London, United Kingdom
Key industry magazine, Bank Technology News, has confirmed the growing demand for card personalization in the banking sector by naming Serverside Group as one of its 'Top 10 Technology Companies to Watch'. This is the fifth year running that BTN has selected 10 key tech companies to keep an eye on going forward, and London-based Serverside - a company specializing in digital payment card design - is excited to be one of them. The article can be seen in full at www.banktechnews.com.
Serverside's inclusion in the BTN Top 10 reflects how an ever-increasing number of card issuers globally are embracing online card personalization technology. With more and more people banking on the internet, and the general move towards personalization - think Myspace.com and mobile phone ringtones - allowing people to design their own cards online is a logical next step, and one that is fast becoming a customer expectation.
With its phenomenal viral marketing potential, such as 'send to a friend' email functionalities and customer design competitions, card personalization is also a great platform for banks to engage and acquire new customers at low cost. Viral acquisition channels are certainly proving attractive given the paltry returns being generated by direct mail. Earlier this year, one Serverside client generated an exceptional 120,000 responses from 10,000 emails, a figure that is turning traditional marketing techniques on their head.
Another bonus, for the banks, is that front of card customization leads to front-of-wallet utilization. Very simply, people will use a payment card more if it has got a picture of a pet, friend or family member on it. This is confirmed by Stephen Eulie, Credit Card Marketing Director, First National Bank of Omaha, another Serverside client: "We know that people who have personalized cards use them more often than other cards in their wallet."
London-based Serverside Group, which has a strategic alliance with Visa, is the global leader in digital card design. Currently, 26 financial institutions globally have taken advantage of Serverside's technology, including Abbey, ING, Advanta, First National Bank of Omaha and KBC. Many more clients will be announced in the months ahead.
Adam Elgar, President, Serverside Group, commented:
"We're very pleased to have been recognized as a company at the forefront of one of the major trends in banking technology; it underscores the demand we're seeing from issuers and cardholders alike for increased choice and personalization in their products. We believe our technologies, with the excellent new digital print technologies available from our partners, will continue to shape the next generation of card marketing and drive great returns to our customers."
Niki Manby, Senior Vice President, Visa USA, added:
"Serverside's unique solution helps create an emotional connection between cardholders and their payment cards, encouraging front-of-wallet placement for Visa products. We are excited about our alliance with Serverside. The flexibility to customize any of our card products drives tremendous value to Visa issuers and consumers."
About Serverside Group Limited
Founded in 2003, Serverside Group is the global technology leader in digital card design and a provider of innovative software solutions for issuers, personalization bureaus and card manufacturers. The company's flagship product, AllAboutMe, is a web-based application that allows cardholders to design their unique payment card online.
Serverside Group is headquartered in London and has offices in New York, Chicago and Auckland, New Zealand. The company has strategic alliances with Visa, Datacard and Getty Images. For more information, visit www.serversidegroup.com.
CONTACT: Serverside Group Adam Elgar, President + 1 212 653 9417 adam.elgar@ssgl.com or Katherine Vondrak, Marketing Director + 1 847 487 8121 katherine.vondrak@ssgl.com or Glowbe PR Dominic Hiatt + 44 (0)20 3262 3059 dominic@glowbe.co.uk
Source: Business Wire (Business Wire India)