Prepaid Expo USA 2010 Kicks Off With Product Announcements and Reports of Further Regulatory Reform

Attendees of the Prepaid Expo USA 2010 were met with the typical flurry of product announcements. We discuss a few of the announcements below. This year, however, participants are also focused on the regulatory environment, as many provisions of the CARD Act of 2009 go into effect as the Prepaid Expo starts. To add to the focus on regulatory issues, there are reports that Senator Dodd will introduce another version of his financial regulatory reform proposal later this week. We discuss those reports as well.

Prepaid Card Manufacturing and Prepaid Card Packaging Product Launches

The product announcements included a number of card manufacturing and packaging announcements. Oberthur Technologies launched their new Drop-on-Demand (“DoD”) printing solution targeted at customers seeking a single vendor to provide card design, manufacturing, personalization, fulfillment and inventory management. Details of Oberthur’s DoD solution can be seen at Booth 426 in the Exhibit Hall.

Atlantic Zeiser also announced a new two-sided drop on demand printing solution. Atlantic Zeiser’s solution enables increased prepaid card volumes and lower card costs, eliminating the need for expensive and time consuming embossing or thermal applications. Details of the Atlantic Zeiser solution can be seen at Booth 139 in the Exhibit Hall.

Western Graphics & Data (a division of IGH Solutions) introduced their “GuardIt™” line of secure card packaging solutions which includes packaging solutions with tamper-evident security features to increase protection against prepaid card fraud. The security features include internal glue traps, custom die cuts, and special materials that make it ineffectual to reseal a package once it has been opened. The GuardIt™ line can be seen at IGH Solution’s Booth (#223) in the Exhibit Hall.

Prepaid Card Payment Product Announcements

A number of new payment products were also launched in conjunction with the start of Prepaid Expo USA 2010. For example, NxSystems announced their “Pay Any Card” program which allows funds to be electronically transferred from an NxPay merchant account to a wide variety of payee accounts, including network-branded credit, debit or prepaid accounts anywhere in the world. Details of the “Pay Any Card” program can be seen at NxSystems Booth (Booth #234) in the Exhibit Hall.

CashStar, Inc. unveiled a new product called “eCorporate Incentives”, a B2B digital gifting solution. eCorporate Incentives allows companies to bulk order personalized digital gift cards from retailers that can be immediately sent via e-mail for recipients to use online or in-store. The bulk buys can be managed through a Web interface by importing or inputting recipient details, entering personalized messages, and selecting card designs and denominations. The cards can also be co-branded. Check out the eCorporate Incentives platform by meeting with CashStar in Meeting Room Conga B at the Prepaid Expo.

Prepaid Payment Card Legislation – More Changes In Store?

Many of the substantive terms of the CARD Act go into effect today. As a result, payment card regulations are a major topic in the Prepaid Expo 2010. A number of sessions focused on regulatory reform are included in the Expo’s agenda. Today, we learned that there are reports that Senator Dodd will introduce another version of his financial regulatory reform proposal this week. The prospects for a separate Consumer Financial Protection Agency seem dim at this point, although incorporation of at least some of its functions and powers inside of an existing federal regulator does seem likely.
Payments attorney Broox Peterson has posted his views on whether a “Consumer Financial Protection Agency Hinder or Help the Prepaid Card Industry” at GetDebit.com. Those views are also reprinted in today’s Prepaid Pulse for Prepaid Expo attendees.

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