TRAVEL CARDS
From the June 2004 Issue of CardTrak®
The competition in prepaid travel cards is picking up steam just ahead of the peak summer travel season.

This month, VISA is beefing-up its prepaid travel card offering instant issuance or a personalized embossed card, reloadable or disposable, and the option of linking multiple cards to one account. VISA has also added its "Purchase Security," "Travel and Emergency Assistance," and, "Zero Liability" programs to "VISA TravelMoney." The enhanced prepaid card product is currently offered by AAA and soon, via OH-based National City. The card was first introduced in 1996 as way to access funds in local currency via VISA and "PLUS" ATMs. VISA added POS functionality to the "TravelMoney" prepaid product in April. AAA has 47 million members.

Meanwhile, American Express this month inked a deal with the AARP to offer its prepaid "TravelFunds Card," as well as "Travelers Cheques," and foreign currency over the phone and via the AARP Web site. To kick-start its new participation in the "AARP Privileges" program, AmEx is offering AARP members a complimentary emergency travel kit when they load $1,000 or more onto a "TravelFunds Card." AARP members can also purchase AmEx foreign currency and "Travelers Cheques" fee-free. The "TravelFunds Card" is reloadable and offers ATM and POS functionality. AmEx introduced the prepaid card product in October. The card is available in U.S. Dollar, Euro and British Pound Sterling, enabling cardholders to lock in exchange rates. AmEx also offers users free passport and credit card replacement services. AmEx's other prepaid products include "Cheques for Two," "Gift Cards," "Gift Cheques," the "Be My Guest" dining card, as well as a range of corporate incentive prepaid products through American Express Incentive Services. The AARP has 35 million members.

MoxyCard
A Florida firm has introduced the first multi-media gift card that integrates the electronic capabilities of a CD-ROM. The new "MoxyCard" card, for example, can be programmed with a Flash animated greeting card and then sold to the consumer as a greeting card/gift card combination. The card, launched by Tampa-based One28 Marketing Group, is very close in size to any regular gift card but with a dime-size hole at its center and a curvature to both sides to allow it to fit into the smaller inner ring of any standard CD tray. The card has 16 megabytes of space available to accommodate the placement of any type of electronic file including HTML, all video formats such as MPG and AVI, MP3 or even Flash. One28 says because the card itself can be programmed to facilitate an Internet connection, the merchant can greatly increase their chances of realizing a reload or even another gift card purchase. The Company says negotiations are currently underway with a number of national retailers.
MusicMatch Cards
"Musicmatch Music Download Cards" hit retail outlets this month as Musicmatch and Vesta announced the immediate availability of the prepaid card at thousands of 7-Eleven convenience stores across the country. The new cards are priced at $9.90 for 10 songs. Once purchased, the prepaid cards can be easily redeemed through the "Musicmatch Downloads" service, which currently offers more than 550,000 tracks and the industry's most robust personalization and music discovery tools. Musicmatch is using AT&T the "Prepaid Web Cents" service. Dallas-based 7-Eleven operates approximately 5,800 7-Eleven stores in the USA and Canada.
Rush Pay
UniRush Financial Services has inked a deal with Metavante to offer "Rush Pay" to its unbanked "Prepaid VISA" cardholders. Rush Prepaid Visa Card holders will have access to ?Rush Pay's? 24-hour on call accountant, over 20,000 electronic billers, and the ability to pay anyone any time of day. "Rush Pay" eliminates the need for money orders, helps "Rush Card" holders track their spending, eliminate bounced checks and associated fees, and is cost-effective. Rush Card holders will be charged $1 per transaction, whether they are making an online bill payment, or calling to request that a check be mailed on their behalf via an on-call accountant.
VISA Mini
Since introducing a miniature-sized payment card eighteen months ago, the "VISA Mini" card has topped 20 million cards worldwide, with more than 11 million issued within the USA. During May, VISA International introduced the card into Indonesia, following successful roll-outs in India, Singapore, Thailand, Hong Kong, and Taiwan. The card is 43% smaller than the regular-sized VISA card. It can be used at most POS terminals with swipe readers, but cannot be used at some traditional acceptance devices such as ATMs and terminals with deep magnetic stripe readers, and for transactions that require a manual card imprint. Bank of America launched its "VISA Mini" credit card in October 2002 in the USA. The major U.S. issuer also launched a debit card version of the "VISA Mini" in January 2003.
Family Card
Dallas-based TNB Card Services is taking its "MasterCard Family Account" nationwide following a successful roll-out in El Paso, TX. The MasterCard program features one shared credit line assigned to the primary cardholder, typically a parent or other supervising adult. The primary cardholder then determines who else receives a sub-account and sets the spending limit for each individual cardholder. All accounts are linked, yet individually numbered. TNB says the product will enable its credit union clients to tap into the youth market. El Paso-based Government Employees Credit Union was the first to issue cards under the "Family Account" pilot program in April 2003. TNB serves more than 400 credit unions, managing more than 1.5 million cards nationwide.
Card Alerts
Equifax has launched the first-of-its-kind credit card fraud detection features to its "Credit Watch" credit monitoring product. All current Equifax "Credit Watch" now receive additional email alerts notifying them of balance changes and activity on their credit cards. Alerts also are available wirelessly via text message to user cell phones. One feature, the balance change alert, notifies customers within 24 hours when charge card balances have increased by a specified dollar amount. Users select the dollar amount or percentage increase that when exceeded triggers an alert. Another credit management tool informs "Credit Watch" customers when charge card activity occurs on their credit file after a self-selected period of inactivity.
Summer Promotions
American Express has launched a nationwide promotion to give all "Delta SkyMiles Credit Card" users the ability to earn double miles on all eligible retail, restaurant and entertainment purchases through July 15th. The "Priority Club Rewards" program is offering double points or miles to guests using a VISA card this summer.


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