Hey kids! It’s just about that time of the year to start thinking about….wait for it…..wait for it…..yes, it’s time to start thinking about Christmas. Now, if you’re like my mother, Christmas is pretty much as all year thing, as I believe she starts her holiday shopping sometime around mid-june/early july. Only a few years back did I eventually figure out why I was getting shorts and sunscreen at Christmas. Granted, if I grew up in Southern California, this might have been appropriate, but upstate New York?
Our lovely friends over at Amazon.com have struck a deal with Better ATM Services and will be distributing Amazon.com gift cards in the US via ATM machines using ATM’s patented technology. Better ATM Services will be distributing the cards via subcontractors Automated Cash Management Systems and APTUS Financial.
If a handy dandy Amazon.com gift card wasn’t enough, the two ISO’s will also be spitting out a complimentary $25 restaurant.com card to sweeten the deal. Dallas Texas based Columbus Data Services will be providing the transaction processing services for the whole shebang. Personally, an Amazon.com card that I can pick up at a 7-11 on the way home after work in that great moment of “Oh crap, I need a stocking stuffer…what do I do now?” is pretty darn sweet as it is. Kicking in a free dinner is certainly better than a sharp stick in the eye.
“Tough economic times mean consumers will increasingly demand more value,” said Better ATM Services chief executive Todd Nuttall. “Gift cards with coupons and incentives distributed through ATMs provide just that.”
While amazon.com shoppers can certainly buy gift cards on the site itself, we all know that during the holiday season, a physical object in hand always garners more thanks than a printout of a $25 credit. The cards coming out of said ATMs will be immediately valid and can be used the minute you arrive home (or near a wireless connection).
In wide ranging market of prepaid cards, the Boston based TowerGroup estimated that approximately $80 billion was spent on gift cards in 2006. With Wall Street and Banks dropping like flies, it should be a VERY interesting holiday shopping season. Who knows. Perhaps amazon.com has hit this one right on the head with offering convenience and value tied to a site 99% of the world is familiar with and offers 99% of everything anyone could ever want.
…and I can just hear it now. “Put your hands in the air, and gimme your amazon.com gift cards.”
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This is Dan’s mom…….and I never bought him shorts for Christmas…….perhaps for his birthday, which by the way, for the rest of you is Dec. 3rd!!!!!!
Thankfully she didn’t reveal the year of birth.
This seems like a great idea for people strapped for time to go shopping.
While amazon.com shoppers can certainly buy gift cards on the site itself, we all know that during the holiday season, a physical object in hand always garners more thanks than a printout of a $25 credit. The cards coming out of said ATMs will be immediately valid and can be used the minute you arrive home (or near a wireless connection).
In wide ranging market of prepaid cards, the Boston based TowerGroup estimated that approximately $80 billion was spent on gift cards in 2006. With Wall Street and Banks dropping like flies, it should be a VERY interesting holiday shopping season. Who knows. Perhaps amazon.com has hit this one right on the head with offering convenience and value tied to a site 99% of the world is familiar with and offers 99% of everything anyone could ever want.