Finally, a REAL Bank Innovation –in Credit Cards

Just wanted to be sure you see/saw this announcement by TD Bank for their latest offering,

 the TD Payment Plus^SM credit card (which is Powered by Paymentflex®)

Links: TD Bank’s Payment Plus Credit Card Rewards Customers for Financial Responsibility

TD Payment Plus Banner Ad

[Full Disclosure: yes, I’m involved with Paymentflex®]

A few important points about Paymentflex®

First, it’s new and the only credit card feature that rewards cardholders for paying down their balances….exactly what the Federal Reserve and Dodd-Frank were trying to accomplish, except they didn’t mandate incentives (like instant cash-back savings on interest charges).  And, the reward is based on cardholder payments, not purchases, so it’s encouraging responsible cardholder behavior, specifically, the more you pay, the more you save!

Second, the cash-back savings reward is real, attainable and immediate.  It’s posted instantly as a statement credit when cardholders pay more than the minimum due each and any month.  The value delivered can significantly exceed ordinary cash, points or mileage programs.  The patented Paymentflex® methodology on TSYS requires no issuer/cardholder interface: the cardholders’ payment amount drives all processing elements, including delivering statement messages that tell the cardholder exactly what they have to pay to get the rewards. 

Third, while targeted primarily at current revolvers, it’s available to all customers (not just the super-prime segment) including transactors (who pay-in-full) and those who pay more than the minimum now, but who have not gotten any benefit for doing so.  Now all customers will be rewarded for revolving responsibly.

Four, the benefits for issuers are equally significant:

• A “universal” program available to all customers, simple and easy to understand  
• Deploy as either a new product or feature on existing portfolios
• Flexible payment tiers and reward amounts simplify offer and optimize risk, yield and interest income objectives
• Profitability opportunities:
  • Lower acquisition and activation costs with greater cardholder retention
  • Card goes to “top-of-wallet,” consolidating spending (and balances) from other cards
  • Positive shifts in payment behavior lead to safer, higher quality, larger cardholder balances and  increased interest income
  • Fewer delinquencies and charge-offs on higher interest earning balances
  • Cardholder payment behavior provides real and immediate feedback for authorization,  line management and collections strategies
  • Lower servicing costs
  • Paymentflex® cash-back rewards are self-funded from paid interest income, so reward     program expense is significantly reduced  and interchange revenue is preserved
• Pro-consumer imagery offers exceptional public, governmental and investor relations opportunities
• The Paymentflex® feature is patented and is authorized for use pursuant to licenses from Paymentflex Technologies, LLC

For deployment opportunities, Paymentflex®, go to www.paymentflex.com and also please contact:

         Stephen J. Hucal                                 Stephen J. Bartell                                        David H. Horne

  Paymentflex Technologies, LLC           Paymentflex Technologies, LLC                TSYS Value Added Services

       President and CEO                                     Marketing                                           Associate Director

    hucal@paymentflex.com                  bartell@paymentflex.com                               Horne@tsys.com

       1-416-762-1200                               1-914-833-8683                                      1-706-644-3598