Stored value smart card company Mondex USA, which is controlled by MasterCard International Inc has made its first steps towards a slightly different business model, offering its smart cards to retailers as branded cards that can be used to purchase items as well as act as a loyalty scheme. The company has teamed with Burger King Corp and has installed Mondex card vending machines in four of its restaurants on Long Island, New York. Customers can purchase cards bearing the Burger King logo from the machine for either $10 or $20 and buy food with it as normal. But for every dollar spent, customers using the card get points that can be cashed in for free food. The loyalty points are stored on the card along with any remaining cash value and can be redeemed for various Burger King so-called ‘value meals’: 10 points gets a breakfast value meal; 15 a Whopper version and 20 points for a value meal of the customer’s choice. Mondex USA president and CEO Janet Crane said this is the first merchant-branded card that Mondex has implemented in merchant locations. Other retail-based trials in New York that are still ongoing simply involve the placing of a Mondex POS terminal in a shop, and upgrading ATMs to handle Mondex cash downloads. There is no real incentive for users to use the Mondex cards over cash, and some retailers we have spoken to in the past have not been too enthusiastic about promoting its use over cash. But the built-in incentives here should encourage greater use of the cards. Later this summer Burger King will be extend the trial to some of its drive-through restaurants. Th processing for this trial is being handled by Chase Manhattan Bank, hence the proximity to New York City, and Chase has upgraded seven of its ATMs. The point- of-sale terminals are from De La Rue Plc, the vending machines from Giesecke & Devrient America Inc, and the smart cards from Gemplus SA.
