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06/11/2009 -
Gift cards have emerged as a popular gift option for consumers this holiday season, but the high rate at which gift cards are neglected makes them also a popular option for merchants whose POS terminals offer gift card payment processing technology.In the U.S. alone, approximately US$5 billion in gift card load volume goes unused - representing 10 percent of the value of all gift cards - Stephen Brobeck, executive director of the Consumer Federation of America, told the Buffalo News.
For businesses, this equates to $5 billion in inventory-free revenue.
For an added incentive to install gift-card enabled POS terminals, merchants should know that gift card use has been consistently rising, and is expected to be higher than ever during this holiday season.
While having POS terminals that accept general gift cards - such as those offered by Visa and MasterCard - can be beneficial in terms of improving cash flow and increasing customer retention, it may be worthwhile for merchants to design their own in-store gift cards so that they can get the maximum possible benefit of gift card payment processing.
