CLEVELAND – July 27, 2010 – SparkBase (www.sparkbase.com), the industry leader in private-label stored value processing, announced that they have developed and tested integration of their Gift, Loyalty, and Reward network to Social Networking sites like FaceBook, Twitter, and FourSquare.

“Having cutting-edge features supported on the SparkBase network is one of our core directives,” said Doug Hardman, CEO, SparkBase. “Letting Merchants and Cardholders integrate their Gift and Loyalty card programs with their Social Networking strategy is key to long-term growth for our ISOs and their Merchants.”

The SparkBase network is sold exclusively through financial services resellers, and marketing agencies to offer merchants sophisticated gift and loyalty offerings with advanced features including text messaging and email marketing. Adding Social Networking integration for Rewards is unique to SparkBase and thousands of merchants in the US, Canada, and Puerto Rico.
This innovation allows Cardholders to register their preferred Social Networks, and post rewards earned, check in for visits, and earn additional rewards specific to the type of Social Network that the Merchant is using.

“Soon, if a cardholder comes in and spends $20, they may earn 25 points if they have their card registered to post on Twitter.” Said Hardman. “The Merchant is gaining exposure to their brand and the Cardholder is earning faster rewards. Everybody wins.”

The Social Networking integration is currently in final certification, and is expected to be available to all SparkBase ISOs beginning September 2010 in time for holiday promotions.

About SparkBase:
SparkBase reinvented the stored-value industry in 2004 as the first truly independent gift and loyalty processing network. The SparkBase network is sold exclusively as a white-label product to Merchant Services resellers and Loyalty Marketing companies. Today, SparkBase continues to lead in innovation with its proprietary gateway, using patent pending technologies developed in house at their headquarters in Cleveland, OH. For more information, visit sparkbase.com
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CLEVELAND – December 14, 2009 – SparkBase (www.sparkbase.com), the industry leader in private-label stored value processing, announces that Electronic Merchant Systems, the premier Cleveland, OH based Independent Sales Organization (ISO), has selected SparkBase as the network to power their Altus Premier product.

In announcing the relationship, Douglas Hardman, SparkBase CEO states, “EMS has always been a very progressive company with their merchant offerings. They realize the importance of a properly executed Gift and Loyalty solution to merchants as a way to boost sales in a down economy. We are able to provide them with functionality beyond what the other networks offer, and work with them closely to ensure that the launch is successful. Having them as a partner in our back yard is very exciting to us.”

Dan Neistadt, President and CEO of Electronic Merchant Systems, says of the relationship, “We are very pleased to add SparkBase to our extensive repertoire of value added products. Doug and his team of professionals are committed to providing world class products and client support to the ISO industry today, and just as important, are willing to evolve product capability and delivery to meet ever changing technology enhancements at the point of purchase.”
The SparkBase network is sold exclusively through financial services resellers, and marketing agencies to offer merchants sophisticated gift and loyalty offerings with advanced features including text message and email marketing. Electronic Merchant Systems will begin offering their new Gift and Loyalty programs on the SparkBase network immediately.

About SparkBase
SparkBase reinvented the stored-value industry in 2004 as the first truly independent gift and loyalty processing network. Today, SparkBase continues to lead in innovation with its proprietary gateway, using patent pending technologies developed in house at their headquarters in Cleveland, OH. For more information, visit sparkbase.com

About Electronic Merchant Systems
Electronic Merchant Systems (EMS) was founded in 1987, and has grown to become a leading provider of merchant processing services and electronic transactions. EMS continues to drive the payment processing industry through a vast array of customized services and innovative products. The company processes and safeguards many types of electronic payment transactions including all major credit cards, debit cards, stored-value, electronic check services, eCommerce and more. The company operates in over 100 U.S. cities and is headquartered in Cleveland, Ohio. www.emscorporate.com

SparkBase offices were featured today on OfficeSnapShots.com.

Office Snapshots catalogs and reviews the coolest places in the world to work. SparkBase is excited to have them feature our corporate headquarters.

http://www.officesnapshots.com/2009/12/07/sparkbase-office/

Stephen Searer also asked SparkBase CEO Douglas Hardman to answer several questions about the process he and Geoff Hardman used when designing the offices.

http://www.officesnapshots.com/2009/12/08/interview-douglas-hardman-ceo-of-sparkbase/

Strong Demand Prompts Expansion of Client Services Team

CLEVELAND – September 21, 2009 – SparkBase (www.sparkbase.com), a rapidly growing processor of customized stored-value programs, today announced that is has expanded its client services team with the appointment of Christine Primisch as Client Services Manager.

Christine joins the SparkBase team after 5 years with Restaurants-America, where she was General Manager at two locations, project manager for new store openings and a Manager Trainer. As a Manager Trainer, Christine assisted in restructuring the training program for new team members as well as mentoring managers after training was completed.

“Christine brings an impressive skill set to the company,” said Douglas Hardman, SparkBase’s CEO. “As we add larger clients, we’re finding that ongoing training and support is as important as the continual technology improvements that are the cornerstone of our company.”

Christine’s locations were two of the top performing in the company, boasting more than 25% annual sales increases year over year, due in part, to her successful implementation and marketing of the loyalty program at both locations.

“We needed someone that not only understood the technology, but also what the merchants were looking for in a gift & loyalty program,” said Mr. Hardman. “Christine can show our clients how stored value programs are used in the field, and offer suggestions about how they can better attract new business with well-executed programs. It’s a win-win for everyone.”

About SparkBase
Since 2004, SparkBase is the technology leader for the processing of private label gift and loyalty programs. Headquartered in Cleveland, OH, SparkBase processes millions of transactions annually for merchants in five countries. SparkBase uniquely offers its client the ability to private label stored-value programs on a state of the art network, without involving a middleman. SparkBase’s innovative business model and robust network have contributed to its annual growth of 150% for the past two years, an amount that will be exceeded in 2009. For more information, please visit sparkbase.com.

GreenSheet listed SparkBase in their “Company Profile” section today. For the full article, visit GreenSheet.com

Technology leader releases latest private label gift & loyalty network

CLEVELAND – April 17, 2009 – SparkBase (www.sparkbase.com), the industry leader in private label stored value processing, announces version 3.0 of its software suite. New functionality includes a completely redesigned user interface, enhanced SMS text messaging and email marketing, and an on-line card designer. An enhanced suite of API tools that allow ISOs, POS manufacturers, and resellers to integrate directly with their existing software and CRM solutions are also part of the upgrade.

CEO Douglas Hardman explains, “When we started processing in 2004, we had an interface that was designed by programmers, so it had a lot of features but wasn’t very usable. In early 2006 when we re-designed that interface, we added a lot of great functionality. This time, we spent months with an interface design team to make sure that we have the best user experience in the industry. By expanding our feature set at the same time, we were able to leverage the development cycle by adding great new tools for our ISOs.”

SparkBase will demonstrate this new software, along with other new releases, in booth 654 at the Electronic Transaction Association’s annual meeting in Las Vegas on April 21st – 23rd.

“We are focused on delivering the features our ISOs want as their businesses grow.” Continued Hardman, “Our new framework allows us to hook into several other networks to offer features and additional services that no one else in the industry is even close to deploying. We are looking forward to the next several months when we’ll be announcing some of the great partnerships that we’ve been developing around this technology.”

About SparkBase
Since 2004, SparkBase has been the technology leader for the processing of private label gift and loyalty programs. Headquartered in Cleveland, OH, SparkBase processes millions of transactions annually for merchants in five countries. SparkBase uniquely offers its client the ability to private label stored-value programs on a state of the art network, without involving a middleman. SparkBase’s innovative business model and robust network have contributed to its growth of more than 150% annually. For more information, please visit sparkbase.com.

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Easy to Use Web Site Lets Customers Track Gift and Loyalty Balances in Real-Time

CLEVELAND – March 18, 2009 – SparkBase (www.sparkbase.com), a rapidly growing processor of private label stored-value programs, today announced that is has launched the first of its kind portal for end-users to track multiple gift card and loyalty balances. GetYourBalance.com is a new tool offered by SparkBase, which enables cardholders to see real time balance information and manage all of their gift cards in one location. Free to SparkBase ISOs and merchants as well as their cardholders, GetYourBalance.com also allows the merchant to gather additional information about their customers.

CEO Douglas Hardman explains, “If a merchant has 2,000 cards in the wild, they often don’t know anything about the cardholders. With SparkBase, when cardholders register, a merchant can get their contact information and use other SparkBase tools like SMS messaging or e-mail campaigns, to drive business to their store.

While SparkBase offers API tools that allow ISOs and merchants to create a balance and registration portal on their own site, they understand that smaller businesses don’t have the budget to buy these tools. SparkBase’s GetYourBalance.com is free and lets merchants use it as their own. “We’ve developed this site to help our ISO customers. It’s not about plastering our logo everywhere.” said Hardman. “This is just another example of SparkBase’s commitment to being the technology leader in storedvalue.” continued Hardman “We’re all about giving our clients great tools to manage their business. It’s our network, but their customers.”

About SparkBase
Since 2004, SparkBase has been the technological leader for the processing of private label gift and loyalty card programs. Headquartered in Cleveland, OH, SparkBase processes millions of transactions annually for merchants in five countries. SparkBase uniquely offers its client the ability to private label stored-value programs on a state of the art network, without involving a middleman. SparkBase’s innovative business model and robust network have contributed to its growth of more than 150% annually. For more information, please visit sparkbase.com.