We’ve seen the explosive growth of prepaid debitcards in incentive, reward and recognition programs. Incentivemagazine reports a 17 percent increase in non-cash incentives from 2013 to2016, a figure that includes prepaid debit cards as awards. And if you’relooking for a fast, simple and effective award for your program—one thatadministrators and recipients both love—prepaid debit cards could be youranswer.
Even better, you can offer prepaid debit cardincentives without adding bloat and administrative burden to your rewardsprogram. A new generation of prepaid debit card-specific platforms offer easyadministration and rapidrewards disbursement. Whether you’re looking at a platform for saleschannel incentives and/or sales claiming, an easy way to reward contractemployees, or freedom from the paperwork needed to reimburse employee expenses,a disbursement platform may be your answer.
As you begin your search for a prepaid debit cardprogram, be sure to ask vendors these questions:
How longhave you provided incentives awards?
You’ll want a provider that has a deephistory in the rewards and recognition industry. They will have the insightsthat ensure seamless implementation of your program and a positive participantexperience.
Canparticipants self-register?
If your organization sells through franchisees,contractors (1099s), or channelsales participants who are not direct employees, it’s critical thatparticipants be able to self-register. Note:a cloud-based (SaaS) solution will support multiple types of programparticipates, from contractors to full-time employees.
Does yourplatform give us different kinds of disbursement options?
You may need todisburse funds as a one-off for individual employee expense reimbursements, ordisburse rewards to an entire team (and at different amounts for individualteam members). Be sure the platform gives you this kind of flexibility.
Is theprepaid debit card a reloadable prepaid card?
This is important because itgives you the ability to issue just one card for each participant and add fundsover time. You’ll save time and money with a reloadable prepaid card.
What kindsof reports does your platform generate?
Leading platforms offer end-to-endprogram tracking reporting. You’ll want to see enrollment reports, enrollmenttrends over time, disbursement reports, business account reports, plus systemuser reports for all admin users.
Are you PCIcompliant?
It’s not unusual for prepaid debit card originators to requiresensitive personal information, such as date of birth and social securitynumber, before issuing the card. Be sure your platform vendor is PCI compliant.This is the Payment Card Industry data security standard.
Will ourbrand be prominent?
Especially if you have participants who are not directemployees, it’s important to keep your brand presence strong. Your platformvendor should offer flexibility here so enrollment page imagery, colors andfonts are consistent with your brand identity.
Prepaid debit cards are the next best thing tocash, and an IncentiveResearch Foundation (IRF) study found that respondents even preferred prepaiddebit card rewards to cash. With the new generation of disbursement platformsnow available, you can tap into that preference and maximize the impact of yourrewards program.
Are you looking for an easy but effective solution forexpense reimbursements, rewards claims or incentives payments? Contact a Marketing Innovatorssolutions expert to learn about our new, best in class platform.
