The card is issued or given to the customer at the business location. The card is then presented each time the customer visits and points, dollars or % amounts are added to the card based on predetermined reward levels that the merchant sets upfront. Only a few steps are required to capture the clients visit or purchase and the software calculates the rewards automatically without any time consuming steps.
One of the most important advantages of having a Loyalty solution is that merchants have the ability to collect important cardholder demographic information like: name, address, email, birthday, and other items to then assist the merchant with building a database of opt-in customers that can be directly marketed to on a periodic basis. Customers’ spending patterns can be tracked and special targeted offers can be sent directly from the merchant. The programs can also help promote special events, holidays, and slower days of the week.
Merchants have options to collect this demographic information manually at the location or other online options may be available to the cardholder.
Loyalty Cardholder Registration
NOTE: For more information or pricing on the following items please contact your sales office or agent.
Registration is defined as the process of capturing additional information over the internet for an issued loyalty card. Merchants can elect to manage loyalty signups and information collection manually without using an online loyalty registration option if they prefer.
The loyalty cards can be distributed at the merchant location on an anonymous basis. The consumer holding the card is identified only by the loyalty card ID number printed on the card and captured on the magnetic stripe. However, the merchant can either require or provide an incentive to the consumer to provide demographic information by registering the card.
Loyalty Registration Page (optional)
Merchants can activate a web registration page that can be linked on their business website. This feature is not included in the standard loyalty or rewards program setup.
The merchant can select from 15 standard registry fields or create their own 15 registry fields.
Example: card number, first name, last name, address, city, state, zip code, telephone number, email, preferred contact method, birthday, age, gender and income.
Merchants can also specify what fields they wish to be required or optional. The merchant would have the ability to activate features upfront that enabled the customer to add points/rewards or activate the consumer’s loyalty card upon registry. This option provides an incentive to the consumer to register their loyalty card.
Paper Registration Form: For merchants that don’t want to activate the automated loyalty card registration page there are manual options that the merchant can use. A form would need to be filled out by the consumer either at the location or returned to the store. Merchants would need to enter the data into the EPB database.
Loyalty Transaction Types
Reporting and transactions can be managed through a certified terminal or POS system. For online access for merchants that want to process cards on the virtual terminal, additional costs may apply. Basic reporting details are included in the standard loyalty programs.
Add Points
Add Points will activate a card and initiate the customer’s Electronic Points Bank. The rst step to creating a loyalty program is to decide what point value to assign to customer purchases. The merchant has the ability to assign points per dollar spent, multiples per dollar spent, or divisible per dollar spent.
For example:
- $1.00 spent = 1 point (equal dollar to point conversion)
- $1.00 spent = 5 points (multiple per dollar spent)
- $5.00 spent = 1 point (divisible per dollar spent)
Award Levels
The merchant can create up to 5 award levels. Each time an award level is reached, the consumer will receive a Retail Merchandise Credit on their card that will be available for use. Awards are given by the merchant according to the specific program rules that are determined at the outset of the program.
Issuance
The issuance transaction activates the card for any program except Electronic Points Bank. To activate a Loyalty Card that utilizes the Electronic Points Bank Program, the customer only has to initiate an Add Points transaction.
The issuance transaction may be received from the POS or terminal via a swipe of a magnetic stripe on a card or via the processing host once an award level is reached. The card is assigned to a specific program type at the time of issuance and can be assigned to multiple programs at one time. A batch issuance transaction is supported to allow the activation of multiple cards in a single transaction.
Purchase (redemption)
A purchase transaction will subtract the amount of the transaction from the current balance on the card. Multiple redemption transactions may be performed on each card until the balance is zero. Multiple balances may be contained on a card. The remaining card balance will be printed on the receipt.
Balance Inquiry
The balance inquiry transaction provides the current balance on the card and the last 10 transactions performed on the card. This provides a history of the card usage to help alleviate customer disputes. Balance inquiry may be initiated from the POS, a stand-beside terminal, or from the Internet. Internet balance inquiry may be performed by retailer personnel or by the cardholder. An inquiry transaction can be initiated for one Program or all Program types contained on the card.
Void
A void transaction reverses a previous transaction. The card number and original authorization code are required to process a void.
Clerk Maintenance
All transactions must be initiated by an employee with a valid clerk ID with the authorization to perform the requested transaction. Clerk IDs may be added, deleted and modified on the POS, on a stand-beside terminal, or via the Internet.
Reports
Clerk and terminal reports are available on the POS or a stand-beside terminal. Detailed reports are available on the Internet (see Reports section).
Loyalty Program Internet Reporting
All merchants that activate a loyalty or rewards program automatically receive online access to reports for loyalty activity. These reports allow the retailer to generate detail or summary level data in report format. Most reports can be generated for specific date range and ID’s for the individual stores or, if privileged, for all store locations.
Loyalty Program Internet Reporting
All merchants that activate a loyalty or rewards program automatically receive online access to reports for loyalty activity. These reports allow the retailer to generate detail or summary level data in report format. Most reports can be generated for specific date range and ID’s for the individual stores or, if privileged, for all store locations.
Issuance Summary Report
The Issuance Summary Report summarizes Issuance data for a specified day or a date range. The Issuance data is listed for each Program Id by store.
Redemption Summary Report
The Redemption Summary Report summarizes Redemption data for a specified day or a date range. The Redemption data for each Program ID by store is listed.
Transaction Summary Report
The Transaction Summary Report summarizes all transaction data for a specified day or date range. The Transaction data for each Program ID by store is listed.
Daily Transaction Summary Report
The Daily Transaction Detail Report provides all transaction data for a specified day or date range. The Transaction data for each Program ID by store is listed.
Issuance Detail Report
The Issuance Detail Report provides issuance detail data for a specific day only. The detail data is listed by Program ID for each Store. Information provided for each transaction includes transaction time, card number, dollar amount, authorization code, clerk ID, terminal ID, reference number, and a denial code if applicable.
Redemption Detail Report
The Redemption Detail Report provides purchase data for a specific day only. Information provided for each transaction includes transaction time, card number, dollar amount, authorization code, clerk ID, terminal ID, reference number, and a denial code if applicable.
Important Note: If terminal or equipment type is ever changed, you must contact Gift & Loyalty Card Customer Support at 1-888-481-0757 to ensure uninterrupted service.