CPI Designs Gift Cards for Portuguese Supermarket (Dec. 17, 2012)
Dec. 17, 2012
Colorado-based card producer CPI Card Group was selected by Portuguese retail firm Sonae to design and manufacture gift cards available at Sonae’s Continente supermarket locations throughout the country. The cards will be sold at special free-standing displays rather than at points of sale—one of the first gift card lines in Portugal to be sold in such a way, according to CPI.
The rechargeable cards—available in denominations of between 5 euros (US$6.58) and 1,000 euros (US$1,315.80)—became available in November, with TV ads starting in December. Promotion for the line includes popular Portuguese children’s character Popota, who is featured in a version of the display and on some of the cards. Other cards will feature specific gifting occasions, such as birthdays and holidays, CPI as well as more general design themes.
“Gift cards are a growing category in Portugal and it was important for Sonae to work with a partner who understands the retail environment and Continente’s brand values and customer profile,” said Steve Montross, president and CEO, CPI Card Group. In approaching the emerging market, CPI Retail Sales Manager Craig Padley tells Paybefore, the company came up with the overall design concepts but tasked Sonae with providing the images and messaging on the cards to best appeal to the retailer’s Portuguese consumers.
In October, CPI was tapped by U.K. payment services firm CQR Payment Group, to provide card production, personalization and encryption services for a new NFC-based mobile payment app. That same week, CPI joined the EMV Migration Forum, an industry group formed by the Smart Card Alliance to help guide the shift from magnetic stripe- to EMV-based cards, devices and terminals in the U.S.
