Axalto Selected by Carte Bleue for First Gift Card Launch in France

As part of this program, Axalto is also the only provider of the related personalization services. The Gift Card is available in France as of today from LCL (Le Credit Lyonnais), the first bank taking part in the pilot launch. Axalto will supply LCL with large volumes of the Gift Card in time for this year's Christmas season.

The Gift Card is an innovative, trendy and original concept for replacing the traditional gift voucher, which is limited to specific retail stores. Since the new card is valid at all retailers, it offers recipients much greater freedom to choose the gifts they want. For banks, the Gift Card represents a powerful way of broadening their image to reach new target groups and to get consumers used to prepaid cards.

People who wish to give the card as a present simply need to go to their bank branch to place their order for the Gift Card. Consumers first choose the credit amount, then the bank offers them a large choice of cards, with printing and packaging illustrating various gift giving occasions. The gift-wrapped and personalized cards are then sent with a greeting message to recipients on the date requested by the giver. The cards are valid for one year.

"For the commercial launch of a such a consumer-oriented product, we had to call on a trustworthy partner with solid experience in the field of card personalization," said Frederic Toumelin, director of marketing and development at Carte Bleue. "For this new product of the Carte Bleue Visa range that will revolutionize gift giving in France, Axalto was able to offer a tailor-made personalization service and to comply with the extremely tight launch schedule that we had fixed in order to be able to meet the Christmas season deadline."

"This success acknowledges Axalto's expertise in services for issuing banks," added Bertrand Knopf, banking and loyalty director at Axalto. "We are proud to be associated with this unprecedented project in France, which will enable banks to enhance and differentiate both the content and the positioning of their offerings."