Moving Toward the Mobile Wallet:
Taking Gift and Loyalty Cards Digital
Case Study: i2c helps mobile commerce provider develop & launch a multi-brand digital gift and loyalty app
BACKGROUND & OBJECTIVES
After spending more than a year researching and analyzing
consumer preferences in mobile commerce, i2c's client (herein
referred to as “Client”) discovered a recurring theme among
consumers: they wanted a single application from which they
could manage the plethora of plastic in their wallets. With this
Client
Subsidiary of a global provider of wireless technology and
services headquartered in San Diego, California, USA. The
company is a mobile banking pioneer and leader in mobile
commerce solutions.
information and a belief that consumers will eventually carry a
Objectives
mobile wallet from which they will manage all of their commerce
- Create a mobile app that allows consumers to buy,
transactions, Client set out to accomplish the following:
1. Make the process of gifting and managing loyalty programs
frictionless by creating a mobile app called “WALLET”.
2. Build a network of merchants whose gift cards can be bought,
exchanged and redeemed virtually through the mobile app.
3. Deliver targeted offers to consumers using the WALLET app.
4. Make the process of gifting more fun and personal.
exchange and redeem digital gift cards with a network of
brands
- Allow consumers to digitize their loyalty cards and
manage them from the app
- Send consumers targeted offers which are delivered and
redeems digitally via the app
i2c Solutions Utilized
- Transaction Processing
CHALLENGES
- Mobile Payments
While formulating the business model for WALLET, it became
- Billing & Settlement
evident to Client that back-end systems and infrastructure would
play a major role in the final product offering. Specifically, Client
identified the following areas as potential back-end challenges:
1. Availability of a processing platform to support multiple
merchant cards against one account.
2. Integrating payments with real-time offer redemption.
3. Leveraging existing merchant POS infrastructure for mobile
payments.
4. Developing a billing and settlement process to address
the new transaction events associated with offer
redemption and a multi-partner acceptance model.
- Digital Couponing
Results
- i2c delivered a fully operational solution within 90 days
- Client was first to market with a multi-brand digital gift and
loyalty app
- Client's app won the “Most Innovative Prepaid Program”
award from Paybefore Magazine in 2011
Moving Towards the Mobile Wallet | Case Study
THE i2c SOLUTION
Client chose i2c to power the back-end configuration, administration,
processing and settlement for WALLET. At the time of Client's processor
selection, i2c was the only issuer processor that had the functionality
needed to support WALLET already built, which accelerated time-to-market
and reduced costs for Client.
i2c's robust Application Programming Interface (API) makes it possible for
WALLET to leverage unique features such as digital couponing and
multi-pursing to create a “mobile wallet” from which consumers can make
purchases, manage their accounts and redeem offers seamlessly. When a
consumer purchases and personalizes a gift card using the WALLET mobile
app, which was designed and developed by Client, i2c's platform works
behind the scenes to create a virtual gift card account and initiate a
real-time email to the recipient. Similarly, when consumers swap gift cards
among WALLET's participating retailer network or exchange them for cash,
i2c processes these transactions in real-time. The complex settlement
requirements that arise by virtue of this service are also addressed efficiently
and comprehensively by i2c using its flexible and fully configurable
settlement engine.
WHAT CONSUMERS ARE SAYING ABOUT WALLET
“I'm glad I have @walletmobile!”
“I got my $50 WALLET gift card today right on my phone!
It was so cool, I clicked on the app and it said I had a gift.
Sweet!”
“Was great to put all my cards in one place!”
“Dynamite! Saving tons of money without having to carry
coupons.”
“Saved me $5 today. Love it.”
“I love sharing when good deals are out there #WALLET”
[email protected] | i2cinc.com
Moving Towards the Mobile Wallet | Case Study
There are a number of key features that make i2c's solution effective for WALLET:
Multi-Purse Technology & Platform Configurability
The ability to use and manage multiple gift cards and loyalty card accounts was accomplished through multi-pursing
technology. With this solution, the i2c platform assigns each user a master account capable of housing unlimited subaccounts. Users may initiate transactions against their sub-accounts which are then rolled back up to the master
account, providing a single, holistic view of all accounts. i2c offers multi-pursing as a standard processing feature, which
means that the individual purse accounts are fully integrated with all cardholder, administration and customer service
websites, ensuring that consumers always see the most up-to-date balances.
The user-configurable, business rules-driven nature of the i2c platform provides Client with maximum program flexibility.
By having the freedom to configure rules, settings and functionality in real-time, Client is better able to tailor the WALLET
program to meet consumers' needs.
Digital Coupon Delivery & Real-Time Redemption
Client's objective to deliver personalized offers to WALLET consumers was accomplished with deployment of i2c's digital
couponing and offer management technology. This technology, which is completely integrated with i2c's core processing
platform, allows Client to negotiate special offers and coupons with retailers and brands and deliver these to targeted
WALLET consumers. This functionality is a critical tool that engages WALLET consumers and retailers and allows Client
to create new revenue through merchant-funded offers. The ability to redeem offers in real-time through use of the virtual
card is a key feature that improves the transaction experience for both consumers and merchants. Client found that this
functionality was not offered by other card processing platforms and was one of the factors that drove their selection of
i2c as processor.
Complex Settlement Capabilities
Client has contractual relationships with the major retailers that participate in WALLET and each of these retail partners is
entitled to incentives which Client must pay according to the retailers' contracts. As the network of retailers grows, the
complexity of this task increases exponentially. By using i2c's settlement platform, however, Client is able to effectively
manage and automate this process. i2c's settlement solution allows Client to add new retailers and their specific
contractual requirements into the system on-demand. It then settles with each retailer based on those requirements,
automatically parsing transaction data, recording new events such as coupon redemption, calculating payments,
generating reports and data feeds, and transmitting electronic funds transfer files.
[email protected] | i2cinc.com
Moving Towards the Mobile Wallet | Case Study
Integration Flexibility
i2c's web services API is the ideal solution to integrating with the WALLET mobile front-end. Since the full functionality of
the i2c processing platform can be leveraged through the API, Client is able to offer a richer user experience to WALLET
consumers. The robustness of the i2c API is made possible thanks to the service-oriented architecture (SOA) underpinning the i2c processing platform. SOA decouples services from one another, simplifying the complexity of delivering
multiple services and therefore making integration with the front-end easier.
For integration with the POS, i2c worked with Discover Network, the card brand behind WALLET, to enable acceptance
of WALLET mobile payments by scanning a barcode or typing a card key displayed on the phone. Utilizing merchants'
existing POS equipment removed a major barrier to merchant buy-in and accelerated WALLET's time-to-market.
Fraud Support
i2c worked with Client to create a proprietary system specifically designed to mitigate fraud in mobile payments. Building
on i2c's existing fraud detection functionality, Client and i2c worked collaboratively to add additional front-end and
back-end fraud controls.
RESULTS
WALLET launched in early November 2010, becoming the first ever multi-brand digital gift and loyalty card mobile app. i2c
delivered a fully operational solution in 90 days which met Client's goal of launching before the start of the holiday shopping
season.
Since the launch, WALLET has been embraced by both consumers and merchants. Client has expanded the merchant network
with a number of big-brand national retailers including American Eagle Outfitters, the Gap, Brookstone and Omaha Steaks.
Highly engaged consumers are using the app to send and receive gift cards while taking advantage of special offers from
merchants. WALLET has also earned the praise of the payments industry as a next-generation gifting and loyalty solution,
winning the 2011 Best-in-Class Paybefore Award for “Most Innovative Prepaid Program”.
[email protected] | i2cinc.com