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Smartcard Marketing Systems, Inc. was established in 2003 and is a leading provider of prepaid cards, smart stored value cards and payment processing services. The Company’s long-term goal is to enroll national and international organizations with millions of potential customers and vendors to purchase and market Smartcard’s products. Smartcard plans to achieve this goal through a powerful sales organization and merchant reseller marketing program utilizing their GoSmartCard platform. All of Smartcard’s products and services were designed for international markets and the Company will selectively market to new countries according to a prudent, financially beneficial plan using proven and experienced strategic alliances.
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What's Hot About Prepaid Cards?
Friday June 06, 2008 This is the second blog in a series explaining the major products and/or services my company, Smartcard Marketing Systems, Inc. (SMKG:PK) offers. OK, this is too long to be the 3-minute "elevator pitch", but that's what is cool about blogs. Generally, SMKG is in the Payment space. This installment is about a growing segment of the payment market...open loop prepaid cards that can be used at ATMs and for purchases online and at most merchants. The cards generally have major national payment network logos like VISA, MasterCard or Discover. PAYMENT CARDS HELPFUL FOR INDIVDUALS These prepaid cards are very helpful for individuals that, for whatever reason, don't want a bank account (est. 40 million workers in US), but want the benefits and payment flexibility of a major payment card. The benefits to these folks are: - No bank account required - No Credit Check, so virtually everyone qualifies - Very affordable to get and use....no overdraft fees, no high interest rates...and it's reloadable. - Use it to make purchases online, over the phone and to book hotels, rental cars and plane tickets. Can't do that with cash. - Safer and more secure than carrying around a bunch of cash - Can Direct Deposit your Payroll Check onto the card....avoid check cashing fees. - Transfer money between cards to family members or friends So, who might these cards benefit? Workers with no bank account, people with kids or other family members who are living away from the primary cardholder or who are traveling and want to send money immediately (avoid Western Union fees), people who are on a cruise or on vacation to use instead of travelers checks, people who want a separate payment card for specific purchases...as many applications as there are people. GREAT FOR BUSINESS PAYMENTS As useful as they are for individuals, the cards provide some great solutions for businesses. One business that I want to spotlight is a mid-sized electrical contractor. They have 600 work trucks that take their electricians to jobs across the region where they are headquartered. Many of the jobs require the teams of workers to stay out in the field for days or weeks. So, how does the company manage expenses? What does the company do when the truck needs service or a part out in the field? What if the parts for their job don't get delivered and they need to purchase them locally to meet a deadline? ANSWER: Each driver has a prepaid payment card that can be loaded in real time, over the internet, by the dispatcher or project manager from anywhere in the world. All the field team needs to do is call the home office and make their request. The administrator logs in to our VelocityMoney platfrom and loads the driver's card. As soon as the "submit" button is clicked, the money is on the driver's card and he/she can go make the needed purchase. They use the card for per diem expenses like hotels and food, for vehicle expenses and for tools and equipment for the job. Detailed records are kept of every cards purchases, so the accounting department has access to all purchases, with or without receipts. This is a great case study of efficiencies gained by a small business using prepaid cards. More about implementing prepaid cards in payroll applications next time.
VelocityMoney; How to Avoid Getting "Hijacked" by Credit Card Processors
Monday April 21, 2008 One question I get asked all the time, even by my children, is, "What does your company actually do?" I intend to use this blog space to answer that question for all who want to know. Today I was inspired by some recent events to comment on one of the business solutions my company, Smartcard Marketing Systems (SMKG), has come up with for its clients. Frontier Airline's CEO pointed to credit card processor, First Data, as the main reason for filing for Chapter 11 bankruptcy protection just this last Friday, April 11. Their complaint highlights a long-standing problem many small and home-based businesses face...collecting payments from their customers. Below is an exerpt from Frontier's CEO, Sean Menke to it's employees. Frontier is not a small business, but it needs its cash from credit card sales just as badly and as quickly as a small or home-based business does. For the credit card processor to withhold 50% (later 100%) of its credit card sales until new arbitrary reserve requirements were met was devastating and, according Frontier itself, forced them into bankruptcy. The problem clearly revealed by the credit card processor's move is that businesses have no control over their own money when they deal with traditional credit card sales. The processor gets the money first and can hold as much of it as they choose for as long as they want. WHAT'S A SMALL BUSINESS TO DO? SMKG recognized this problem early in its product development cycle. The payment platform, VelocityMoney.com, addresses the needs of businesses of all sizes to offer the convenience of accepting bank cards for payment with the benefit of having more control over the funds from their sales. The transaction is basically treated as a cash transaction or ATM withdrawal by the bank...no chargebacks and no reserves. SMKG integrated the HomeATM PIN terminal to its free Internet-based payment platform, VelocityMoney.com. The terminal plugs into the USB port on a computer with Internet access and a free VelocityMoney.com account. With no more hassle than that, the business can accept any bank's PIN-based debit card for payment.
Although I think VelocityMoney.com has great appeal to businesses of all sizes, big (like Frontier) or small, I see a tremendous appeal to small and home based business owners. Because the transactions are all Internet-based, they are also mobile. Wherever an Internet connection can be accessed, the business person can accept a PIN debit payment. I think of all the MLM-ers, Craig's List-ers, flea market, craft- or trade-show vendors, party sales, taxis and food service vendors who could use this capability to process a debit card payment for a customer in real time wherever they are. ONE EXAMPLEThis appeal was not lost on Group Atrium, a Canadian travel franchiser with 180 franchise locations that was featured in our March 19, 2008 press release. They, like Frontier Airlines, need cash now from travel that may take place months later. VelocityMoney's PIN-based transaction platform and pre-paid debit card fit them like a glove. They do a secure transaction right in their office and have guaranteed assurance of access to their funds. The other benefit of this system is that NONE of the cardholders' banking information gets seen by anyone in the payment processing chain except the cardholder's own bank. It is instantly encrypted in the terminal before it goes out on the Internet. It's safe and secure for the buyer and provides guaranteed funds for the seller...definitely a win/win situation. What does an online merchant do who has no walk-in traffic? The online merchant can buy PIN terminals from SMKG and resell or give them to their repeat customers who can then initiate PIN purchase transactions from the comfort of their own homes. The same security, speed and fund transfer guarantee exists for both buyer and seller. The terminal only costs $35, so even a small online merchant can afford them for their best customers. What better way to process an order than to have a "cash equivalent" pre-payment? So, an excellent way to avoid being "hijacked", if you'll pardon the expression, by credit card processing companies is to use VelocityMoney's payment portal with the USB PIN terminal for bank debit card transactions. However, if a business owner absolutely wants to accept credit card payments, he/she can apply through SMKG for a traditional merchant processing account and use the $35 PIN terminal to process credit card payments as well. There is no expensive equipment to lease and no monthly payments. This is one of the things my company does. I will discuss more in later blogs. |
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Watch Wallst.net's 3 Minute Press Show: Bruce Baillio, President of (SMKG.PK) Smartcard Marketing Systems, Inc., was a guest of the show on April 8, 2008:
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