Where’s the Revolution in RevolutionCard?

With a name like RevolutionCard, the year-old credit card offering from RevolutionMoney had better be novel.

It has not yet turned out that way, at least on assessment upon its first birthday.

The credit card was designed to appeal to both merchants and consumers by offering (merchants) no interchange fees and (consumers) enhanced identity security. So far adoption by merchants appears to be low, and there are service complaints from consumers.

RevolutionMoney, which is backed by AOL founder Steve Case, is selling RevolutionCard largely on three fronts: 1) it is charging merchants a 0.5% interchange fee, rather than the 2% to 4% MasterCard, Visa, and American Express charge; 2) RevolutionCard is a more secure credit card to use online, because it requires only a PIN, not personal information, to complete a transaction; and 3) RevolutionMoney offers consumers financial incentives to use the card, especially online.

It is unclear whether merchants are buying into the RevolutionCard offer. RevolutionMoney is “on track to reach our target of 1 million merchants accepting RevolutionCard by the end of the year,” Jason Hogg, the founder, president and CEO of RevolutionMoney, told First Annapolis, the consultancy, just last month. How many are signed up to date? The company said about 150,000.

RevolutionCard does offer greater security, but Bert Ely, the principal of Ely & Co., a consultancy, doubted that consumers would buy the card based on tighter protections.

“From a consumer standpoint, people want a credit card that is easy to use and requires minimal hassle,” Ely told BankInnovation.net.

When it comes to credit cards, convenience means widespread adoption among merchants, and 150,000 does not qualify as widespread. In comparison, MasterCard cardholders can use their cards at 25.9 million locations worldwide.

Also, people undoubtedly want their information secure, but switching to a new card always raises questions among consumers, he said.

It should be noted that several consumers have blogged about their poor encounters with the card. For example, one card user wrote, “from my experience the service of this company is very bad!!!” Another card holder said they never got the advertised incentives for using the card to purchase goods online.

It seems as though RevolutionMoney is trying to position the card as more of an online purchasing tool with the strategy that it will eventually spawn a sizable volume of offline payments. That’s why RevolutionCard offers consumers a host of incentives for using it to buy online at sites such as Buy.com or Shopit.com.

Again, Ely said incentives are just one component of the card-buying evaluation for consumers. In most cases, convenience is still issue No. 1, and RevolutionCard is currently hampered by a small population of “signed up” merchants, let alone avid promoters of the card.

Perhaps there is another factor that might lessen the need to consider the card’s future: RevolutionCard credit limits range no higher than $10,000.

* * *

RevolutionMoney also offers a peer-to-peer payment system called RevolutionMoneyExchange. The company yesterday unveiled an application for money transferring via AOL Instant Messenger. Go here to download the new application.

UPDATE 1:

Since the blog was originally posted, RevolutionCard has commented in response to their credit line, and their negative blog comments:

RevolutionCard works with multiple banks to pair up consumers with the best available credit lines and APRs. We do not disclose the specific range of credit lines. A subsequent conversation confirmed there is a cap of $10,000 unless a customer specifically requests a larger line of credit. The bank then evaluates the reasons for the request.

UPDATE 2:
The vast majority of blogs have had very favorable comments; however, for the few with less positive feedback, we take the feedback seriously and work diligently to resolve issues. Our customer service team is dedicated to resolving any issues consumers may have. We’re constantly working towards improving the customer experience.