Introducing the i2c Expert Series and the 7 Laws of Prepaid Success

This week we are launching the i2c Expert Series. We have spent more than a decade innovating new approaches to solving complex payments and commerce challenges for some of the world’s largest brands. While innovative technology continues to play a critical role in advancing the global payment market by making it easier for consumers and merchants to transact, there are other important lessons learned in running large-scale payment programs that can make the difference between achieving profitability or dealing with stagnant growth prospects.

The Fundamentals of Program Management

The first Expert Series we are releasing focuses on understanding the role program management plays in designing, building and running a prepaid program. Program management is the process of bringing a product to market, building it through ramp up period to gain critical mass, and then optimizing the program to achieve momentum for long-term profitability.

The prepaid market has grown tremendously over the last several years, but it has also changed dramatically. Double and triple-digit card growth takes a lot of market insight. i2c has learned much over nearly the past two decades about what it takes to grow profitable programs and we have boiled this down to 7 Laws or “fundamental truths” that must be followed to win in this market.

Don‘t Look for Growth and Profit in Typical Places

Yet this growth won‘t be powered simply by offering more generic GPR programs. Rather, all signs are pointing to a variety of use cases that include embedding a value exchange mechanism (e.g. a payment capability) into business processes that solve unique problems, as well as delivering on the promise of integrated payments and commerce by focusing on “human centric” processing. In a word, programs that provide a differentiated and highly engaging consumer experience are driving the market forward.

But to achieve that, the program itself has to be managed with clear goals and metrics that are constantly evaluated and improved upon. As such, program management applies best practices for key business areas such as knowing your costs, choosing the right prospects, applying and managing meaningful KPIs, allocating the right resources, minimizing churn, and most importantly generating revenue.

So, what types of results can be achieved through the disciplined application of program management? Below are some results of work i2c has done to help our customers successfully optimize their programs.

Get Access to the 7 Laws of Prepaid Success

While the focus of this expert series is centered on the prepaid market, much of the information we are sharing can be applied broadly to credit and debit portfolios of card issuers. This Expert Series provides you with a logical set of best practices, infographics, cheat sheets and white papers that help financial service providers optimize existing programs, as well as understand how to successfully bringing new products to market. You can get access to the 7 Laws of Prepaid Success by clicking here.