Prepaid programs must begin with a solid business case that includes vetting and qualifying partners, fine tuning program requirements, and determining the right distribution channels to market. But prepaid isn’t an island – it should be integrated with other more traditional payment services, such as bill payment, checking, overdraft services, ATM access, lines of credit, etc. Join us as we provide a detailed review of the prepaid market opportunity, including industry growth data, best practices, and more. We will show you how the prepaid industry - and consumer awareness - has grown from the early days of gift cards into a $400 billion industry that encompasses unemployment benefits, rebates, teen, payroll, travel, incentive cards, and more. This session will also provide a view into several real-life prepaid programs, illustrating how various financial institutions have successfully integrated prepaid into their overall payments strategy.

Mercator Advisory Group will present publicly for the first time findings from its closely followed, annual prepaid benchmark with data on the overall size and growth of the total prepaid industry from 2009 to 2010. Now in their sixth year of documenting industry growth, Mercator will discuss market dynamics reshaping specific segments such as GPR, Incentives, Government and Payroll. Also discussed will be Restricted Authorization Networks (RAN) and now these networks are quickly changing the traditional prepaid landscape and bridging the gap between open and closed loop cards. An explanation will be provided on the operation and use of RAN, with descriptions of various existing implementations that already deliver increased value and help drive specific cardholder/consumer behaviors.

Despite all the hype around the size and growth of prepaid, the reality is that very few banks have achieved success with their prepaid card programs: gift card sales are low and payroll cards have not attracted many corporate customers. Yet, U.S. Bank has managed to build a highly successful prepaid business. This session will address how U.S. Bank views the prepaid market, why Prepaid will continue to be an attractive and viable market along with addressing key challenges and success factors.

Prepaid is changing the way payments and financial services are being created and delivered, creating significant new market opportunities and presenting a real threat to incumbents across a much broader segment of their customer base than most of them realize.

Payroll cards can eliminate the recurring production and administrative costs of printing and mailing checks, while bringing the convenience and security of electronic payments to employees lacking a traditional bank account. This session will focus on the benefits of paperless pay, the role that payroll cards play and best practices for implementing a paperless pay program.

Session attendees will:

• Learn about trends driving payroll card adoption be concerned about using their debit products for online purchases?
• Hear relevant research findings around benefits of payroll cards for consumers and employers
• Hear a case study of a successful implementation of a payroll card program, and best practices for companies considering the switch from paper to electronic distribution of payroll funds

How can marketers reach frugal consumers in a down economy? What other habits and traits are consumers demonstrating that prepaid companies should take note of? What kind of education does today's consumer need about the prepaid value proposition? Panelists will share the latest research on the prepaid consumer, prospective consumers and how to make prepaid cards accessible.

While the challenging economic environment has - and continues to be - top of mind for our organizations, we're also seeing a continued evolution of the prepaid market and technology that are redefining our industry. So how do we keep pace and remain relevant not only today but into the future? To examine what this shift means for the prepaid industry this session will take a look at some of the most prominent trends and happenings in our industry including the impact of the current regulatory environment, evolving consumer demographics and technological innovations and their implications for prepaid.