Product: Small Payments Loyalty Platform
Company: Peppercoin

Peppercoin announced a comprehensive loyalty program for small payments made both online and at the physical POS. The company said the program is the first to allow merchants to attract and retain customers buying small-dollar-value items and services, such as a cup of coffee or a music file download, without requiring a separate pre-enrollment process or additional card.

The software platform eliminates many of the barriers merchants face in implementing loyalty programs, according to Mark Friedman, Peppercoin President and Chief Executive Officer.

Also, it extends the value of cards already issued to the consumer and turns a card-based purchase into a chance to enhance customer loyalty.

Merchants can automatically enroll customers at the time of purchase by swiping or tapping their cards at the POS.

They can also do it by securely gathering card details online, without requiring a separate application process. Each time a customer uses the card with a merchant, the software records the participation and eligibility for awards based on merchant-defined rules.

"We turn what had been a cost line item of card acceptance into what is now viewed as a revenue-growth platform," Friedman said. "Consumers want to use their cards, and merchants want to increase revenue."

For merchants, the small payments suite provides revenue growth while decreasing their processing costs. It is designed for all merchants, including online and mobile, at both unattended and attended points of sale, such as quick service restaurants and convenience stores.

Loyalty programs can help merchants capture the untapped small-payments market by transitioning customers from cash to cards.

Peppercoin's rules-based approach gives merchants flexibility when determining criteria for rewards.

For example, to encourage peak purchasers to revisit during off-peak times, a merchant can provide extra incentives tied to slower times of the day or week.

The software tracks all customer transactions and, for POS merchants, will automatically include a rewards summary on the receipt. It can also trigger a coupon.

The software enables awards such as a coupon for a discount on breakfast with a minimum purchase at lunch; the 20th purchase free; and an hour of free parking tied to opening a prepaid account at a parking garage.

One Peppercoin client, iTrain, a Web-based company, uses the system to encourage its customers to try a variety of cross-training personal-fitness programs. ITrain rewards users for downloading trainer-designed workouts to MP3 players.

The Peppercoin solution allowed iTrain to quickly implement a loyalty program used to help encourage users to try a range of workouts, from cycling to boxing, according to Sebastien Reant, Co-founder of iTrain.

The platform works to accelerate the cash-to-card transition, getting customers to come back more often and spend more using the cards in their wallets.

Peppercoin
781-890-3800
www.peppercoin.com