Program Lets Grocers Test Drive Branded Debit Cards

The National Payment Card Association (NPCA) a provider of merchant branded PIN-based debit payments solutions, has launched a free program in which merchants can visit a demo site that mimics exactly what consumers experience when enrolling in a merchant branded debit program for themselves. They can also experience the NPCA consumer portal that allows cardholders to maintain their accounts and view transactions.

Enrollees will receive a card in the mail that can be used to pay for purchases wherever PIN debit is accepted. The card is real and debits will be processed through the automated clearing house (ACH) directly to the merchant’s checking account.

NPCA is bringing its interchange solution to the grocery/supermarket vertical sector in the midst of its rapid growth in the convenience/petroleum sector where it is working with leading brands such as Speedy Markets and Murphy USA, as well as smaller innovators such as Parker Convenience Stores.

“Since 2004, National Payment Card Association has been providing merchant branded debit cards in the petroleum/c-store sector and we are now expanding rapidly into the supermarket and grocery sector,” said NPCA President Joe Randazza. “Our product is PIN-based, available on the rails of existing PIN networks such as Pulse, are secure, and guaranteed. There are no chargebacks and settlement funds are received the next business day.”

In addition to being a payment product, NPCA’s solution is also a loyalty product. It is a turn-key solution that works in the same way a bank issued debit card does, with no POS changes required. The NPCA solution provides:
Merchant branded online enrollment engine

• Consumer portal with 24/7 access
• Merchant portal with a robust set of databases and business analytical tools
• Email engine that delivers communications to cardholders for confirming purchases and one you can leverage for special offers or incentives
• Information that belongs to the retailer-- not the bank.

“The customer is the merchant’s,” said Randazza. “Our goal is to empower merchants and retailers and in presenting our solution we can show them what they can do for themselves to protect their profits and to build loyalty.”

Coconut Creek, Fla.-based NPCA is a marketer of Automated Clearing House (ACH) merchant branded PIN based debit payment solutions, with its primary product being retailer branded debit cards.