First Data Corp. has announced the availability of its OfferWise solution, a new open platform that the company says simplifies the offer redemption process for consumers and merchants.
According to a press release, the First Data OfferWise solution allows offer publishers to electronically attach offers such as deals, e-coupons and loyalty programs to one or more of a consumer's payment cards or mobile wallet to enable streamlined and automatic redemption of the offer at the point of sale (POS). First Data is currently piloting its OfferWise solution with dozens of merchants, and it will be made available to its more than 4 million U.S. merchant locations.
The OfferWise solution can link offers to any type of payment card including all major credit association brands, PIN or signature debit. Offers are redeemed in real time at the merchant's POS with immediate feedback provided through the payment terminal or smartphone. In most cases, merchants can leverage their existing system which minimizes or eliminates any impacts to the checkout process and employee training.
"Our OfferWise solution will enable millions of merchants to create highly relevant mobile marketing experiences with their customers by converting traditional paper coupons, loyalty cards or receipts into software linked to a payment card or mobile wallet," said Dom Morea, SVP and division manager, advanced solutions and innovation at First Data. "This launch illustrates how First Data is delivering an innovative universal commerce experience to consumers — one that is fully integrated wherever, at any time and through any device."
Through an application programming interface (API) developed by CardSpring, developers can now easily integrate into the OfferWise solution and allow offer publishers to close the loop between online and mobile distribution of offers and in store transactions.
The standard API enables merchants to work with their offer publisher of choice and provides an open platform that enables any publisher to deliver online/offline marketing and commerce applications. Merchants can increase their marketing ROI by leveraging the First Data OfferWise solution's analytics engine to improve consumer targeting and offer performance analysis, the company said.
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