On the Cards

Why pre-paid cards are a very effective motivational incentive reward.

By Dr David Cox

Motivforce was very proud to win the 2020 Incentive Marketing Association Excellence Award for ‘Gift Cards in an Incentive Program’ with our client’s B2B channel program Know Your IBM, which was announced on 22nd September.

So, we thought it was timely to reflect on why pre-paid cards have become such a motivating and effective incentive reward.

Over the past 10 years our reward fulfillment team have seen the rise of the pre-paid card (both MasterCard gift and reloadable) as well as the use of online retail vouchers, become the preferred reward medium in our loyalty and incentive programs. Indeed, our redemption statistics show that pre-paid cards and vouchers are preferred by over 95% of program participants whilst our research into motivational attributes finds these cards to be the best incentive rewards. Not surprisingly, many of our client programs that have won other awards over the past five years, all feature a branded pre-paid MasterCard.

Pre-paid cards and vouchers are preferred by over 95% of program participants

So why are pre-paid cards so effective?

1.     Ease of use:

This is particularly important both from an operations perspective and a program participant perspective. Our pre-paid Mastercards come in multiple currencies, which makes for easy deployment and consistency in global programs such as IBM (132 countries, Lenovo 80 Countries, APC 70 countries, Celebrity Cruises 4 countries). From a participant perspective, all participants are familiar with the use of credit and debit cards ensuring immediate adoption and use.

2.     A branded card

Branding is another valuable aspect. Each time a participant opens their wallet or purse they are reminded of the program and the sponsoring company. Indeed, this awareness and appreciation effect is not confined to the participant but also to retailers and service establishments who are presented with the card. In actual fact our research suggests that a branded card has better recall and recognition of a participant’s effort in a program compared to merchandise or an incentive trip, due to the multiple times the card can be used and the high instances of a wallet or purse being opened in a single day. 

3.     Embedded transactions:

In all of our programs we use API’s to embed the transactions from our card supplier into our program websites. This adds another powerful reason for participants to visit the loyalty program website and view promotions or sales opportunities whilst also checking their card balances and transactions.

4.     Flexibility:  

This is one of the standout appealing factors.  Participants can use their Mastercard for online and offline purchases at over 42 million establishments around the world. Gifts, clothing, gadgets, home appliances, holidays, restaurants, or simply being able to take advantage of instant sales at a local retailer where they can grab a bargain at a discounted price, offer advantages that no other reward medium can.

5.     Compliance:

This is another aspect that is becoming more important in loyalty and incentive programs. As such the pre-paid card can be configured to restrict purchases in certain categories (e.g. online gambling) or can have ATM cash access disabled.

Reloadable cards

These cards are valid for two years, are the most popular reward item offered in our loyalty and incentive catalogues. Once a participant has the card, they can redeem points for cash to be loaded onto their card – a process that can take as little as an hour from redemption to fulfilment (if required). Obviously, this is dependent on the availability of client funds to load the card. With the exception of online retail vouchers, most other rewards cannot be fulfilled within this timeframe offering high levels of program satisfaction.

Pre-paid gift cards

These also allow us to gather a rich tapestry of data showing the types of items that are being purchased. This provides a unique opportunity to use analytics to look at reward combinations and compile communications that elicit a strong motivational call to action by appealing to the rewards profile of each participant.

Given these aspects it is no wonder that the branded prepaid card is now the main stay of successful loyalty and channel programs and we are thrilled to be recognised for this approach by winning such a prestigious award.