“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
###

The integrated solution from Apriva and SparkBase provides merchants with an efficient method for processing loyalty- and gift-card transactions from virtually any location using public wireless networks. Based on Apriva’s fully secure wireless payment technologies, the solution also provides merchants with value-added services such as online reporting, order processing and customer management.

“Apriva is pleased to add SparkBase to our growing list of certified partners that supply gift card and loyalty products for resellers and independent sales organizations,” said Bill Clark, Apriva’s executive vice president for North America. “We anticipate that the integration of the SparkBase gift and loyalty program with Apriva’s wireless payment solutions will enable merchants to further optimize the success of their existing stored-value payments programs.” “Like Apriva, SparkBase is keenly focused on bringing forth new technologies that give merchants the opportunity to build revenue and enhance customer satisfaction,” said Douglas Hardman, CEO of SparkBase. “Partnering with Apriva will result in an unmatched merchant experience that allows our customers to fully leverage the profound economic and operational efficiencies of wireless processing for gift and loyalty transactions.”

About Apriva Founded in 1999, Apriva is the leading provider of end-to-end wireless transactions and secure information messaging solutions that meet the exacting security and reliability requirements of financial services providers, government entities, and public service sectors. Through its two operating groups, Apriva Point of Sale (POS) and Apriva Information Security Solutions (ISS), the company offers customers fully-managed, end-to-end, security solutions that incorporate hardware, software, network infrastructure and management tools. For more information, visit www.apriva.com.

About SparkBase SparkBase entered the stored-value industry in early 2004 as the first truly independent gift and loyalty processing network. SparkBase continues to lead in innovation with its proprietary gateway, using patent pending technologies for processing stored value transactions with traditional cards, and new mobile payments methods like SMS messaging. Developed in house at their headquarters in Cleveland, Ohio, SparkBase now serves as a leader in gift and reward processing. For more information, visit sparkbase.com.

“Having cutting-edge POS systems supported on the SparkBase network is one of our core directives,” said Doug Hardman, CEO, SparkBase. “Microsoft Dynamics and RMS applications have a fantastic feature set, so we were able to build an outstanding Add-In for retailers to take full-advantage of the many SparkBase transaction types.”

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.
The certification enables gift, loyalty, and community rewards transactions on any Microsoft Dynamics Point Of Sale 2009 and Microsoft Retail Management System Store Operations 2.0 installation. SparkBase customers should contact their account manager for more information.

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

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

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/

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.

Drew Freeman, President of Merchant Data Systems, says of the relationship, “Merchant Data Systems did an exhaustive search before selecting SparkBase as our Gift and Loyalty network. We were very impressed with SparkBase’s technology and leading-edge functionality, along with the company’s philosophy of allowing us to brand the offering, assemble customized products in-house and retain the direct relationship with our merchants. We are very excited about leveraging this partnership into a strong program that will benefit both our sales agents and our merchants, helping us to continue to grow our company.”

The SparkBase network allows its resellers to offer merchants, or groups of merchants, sophisticated gift and loyalty offerings with advanced features including text message and email marketing. Merchant Data Systems will begin offering their new Gift and Loyalty programs on the SparkBase network beginning in September 2009.

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.

About Merchant Data Systems
Merchant Data Systems was founded in 1997 and offers ISO/MSP programs, Credit Card Processing, Debit Card Processing, Automated Account Settlement, Check Guarantee, Check Conversion, Electronic Benefits Transfer, Equipment Sales & Leasing, 24/7 Customer Service and Technical Help Desk, Cash Advances, Gift Card and PCI Compliance solutions. Merchant Data Systems focuses on the needs of the merchant community including the acquisition of residuals and merchant portfolios.

Merchant Data Systems is located in Miami Beach, Florida.

SparkBase has Class A-certified its gift and loyalty card processing application on Hypercom Corp.’s Optimum M4230 mobile payment terminal for the retail and restaurant markets. The certification reportedly enables gift, loyalty and community rewards transactions on the Optimum M4230 to be conducted from virtually anywhere on the SparkBase Network. Additionally, SparkBase released version 3.0 of its private-label network. New functionality includes a redesigned user interface, enhanced simple message service text messaging and e-mail marketing, and an online card designer. An enhanced suite of application programming interface tools is also part of the upgrade.

Gift card network at your service

Product: Sparkbase 3.0
Company: Sparkbase

he gift card network run by stored-value provider Sparkbase is an online platform served on a platter – a moldable tool for ISOs marketing loyalty programs.

“That’s really the secret sauce of Sparkbase … everything we do, none of it is branded as Sparkbase,” said Doug Hardman, Chief Executive Officer at Sparkbase.

“We basically give the tool to the ISO and let the ISO deal with their customers however they want to do it.”

At the center of the Sparkbase network is http://www.getyourbalance.com, where customers check balances on gift cards much like one would check an account balance through an online banking Web site.

Hardman said GetYourBalance.com was founded in 2005, but Sparkbase’s network has more recently been updated to integrate its other features through the same application programming interface (API).

Sparkbase 3.0

New features include the ability for an ISO to brand a slice of Sparkbase’s stored-value network – and the gift cards that are made on it – with its own logo, and to incorporate text messaging into its gift card programs.

“We’ve redesigned our API so it’s even easier for ISOs and financial institutions to integrate directly into our gift and loyalty network,” Hardman said.

“We give them a tool kit and they can plug directly into it so that they’re looking at real-time information without having to go into our network … this plugs into whatever it is they’re using.”

Texting tool

Sparkbase’s text messaging service can be used as both a means of payment and a marketing vehicle, according to Hardman.

He said merchants who operate through the network can provide balances, and even conduct loyalty card transactions through customers’ cell phones when they don’t have their cards, by texting a code to the customer’s phone.

“We’re using a virtual gift card as our new SMS [simple message service] functionality where, if you don’t have your card with you, you would text a certain short code and it’ll text you back something,” Hardman noted.

Marketing edge

On the marketing end, Hardman said merchants can use the Web portals run by the ISOs under which they operate to obtain customer data for advertising.

“[A merchant] can send text messages if he wants, he can send e-mail blasts to [customers] if he wants, he can market to them in whatever fashion that the ISO is letting them see their data,” Hardman said, adding that customers who register for loyalty card services have the option of shielding themselves from advertisements.

Meanwhile, ISOs themselves have a marketing edge in attracting merchants.

They have the ability to brand their online gift card networks within a “Web interface that’s a whole lot slicker than anyone else’s in the industry right now,” Hardman said. “We have one of the most established stored-value networks in the industry, and we continue to push the technology forward,” he added.

“Our whole business model is let the ISO do what they do best, and we’ll do what we do best.

“What makes Sparkbase [dramatically] different from everybody else is we don’t retain any ownership over any of the clients or any of the data.

“It’s all free for them to access at any time so we’re not restricting anything ever for them. This is just their branding when an ISO plugs into the Sparkbase network.”

Sparkbase
216-867-0877
www.sparkbase.com