ToneDaBass

Article:
http://www.paymentssource.com/news/a...3018107-1.html

American Express Adds Features to Serve, Bluebird Cards
by Kristin Broughton
JUN 5, 2014 2:10pm ET

American Express is adding financial management tools to its Serve and Bluebird prepaid cards and is expanding the cards' cash reload network.

The two cards run on the same platform, which also supports LianLian in China. Altogether, these products added 2.4 million users in the first four months of the year, including one million acquired in April.

During this four-month period, the Serve platform handled $1.9 billion in transactions, triple its volume from a year earlier and representing an annual run rate of almost $6 billion. American Express plans to add another Serve-based card, called One VIP, in collaboration with Radio One on June 16.

Amex is steadily expanding the cash reload network for its Serve platform. The New York card network has added Family Dollar to its network, which now includes 27,500 stores including CVS, Walmart and some 7-Eleven locations. Amex added Walmart's locations in April.

Some of the momentum in Serve card enrollment can be attributed to the Isis mobile wallet, which is operated by AT&T, Verizon Wireless and T-Mobile. Isis allows users to obtain a Serve card when they start using the mobile wallet, and the carriers use their stores' sales staff to sign up customers for both products.

Isis activates about 20,000 mobile wallets a day, and the Isis carriers' sales process is "the biggest driver of Isis and Serve adoption," according to Stefan Happ, Amex's senior vice president and general manager of online, mobile and Serve, in an April interview.

With Serve's new personal financial management tools, customers will be able to access a variety of budgeting features online and create spending alerts and a financial plan.

American Express launched its Bluebird prepaid card with Walmart in October 2012. By the end of January 2013, it had over 575,000 account holders and $275 million in funds loaded onto the cards.

ToneDaBass

Also, here's the press release from Radio One:
http://www.radio-one.com/files/2014/...d_radioone.pdf

vinhboy

During this four-month period, the Serve platform handled $1.9 billion in transactions

I wonder how much of that we are responsible for.

prasha11

What does it have to do with MS? adding cash is no MS?

ToneDaBass

You're so right. BB and Serve are definitely not ways to do MS. *rolls eyes*

payeco

Anyone know if Family Dollar allows loading with VGCs? I have one near by. Going out of town for a few days but I'll check next week and see.

sosamo

I am pretty sure if you have a BB or Serve, you can't get this card.

VizeL

Any details yet?

(never even heard of radio one though...:X..which is fair cause a quick google shows they are not in my area)

FTR 787

yeah no point to this, unless for some reason your BB/Serve gets taken away -- this could come to the rescue.

or if this product offers higher limits, easier loading options at more stores, better benefits compared to the current top dog: Serve, I'm sure lots of folks will switch.

ZzzzX

I'd like something with more locations to load.

rgAAFT

Interesting. Waiting for details...

Peridot83

If you look at the press release, it looks like it's just the serve card with access to some special events and giveaways through the radio station.

sechs

The Serve network would need more locations to load. They don't need a special new card for that.

uncommonsensical

for those who don't understand why walmart is so suspicious of us with our big #'s: average bb account is $478.

the interesting thing about ms is that we are not only not the target demo for any of the products we use, we are the antithesis of that demo!

pier11

this

Serve has some other versions for online gamers (or something like that). But allows only one version to have.