The Royal Bank of Scotland Enters Gift Card Market
La Senza and Envy to deploy Royal Bank of Scotland gift card solution
April 20, 2004 — The Royal Bank of Scotland today announces the launch of its electronic gift card offering. This service will be offered to retailers in association with TSYS, a global leader in the provision of payment card services. Targeted at European retailers, the branded electronic gift cards cost less to administer and process and provides a more cost-effective, better looking alternative to paper based gift vouchers.
La Senza and Envy are among the first retailers to sign letters of intent for Royal Bank of Scotland electronic gift cards. Added security, decreased processing costs and enhanced brand development were the main business drivers for them switching their current paper based vouchers to a Royal Bank of Scotland electronic gift card.
Commenting on the launch, John Hyde of the Royal Bank said: "Electronic gift cards have virtually eliminated paper vouchers in the US with spending at $17.24 billion on gift cards in the 2003 Christmas season, about 8% of all sales . This take up is expected to be replicated in the UK within the next three to five years and we are pleased to be at the forefront of this innovation. Our platform is a proven success and will support retailers with the expected widespread launch of gift cards in the UK."
The electronic gift card is a powerful component of a strategic payment programme and it replaces expensive and inefficient paper vouchers with a product proven to increase sales and traffic. Gift cards look better than the paper alternative and are a fantastic vehicle to display a retailer's brand. In addition, the retailer does not forfeit unused funds: with electronic gift cards all change stays on the card, ensuring the customer returns to the store to spend the remainder and hopefully more. Gift cards can also be used as a mechanism to refund, ensuring customers return and spend in the store.
The Royal Bank of Scotland gift card is based on a platform called TS2 which supports nearly 14 million card accounts in the UK. In association with TSYS, The Royal Bank of Scotland can offer retailers real-time UK processing, a UK-based data centre and help desks, existing and proven acquirer interfaces, and an established, customer built processing platform and multi-currency transaction capability. This innovative model allows The Royal Bank of Scotland to focus on its core business of managing cards, allowing the retailer to focus on its core competency: marketing and selling the product in new and different ways.
NOTES TO EDITORS:
About The Royal Bank of Scotland
The Royal Bank of Scotland is a broadly based financial services group with operations spanning clearing banking, corporate banking, financial services, investment management and insurance, both in the UK and overseas. It is the second largest bank in Europe and the Group serves over 20 million customers.
About TSYS
TSYS (NYSE: TSS) ( www.tsys.com) brings integrity and innovation to the world of electronic payment services as the integral link between buyers and sellers in this rapidly evolving universe. Synovus (NYSE: SNV) owns an 81.1 percent interest in TSYS. For more information, contact news@tsys.com.
For further information please contact:
Clare Gayner
Golin/Harris on behalf of The Royal Bank of Scotland
Email: cgayner@golinharris.com
T: +44 (0) 207 067 0608
Mobile: +44 (0) 7887 612 939