Discover Financial Services Partners With Utix To Create A New Kind Of Prepaid Experience
June 16, 2004
RIVERWOODS, Ill., …Discover Financial Services,
a business unit of Morgan Stanley (NYSE:MWD),
today announced that it has partnered with Utix
(UTXG.OB NASDAQ), creator of Giftix™, Universal
Golf™, Ski™ and Spa™ Tickets, to provide services
for a prepaid gift product program utilizing the
Discover®/NOVUS Network.
The partnership
enables consumers to redeem prepaid cards for
rounds of golf, visits to day spas, or days at
the slopes in the form of a prepaid gift ticket
at thousands of venues across the country. The
first of the new prepaid Universal Golf and Universal
Spa Tickets will be available to the corporate
premium industry this month. The retail product,
Giftix™, will be available to consumers at national
retailers by the fall of this year.
The
new suite of Utix prepaid products is one of the
first designed under the exclusive partnership
agreement between Discover Financial Services
and WildCard Systems, and are accepted throughout
the Discover/NOVUS Network. The Discover/NOVUS
acceptance mark will be present on the back of
all Universal Golf and Universal Spa prepaid gift
cards. In addition, a directory of participating
venues will accompany each prepaid card.
“The flexibility and functionality provided
through the Discover/NOVUS Network and the processing
experience and services provided by WildCard Systems
were the driving forces behind our decision to
move forward with the launch of our electronic
prepaid gift products, said Tony Roth, president,
Utix. “The use of the magnetic stripe will allow
us to penetrate other leisure markets and fuel
our business growth exponentially.”
“The
Utix magnetic-stripe gift tickets are revolutionary
and require a complex technology solution. From
not requiring merchants to change their existing
point-of-sale process to making certain that customers
are able to redeem their tickets at participating
venues, these prepaid gift products call for a
unique electronic payments platform,” said Gary
Palmer, chief operating officer, WildCard Systems.
“But in the end, all consumers and merchants
really expect is for these cards to work the first
time and every time. The role of WildCard Systems
and Discover/NOVUS Network is to make sure this
happens.”
“We are enthusiastic about
this unique product offering and the opportunity
to leverage the strength of the Discover/NOVUS
Network,” said Harit Talwar, senior vice president,
Discover Business Services. “Our Network allows
Utix branding flexibility, multiple methods of
distribution, as well as targeted acceptance for
their prepaid gift product and other card payment
needs. This partnership makes it possible for
clients to enhance their current practices with
prepaid gift cards and open many doors for future
growth."
About Discover Financial Services,
Inc.
Discover Financial Services, a business
unit of Morgan Stanley (NYSE:MWD), operates the
Discover Card brands and the Discover/NOVUS Network
for its more than 50 million Cardmembers. The
Discover/NOVUS Network is the largest proprietary
credit card network in the United States with
more than 4
million merchant and cash access
locations. For more information, visit www.discoverbiz.com.
About Utix
Utix, formerly Corporate
Sports Incentives, was founded in 1986 as a premium
gift, incentive and consumer reward company.
Based in Burlington, Mass., Utix has successfully
marketed its proprietary line of products including
the Universal Ski and Snowboard Ticket(tm) and
the Universal Golf and Golf Lesson Ticket(tm)
to the business-to-business industry where the
tickets consistently provide enhanced relationships.
Several financial payment companies use the tickets
as credit and debit card enhancement programs.
With direct sales to Fortune 1000 companies of
all types, Utix effectively promotes corporate
gift and employee incentive campaigns with national
appeal.
About WildCard Systems
WildCard
Systems is the global solutions leader in turnkey
host based prepaid cards and custom stored-value
products. These products serve a wide range of
vertical markets in both consumer and commercial
applications and are made available to end users
through banks and commercial clients in the U.S.
and abroad. WildCard has developed a secure technology
and services platform that enables it to provide
flexible product solutions that are configured
and managed for its clients' success. WildCard
Systems is certified by Visa, MasterCard and Discover
as an endpoint on their networks, as is authorized
to be an issuing processor for cards bearing Visa,
Electron, Interlink, PLUS, MasterCard, Maestro,
Cirrus and Discover/NOVUS payment marks. Founded
in 1997, WildCard Systems is a privately held,
venture capital backed company. The company is
headquartered in Sunrise, Fla. For more information,
visit www.wildcardsystems.com.