Customer Convenience, Merchant Profitability
The Access Merchant Services gift card program provides merchants with a state-of-the-art, quality product that is built with your profitability in mind. Whether you need a customized gift card program, or a packaged integrated solution, Access Merchant Services has the answer for you!
Our gift card program is geared toward small to mid-sized merchants using one or more terminals at the POS or VAR (Value Added Reseller) software that has been certified for the program. It allows merchants to either choose from our many standard gift card options or create their very own unique card and still use our terminal technology or certified VAR.
Our terminal applications and certified VARs that support the program split dial to a specified credit card processing platform for gift card processing. Merchants that participate in the program can rely on state-of-the-art technology. Transactions are processed on one of the most robust platforms with multiple redundancies, meaning merchants will have little to worry about service outages.
Gift Card Safeguards
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The Access Merchant Services gift card program processes real-time online transactions on platforms supported by fully redundant disaster recovery backup. |
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Unlike smartcards, where account information is stored on the card, 100% of account information is maintained and accessed through transactional sets processed by the server database. |
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Lost and stolen gift card policies are set by the merchant. Most merchants choose to treat lost cards as cash, and are typically not replaced. |
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The Access Merchant Services solution allows small to mid-sized merchants to realize benefits of service standards created for larger merchants. |
Merchant Benefits
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Gift cards have tremendous brand-building potential. The physical cards are essentially billboards in the consumer's wallet that advertise the merchant within their customer base or within the marketplace. |
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Gift cards can bring in new customers, new store traffic and increased revenue using one of the best forms of advertising, word of mouth. The potential that an existing customer will purchase a gift card and give it to a consumer who has never previously visited the merchant's retail location is great; thus, offering gift cards to consumers is an excellent way for the retailer to acquire new customers. |
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Pre-paid dollars make the merchant's location a destination for new and existing customers. |
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Merchants can use gift cards to help grow their overall business by ensuring pre-determined dollar amounts are spent in their retail locations, meeting consumer demand and acceptance of gift cards, and offering an easy and convenient payment method for their customers. |
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Gift cards are easy to use, which means that employee training on gift card sales and acceptance is also easy. |
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Gift cards can be used as a store credit and refund alternative. Gift cards can be issued in exchange for merchandise returned to the store, ensuring that money already spent in the retailer's location will remain in the retailer's location. |
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Gift cards provide reporting and profits that retailers/service providers do not typically find in a paper-based program; thus the merchant has more control of their program. |
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Cards can be re-loaded, which creates a loyal customer and helps to ensure repeat business. |
Consumer Benefits
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Gift cards are easy to purchase and use. |
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Gift cards allow the gift-giver to give a thoughtful gift without having to select a particular product. |
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Gift cards represent pre-paid dollars so the consumer can shop without dipping into cash on hand, having to stop for cash prior to shopping or utilizing interest-bearing credit cards. |
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Gift cards reduce the need to carry cash, coupons, gift certificates or credit slips. |
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