1. Welcome

2. Andrew Johnson
Director General

3. Natasha Toothill
Vice Chairman

4. Apologies Leisure Vouchers - Darren Ziff Debenhams - Matt Howe
Experience More - Peter Clayton
Comet - Danielle Noakes & Jane Shepard
Globoforce - James McNeil
Tesco - Steve McArdle
Hemingways - Andrew Johnson
Comdata (SVS) – Adrian Boyt

5. Welcome – New Members Membership
Days of Your Life – Shaun Powell & Vicki Ling
Membership
Issuers - 38
Service - 34
Social – 1
73 total

6. Where are we now? The Gift Voucher & Gift Card Market Today
Andrew Johnson
Director General

7. 2007 – The Highlights Feedback from the members included:
Gift Card Centres / Malls are seen as effective channels and are being more effectively managed.
M&S Launch
Maturing Markets
Number of new issuers and brands with cards
Consolidation of the gift card market
Retailers still perceive cannibalisation risk as being serious
Gift Card Centres will help the whole market grow
Gift ‘Vouchers’ being replaced by ‘Gift Cards’
Launch of Prepaid Open Loop Cards
Launch of new Multi-Retailer B2B Cards
New Channel Breakthrough for retailers
For some, consumers are not demanding gift cards
B2B continue to want Gift Vouchers

8. 2007 – The Lowlights
Negative Press- BBC interview

9. 2007 – The Questions?
Did gift card sales overtake gift voucher sales as forecast in 2005?
Did those companies issuing paper vouchers only see any cannibalisation from gift cards?
What innovations did we see in marketing and merchandising?
Who instigated marketing campaigns to promote gift cards and vouchers as opposed to merchandise?

10. Not Just Retail Hitting the Headlines
Economics of gift vouchers By Ruth Alexander More or Less, Radio 4 Gift vouchers might seem like the easiest and safest Christmas present if you're not sure of someone's tastes. But why are they often worth less than their face value? "It is more blessed to give than to receive," especially when you can exchange hours of pacing up and down the High Street with a quick bulk purchase of gift vouchers. It's estimated we spend about £3bn a year on gift cards and vouchers in the UK - that's about 1% of everything we spend in the shops. But the British Retail Consortium says it is thought about a quarter of these vouchers and cards never get redeemed. In terms of actual money spent, about eight per cent is wasted, according to the Vouchers Association.

11. The News, Christmas 2008
What good things about Gift Cards and Vouchers will be in the news?
What negative press are we in danger of receiving?

12. Hot Topics 2008
‘Such cards (gift and prepaid cards) are the icing on a more substantial, highly topical cake: the credit crunch.’
‘Prepaid cards in general, contactless payment cards and the new reloadable mobile cards not only signal the ongoing flight from credit, but could herald the beginning of the end of cash’
Michael Poyner, Chief Retail Advisor,
PricewaterhouseCoopers writing in Retail Week

13. Hot Topics 2008 Cross Border Redemption
Clarification of Emoney regulations
VAT on Vouchers – harmonisation across Europe
The Payment Services Directive
The True Benefits of Gift Cards
Open Loop v’s Closed Loop
Increase competition from new entrants to the market
Potentially negative PR
Tough year for retail
Contactless payments
GROWTH IN THE MARKET?

14. The Prepaid International Forum
Andrew Johnson

15. Umbrella Association covering whole PrePaid Market
Members across Europe
Affiliation with the NBPCA in USA
Working Groups:
Business models – Rachelle Smith
Legal & Regulatory – available
Consumer & Education – Andrew Johnson
Updates in Voom!
PIF newsletter from VA office – includes profiles of the Prepaid market in other European Countries
More info on PIF website

16. Working on a standard Code of Conduct for all prepaid products including gift cards
Looking to work this Code of Conduct into The VA Code of Conduct
Coordinating industry knowledge on Negative Balances – how prevalent are they and who is liable – the consumer, the retailer or the issuer?
Starting new working group on prepaid card applications in transport
Other working groups are Consumer, Business Models, Legal & Regulatory
VA sit on all WG’s, two representatives per group. Vacancies for Legal, Business Models and Transport – interested?

17. Negative Balances Off line transactions
Gift cards and prepaid cards go into debit
Could this happen on your system?
How prevalent?
Who is liable – the consumer, the retailer or the issuer?

18. IRI Data & New Sales Figures
Yvonne West
Exec Member

19. What is IRI & IRI Data? Information Resources International (IRI)
Confidential data collection agency
No members of VA or the secretariat see individual members data
IRI figures are sales from all Issuers members
Split into Corporate / B2B Sales & Over the Counter Sales
Data submitted every quarter

20. New Data
Current data collected is not reflective of the whole industry
Sub committee formed to make proposal to exec
Exec agreed sub committee proposal

21. Agreed Scope Breakdown sales figures into: Collate sales channel data:
Paper vouchers
£ value of sales
E-vouchers
Total units sold
Closed loop gift cards
Restricted loop gift cards
Open loop gift cards
Collate sales channel data:
Consumer sales
Direct sales
On line
Gift card centre
Third party
B2B sales

22. Out of Scope Redemption information Breakage Up-spend Customer data
Paper volumes/average

23. Currently IRI provide graphs on data
Total Category Size
Total Category Size
Year On Year Growth of Total Market, by Category Quarter This Year Vs Quarter Last Year
Category Seasonality: Quarter 3, Quarter 2, 2006
B 2 C
B 2 B

24. New Format IRI will not manipulate data to provide graphs
Data submitted on excel sheet
Data issued back to members on excel sheet

25. All members to be categorised
Split members into following categories:
Retail
Leisure
Agency / Multi-retail

26. Submit data via spreadsheet

27. Get back 3 reports

28. New Format Flexible format of data
Compare your sales to 1. total sales, 2. your category sales
Not all columns will be completed

29. Next Steps
All members asked to submit new format of data for whole of 2007
Those members who contribute to the detailed report will be asked to contribute old style data for Q4 2007
Requests for data from next week
Data back to you by week 2 March

30. The VA Conference 2008

31. The VA Conference 2008 Date: Tuesday 22nd April 2008
Venue: Marriott, Grosvenor Square, London
All day conference followed by networking supper & Café Jazz
Mini exhibition running alongside
conference
Special rates for VA members

32. Press Partnerships Promotions & Incentives Customer Management
Leading motivation and incentives title in business to business sector
Customer Management
Leading magazine in the call centre market
Retail Systems
Publication for IT decision makers in retail

33. Agenda The Retail Landscape The Gift Voucher & Gift Card Market Today
What is Prepaid and am I in it?
Overview of prepaid
Practical Applications of prepaid cards
Transport
General Purpose Spending Cards
Product Specific Cards
Corporate Benefit Cards
Foreign Exchange & Money Transfer
Legal & Regulatory Issues
Focus on the Customer not the Technology
Gift Cards – Not Just for Traditional Retailers?
Developing Sustainable Sales & Marketing Strategies
Selling in store
Selling on line
Selling on a gift card centre
Selling to the corporate market

34. Speakers
Marilyn Bochicchio, President Paybefore & former President NBPCA (USA)
Jamie King – IDT Fiance
David Tymms – EROS card
Simon Barnett – PizzaExpress
Keith Brand – Tefisto
Chris Grace – Coinstar
Tim Bishop – lastminute.com
Tony Craddock – Giftex Prepay
Full agenda at

35. All prices are plus VAT and are quoted per person
Delegate Rates
Members
1 place
2 places
3 places +
Conference Only
£310
£285
£260
Conference & Supper
£360
£335
Non-Members
£365
£415
All prices are plus VAT and are quoted per person

36. Calendar of Events
Rachelle Smith
Exec Member

37. VA Calendar

38. Attendance at Social Events
2007
2008
Bowling* 78
Windsor Races 77 ?
Vinopolis Wine Tasting 66
*Bowling may have encouraged more people rather then more companies

39. Social Function Idea? Feedback from meeting
Liked the fun feel of the bowling event
Would like events to be cheaper so that more people per company can come
Suggestions for a VA Supper Club?
your ideas to

40. Any Other Business? PCI Compliance / auditing prepaid debit cards
Please let Sarah / Andrew know if you have any advice on software solutions for this problem.
Ccf magazine supplement – October 2008