InComm Helps Power Gift Cards at Seiyu Stores in Japan

"We are honored to have the opportunity to use our technology and product expertise to help change the way consumers in Japan buy music, gaming and other gift card products," said Brooks Smith, InComm President and CEO. "InComm technology has helped many of the world's largest retailers and product providers streamline the buying process across North America and Europe, and we are very excited about the opportunity to pioneer the gift card mall concept in the Asian retail marketplace."

InComm has provided Seiyu with technology and product marketing innovations developed through more than a decade of point-of-sale card activation experience in the United States, enabling Seiyu to offer customers more products and better buying experiences. InComm has a 15-year history of developing innovative and patented solutions for the packaging, display, activation and redemption of card-based products. InComm is the largest provider of gift cards, music, gaming and other prepaid cards in the U.S., Canada, Europe and Puerto Rico, with more than 145,000 retail partner locations offering the leading market brands.

Currently, the Japanese retail industry primarily uses paper gift certificates and vouchers rather than gift cards, which are quickly replacing the paper programs in many parts of the world. Moving to card-based solutions will enable Japanese merchants to increase in-store marketing and product display opportunities while significantly reducing risk of theft and shrinkage.

"Seiyu has a long history of providing its customers with high-quality service and excellent merchandise, and most customers enjoy having something tangible when they buy music and gaming products for themselves or others," said Smith. "InComm has a record of developing product and technology solutions for our retail and product partners, and we look forward to streamlining the purchase and redemption experiences for customers in Japan."

InComm's Fastcard(R) Technology will enable retailers to offer popular music, gaming gift and other card-based products and with the ability to activate them quickly and easily at the point of purchase. Today, Japanese retailers already offer several leading music and gaming products, and the increasing international popularity of gift cards creates vast opportunities for retail product expansion in Japan. InComm's patented and patent-pending stored-value technology solutions include innovative applications for product activation and redemption, packaging, in-store displays, data management and much more.