Redefining Customer Engagement with Issuing and Processing Solutions
In India, gifting has always been imbued at the core of all cultures, associating it strongly with expressions such as gratitude, love, and appreciation towards near and dear ones. It is no surprise that gift cards should create a steadfast, unshakeable hold in India, achieving tremendous growth ever since their introduction.
These positive associations actually create a fantastic opportunity for businesses to capitalize on. Gift cards can play a significant role in enhancing customer engagement in a variety of ways. For example, loyalty incentives are an excellent way for businesses to get returning customers to redeem their rewards.
The Numbers and The Opportunity
According to Mordor Intelligence, the gift and incentive card market in the country is valued currently (2024) at $13.2 billion. By 2029, the growth projected for this market will reach a whopping $34.76 billion valuation, registering a CAGR of 21.7%.The numbers alone promise a bright future for the gift and incentive card markets in the country.
Furthermore, a personalized gifting experience, like inserting personalized messages and graphics into gift cards, can associate your brand with a good image in the customers’ minds. These are only some of the excellent benefits that Qwikcilver by Pine Labs brings to the table for your business. Let’s explore more avenues that Qwikcilver opens up for your business.
Qwikcilver: The Birth of a Business
In the 1970s, the concept of gift cards revolutionized value exchange, with India’s adoption initially through food coupons. Businesses, having realized the potential of this mechanism, capitalized on the concept and introduced preloaded cards for their customers. Qwikcilver played a pivotal role in this evolution by introducing digital prepaid instruments in 2007, marking the inception of the gift card revolution in the country.
Today, Qwikcilver by Pinelabs stands as the market leader, providing full-stack issuing services that empower businesses with CLP, SCP, and Open Loop capabilities. The company now also provides the capability to process credit, debit, and forex transactions.
In the 1970s, the concept of gift cards revolutionized value exchange, with India’s adoption initially through food coupons. Businesses, having realized the potential of this mechanism, capitalized on the concept and introduced preloaded cards for their customers. Qwikcilver played a pivotal role in this evolution by introducing digital prepaid instruments in 2007, marking the inception of the gift card revolution in the country.
Qwikcilver Capabilities
Qwikcilver offers a plethora of end-to-end prepaid card-based solutions for corporations and corporate customers. After a merger with Pine Labs, the two formed one of the largest prepaid and gift card market networks in India and Southeast Asia.
There are tremendous capabilities that Qwikcilver brings to the table for users:
There are tremendous capabilities that Qwikcilver brings to the table for users:
1. Prepaid Issuances
Businesses from various industries, such as retail and hospitality, can benefit from various prepaid solutions, such as digital wallets, service brochures, game winnings, in-house issuances, gig-economy payouts, and even corporate disbursements. It gives businesses the power to issue, manage, and process these offerings efficiently by enabling Closed Loop, Semi Closed Loop or Open Loop cards.
2. Gifting
Qwikcilver is the pioneer of gift card programs in India. The solutions are targeted towards driving engagement and revenue enhancements through gift card programs, gift card stores, bulk and corporate cards, and even group gifting. The platform gives you the power to manage your gift card initiatives from end to end.
3. Rewards
It isn’t enough to drive engagement with the external stakeholders to maintain business health; the internal stakeholders and participants matter just as much. Qwikcilver provides businesses with a robust suite of rewards-based solutions that enhance employee engagement in-house as well. Solutions like employee recognition through real-time rewards, sales incentives through progress tracking, consumer promotions through engaging campaigns, and even channel loyalty by creating bespoke reward programs empower businesses with the power to engage.
Several more use cases make it possible for businesses to benefit even more by onboarding to Qwikcilver:
Several more use cases make it possible for businesses to benefit even more by onboarding to Qwikcilver:
Digital Wallets
Using Qwikcilver-powered digital wallets, it is possible for businesses (especially eCommerce businesses) to simplify their refund processes. This solution also helps them manage their cash flows more effectively.
Expense Management
If your business is struggling with employee expense management and limits, prepaid cards have the potential to solve this issue. Prepaid cards set the upper limit for expenditure, automatically curbing any overruns that may be occurring inadvertently when employees swipe company cards.
Vendor Payouts
Prepaid cards give businesses the opportunity to establish good vendor relationships by automating payouts within contractual limits. The platform can be configured to set automated debits of fixed amounts that conform with the project timeline and contract details.
Corporate Reimbursement
For operations such as business development, it is important to provide employees with a simple payment solution to mark company expenses separately from their personal cards. This is a use case where company-issued prepaid cards can prevent employee personal expenditures and eliminate the waiting time for reimbursement for them.
Compensation Vouchers
Prepaid cards are an excellent way to provide compensation to customers if the situation arises. These cards work as a retention strategy so that the customers may give your brand another chance at wooing them. It is also possible to make the compensation prepaid cards open-loop to allow the customers to use them anywhere.
Acquisition Of Credit+
In 2023, with the acquisition of the Credit+ platform from Mastercard, our capabilities in issuing and processing will only become stronger. This means we can partner with any entity that has an issuance license (large banks, small finance banks, fintechs, or even retailers like Woolworths) and help launch payment instruments.
We are a seamless plugin as a technology partner, while banks and fintechs can focus on their core business of banking.
The Benefits For Banks And Fintech
FinTechs and banking institutions can avail of multiple benefits from onboarding into the Qwikcilver-Pine Labs ecosystem:
1. Banking Tech
Banks and FinTech companies can empower their issuance businesses using the technology stack offered by Qwikcilver, which enhances and streamlines the operations of payment instruments.
2. Cards
The robust technology of gift cards and the payment ecosystem combined can benefit the workflows of issuing and managing cards across multiple networks like VISA, Mastercard, or Rupay. It can also be used to launch cards across multiple card networks with a single Tech Stack Provider.
3. Co-Branding
Banks and FinTech companies can now launch co-branded products like credit or prepaid Forex cards with any domestic or global brands on the network.
The Benefits For Businesses
Businesses can leverage the power of Issuing capabilities of Qwikcilver by Pine Labs in a variety of ways to enhance customer engagement and retention. They can innovate and provide new ways to use their services, buy their products, and remain engaged for more.
1. Partnerships
Businesses can partner with banks or FinTechs to launch co-branded credit cards, open loop cards, etc. with various banks and card networks.
2. Card Programs
It is possible to launch open-loop card programs across a variety of networks, like VISA, Mastercard, or Rupay, for a variety of use cases.
3. Provide Better Services
It is possible to expand the scope of services available through preloaded cards, like meal plans, EV charging, toll and transit programs, corporate payouts, expense management, and more, for businesses across the globe. All of this is possible across different card networks through open loop card solutions.
4. Just in Time
Businesses can explore the just-in-time payment method and earn interest by incorporating it with preloaded cards.
Conclusion
Gift cards not only provide customers with an easy way to shop with a brand quickly, but also make it easier for businesses to earn a returning customer. The engagement created by preloaded cards depends mainly on the fact that customers return to the business to use them.
This is not the only reason why prepaid cards are becoming a valuable source for businesses. They also help to generate revenue through better engagement and customer loyalty. Eventually, for banks, it has become important to have a technology partner that can help improve the experience around the issuance of cards and fulfil market demands for them efficiently.
Your business can power and expand its operations by leveraging the combined capabilities of the Qwikcilver and Pine Labs payment ecosystems, which are currently active with over 20+ customers in the SEA, NZ, India, MEA, Sri Lanka, and the North African region
This is not the only reason why prepaid cards are becoming a valuable source for businesses. They also help to generate revenue through better engagement and customer loyalty. Eventually, for banks, it has become important to have a technology partner that can help improve the experience around the issuance of cards and fulfil market demands for them efficiently.
Your business can power and expand its operations by leveraging the combined capabilities of the Qwikcilver and Pine Labs payment ecosystems, which are currently active with over 20+ customers in the SEA, NZ, India, MEA, Sri Lanka, and the North African region
Ready to elevate your business?
Reach out to Qwikcilver by Pinelabs today and discover how our tailored solutions can take your business to the next level
