ATM pilot with Better ATM Services, which featured Visa gift cards usable at any merchant that accepts Visa.) “We’re an enabler. We will open this product up nationwide to any credit union, any bank, any ATM deployer that wants to do it. Our job is to keep growing product lines and provide products that serve the banking, ATM and prepaid card communities equally well.”
The prepaid cards are issued by MetaBank and cost $1.95. Initially, they can be purchased in $25 denominations, but in a few months consumers will be able to choose the amount on the gift cards, Nuttall says, adding that partner InteliSpend Prepaid Solutions LLC was instrumental in lining up the merchants because of its strong card program relationships.
“It doesn’t replace the racks, but it makes an ATM as convenient and dynamic as a whole rack of cards,” Nuttall says. “Our research shows that people buy more cards as a result of this convenience; they don’t stop buying cards at the store. [ATM] should be another channel that opens up and grows the [prepaid card] market.”
Also as part of the myGIFT pilot, 50 cents will be donated by Better ATM Services and Banner Federal Credit Union to Banner Health Foundation for every ATM-dispensed myGIFT card sold through March 2013.
