Prepaid Indicator

Studies show that branded prepaid cards are growing in popularity with consumers. These cards are available in the form of non-reloadable Gift cards, Consumer Rebate/Incentive cards, and Teen cards among others. The Prepaid Indicator feature acts to determine if the submitted card is a prepaid card. If so, the system returns the type element with a value of Prepaid and the availableBalance element stating the outstanding balance remaining on the card (if available).

Knowing that the card is prepaid at the time of sale, as well as if it is reloadable and the available balance, is especially useful for merchants engaged in recurring payment, installment payment, or deferred billing scenarios. Merchants in these situations can use the information made available by this feature to make intelligent decisions concerning the profitable management of prepaid card usage by avoiding several factors that may contribute to lost revenue, while taking advantage of other opportunities that may add to revenue and enhance the customer experience.

For example, one possible situation merchant can avoid is fraudulent deferred/installment payment purchases made with a prepaid card that does not have enough available balance to cover the subsequent payments. With the available balance known, merchants can determine if the card can meet the required payment structure. If the card’s balance does not meet the required threshold, the merchant can request another payment method, which may result in eliminating fraudsters, while retaining legitimate customers. If the card is non-reloadable, it is advisable to not accept the card at all for recurring payments regardless of the available balance.

Another more common situation occurs when the consumer is unaware of the card balance. If the transaction is rejected due to inadequate balance, perhaps repeatedly, it could result in an unsatisfied customer and an abandoned purchase. Alternately, the card could have slightly more that the required balance, which the consumer would spend, if they had the knowledge. If the available balance is insufficient for the purchase, the merchant can obtain a second or alternate payment method. If the balance is higher than required for the purchase, the merchant may be able to encourage additional purchases.

In addition to indicating if the submitted card is a prepaid card and the available balance, this feature includes information about whether the card is reloadable and the specific type of prepaid card (e.g., TEEN, GIFT, PAYROLL, etc.). You can use this information to further refine your sales and marketing strategies.