Wolfe Rewards & Loyalty (WRL) announced today that it is offering the SelectSpend Discover Reward Card for loyalty program managers who want to direct spending by rewards recipients to specific merchants, categories, or geographies.
The use of Restricted Authorization Networks (RANs))can be powerful in directing spending and locking down funds to specific merchants. This can help add structure to a rewards program while also making it easier to get merchants to participate and offer discounts because they know the spending will be directed back toward them.
WRL is offering three types of SelectSpend products: Private, Geo-targeted and Category. The Private card limits purchasing to one or more specific merchants and is ideal for programs where the desired merchants are set up on different Point-of-Sale (POS) terminals such as a mall or entertainment venues. SelectSpend Geo is limited to specific zip codes in the United States and is perfect for community incentive programs to draw consumer spending to a desired shopping region.
Restricted Authorization Networks run on the open-loop rails. They offer an alternative to pure open and closed-loop cards. These networks enable merchants and program managers to get increased value from prepaid cards without the need to add new point of sale equipment.
Read the full press release at: http://www.marketwatch. /story/wrl-releases-select-spend-product-2011-08-26
Mercator has written a report on Restricted Authorization Networks “Understanding Restricted Authorization Networks: Cards Between Closed and Open Loop” that can be purchased at: http://www.mercatoradvisorygroup.com/index.php?doc=Prepaid&action=view_item&id=476&catid=16
