Giesecke & Devrient unveils self service machine for card issuance
Giesecke & Devrient (G&D) presented the first functioning prototype of its new Instant Issuance Kiosk for payment cards at the Visa Europe Member Days in Berlin.
The exhibited product is a self-service machine for private customers, who can use it to issue their own prepaid cards. The machines can be installed anywhere - at train stations, airports, shopping centers, football stadiums, or in the self-service area of a branch bank. This innovative solution enables banks to significantly expand their service offering and improve customer loyalty, while also tapping new business segments and target groups. G&D presented the prototype in collaboration with Visa Europe, Wirecard Bank AG and the issuing processor Cetrel S.A.
G&D's new Instant Issuance Kiosk will enable banks to offer payment-card issuance services independently of their branches' working hours. The entire issuance process for payment cards can now be carried out without the need for any staff. Customers will be able to acquire a ready-to-use prepaid, debit, credit or contactless card any time, any place, and use it to shop in retail stores and online. This solution will also enable bank customers to quickly and conveniently replace lost or stolen cards whenever they need to.
Axel Deininger, Head of the Payment division at G&D, comments: "Our Instant Issuance Kiosk will make it possible for banks to flexibly extend and improve their service range at an affordable cost, and to strengthen the loyalty of their customers."
"This solution opens the door to easier issuance and distribution of fully personalized cards making it more viable to engage in entirely new business and customer segments - for example, prepaid cards, which are a safe and ideal way to manage your money, and which are widely accepted, for teenagers, students , travelers and the unbanked, as well as gift cards at shopping centers or contactless cards at train stations and stadiums" says Fiona Duncan, Head of the Prepaid Centre of Excellence at Visa Europe, describing just some of the potential uses for the new concept.
There are many clear advantages for private customers: the credit card would be immediately available in many different places, irrespective of a bank's opening hours. Moreover, the Instant Issuance Kiosks could attract new customers that were previously difficult to reach, accelerate the move to new business models such as cashless venues for sports events, large concerts or exhibitions. The added possibility of issuing payment cards as personal picture cards with selectable motifs also means that banks can satisfy their customers' individual tastes. This will strengthen customers' emotional ties with their bank.
Posted by staff at May 7, 2009 02:26 PM