Thaindian News

January 6, 2011 (Pen Men at Work): The post office in America desires to gain entry into the commerce of gift cards. Pre-paid cards have managed to become the most well-liked gift objects, as a consequence of which the postal officers there desire to perpetrate more acts than merely submitting the cards to the providential receivers.

Hence, the American postal bureaucrats intend to execute a trial of 24 months that will commence in May, which will involve virtually 2,000 post offices vending the cards discharged by companies like American Express, Discover as well as MasterCard or Visa. This data is as indicated by the documents launched on Wednesday with the self-governing Postal Regulatory Commission (PRC).

The initial trial will be at the post offices that also vend greeting cards. If that is successful, the experiment will inflate to an additional 3,000 offices or so by October this year with the desire of achieving fabulous card sales during the holiday season.

The National Retail Federation (NRF) projects that in excess of three-quarters of the customers acquire no less than one gift card during the spell of holidays such as during Christmas and Thanksgiving. The cards that the post office intends to test are recognized as ‘open loop’ cards, which can be utilized at any business that acknowledges the cards from the issuing party.

Current plans demand the sales of cards of a set amount such as $25 and $50, in addition to the vending of the cards of changeable worth, where the purchaser can choose the price between $26 and $100. Additionally, there will be a charge of $4.95 for a card of a preset amount and of $5.95 for an uneven card. The procurement of the cards will be from a clerk.

The post office has vocalized that it may also resolve to test the self-styled ‘closed loop’ cards, which are restricted to a single merchant. Nevertheless, the strategies for that have not been implemented yet.