ATIRAgift Card Sales Double for 2007 Holiday Season
February 13, 2008
ATIRAgiftSM card sales nearly doubled this past holiday season.
“Credit union members are truly embracing Visa branded prepaid debit cards,” said Jeff Falk, director of product development for TMG (The Members Group). “The evidence is clearly in the total number of gift cards sold throughout the country during the past seven years. So, it’s not surprising to see the numbers of our total cards sold double and the penetration per branch increase 20 percent over the 2006 holiday figures.”
Falk made mention of the more than $4 million loaded on almost 50,000 ATIRAgift cards, which averaged a $6 per card increase over last year.
“With these types of numbers, it’s amazing there are a large number of credit unions who aren’t implementing gift cards into their existing product offering,” Falk said. “Our clients continue to talk about the importance of member satisfaction. They are encouraged by their trusted financial partner having a good gift card program in place and the multiple uses for gift cards - like travel and teaching teens how to budget.”
Gift card success was experienced by credit unions of all sizes.
Marketing played an important role in the success. From Web site banners to statement stuffers, the more exposure the gift cards received, the better the program did. In fact, a number of credit unions partnered with local companies to provide year-end incentives and bonuses.
“Employers like the versatility of gift cards. They aren’t tied to a specific restaurant or store, and employees can immediately use the card,” Falk said.
For example, United Service Credit Union in Des Moines has been working with Iowa Health Systems (IHS) to provide more than 5,400 cards for year-end bonuses. Each card was branded with the United Service logo and distributed in mid-December.
“The United Service Credit Union and Iowa Health Systems example demonstrates how any credit union has the opportunity to succeed with gift cards,” Falk said. “United Service is one of our smaller reseller clients with $22 million in assets and one branch, but they have marketed the card well to their members. When IHS needed gift cards they knew who they could turn to.”
Currently, 55 credit unions ranging in asset size of less than $6 million to more than $4 billion, and representing almost 400 branches, offer ATIRAgift cards through either custom issuer or turn-key reseller programs.
For More Information:
Kelly Moore
Public Relations Consultant
866.355.5736
pr [at] themembersgroup.com
