FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE

Date:       October 7, 2003
Contact:  Greggory S. Blundell
Phone:    908-707-1121
Email:     gblundell@pelorus-group.com

STORED VALUE:  CHALLENGING THE CREDIT CARD PARADIGM

On March 2 and 3, 2004, The PELORUS Group will host a special conference designed solely to explore how emerging stored value initiatives will impact prepaid, debit and credit card offerings, and what credit card issuers, financial institutions, banks, carriers and platform providers should be planning for over the next critical months. With developments hitting this relatively young market at a rapid-fire clip, a sense of urgency swirls around unresolved questions as to the extent and sustainability of stored value’s spread.  Of particular importance:  What do players need to do today to capitalize on the stored value phenomenon to position their offerings – and organizations – more competitively over the long term?

Entitled “Stored Value: Challenging The Credit Card Paradigm”, this exclusive conference will convene at the world-renowned Hilton New Orleans Riverside hotel, in New Orleans, LA.  Leading organizations from around the world will be joining The PELORUS Group and an unprecedented array of industry luminaries for the industry’s first stored value event that is wholly independent and unbiased.  Topics slated for discussion include:

• Many players still are reluctant to fully embrace stored value.  But one thing is clear:  The migration to stored value solutions will intensify.  As the market heats up, those left waiting on the sidelines stand to lose more than just market share. How are key organizations currently deploying stored value initiatives?  What is the outlook for 2004, 2005 and beyond?

• What is the impact of stored value on prepaid telecom vendors, retailers, the financial industry, and companies that currently serve the unbanked and credit challenged?

• What impact will stored value have on the overall credit card industry?  How will banking institutions be effected? What are the costs associated with credit cards vs. stored value cards? What about customer loyalty, gift cards, and convenience cards?  What is the ultimate significance of the recent Visa/MasterCard settlement with Wal-Mart? What is at risk, and why?

• In which consumer market segments is stored value registering its greatest penetration, and Why?  How is that likely to change over the next critical 24 months?

• How do the various demographics stack up in terms of product acceptance?  What are the criteria and motivations that govern each segment?

• What are the perceived vs. real benefits of stored value compared to cash, checks and other paper-based systems?

• How can stored value benefit the corporate market?  Which segments are realizing the most significant implementations?  What are the cost savings and promotional opportunities empowered by stored value?

• The stored value revolution could mean a dramatic shift in the credit/debit paradigm. What are the real-world ramifications of stored value gone mainstream, and what sort of timetable will be involved?

• Prepaid telephony may ultimately prove to be one of the biggest implementators – and beneficiaries – of stored value.  What is it that carriers must do to ensure capitalizing on this trend? How can stored value improve a carrier’s ability to offer prepaid solutions?

• Early success stories of stored value resonate across industry lines. What are some of the early pioneers encountering in terms of product resistance and success ratios?  What are the revenues being captured?  Why have other attempts at creating stored value systems failed in the past?

• How large are the consumer and business segments, and what is the potential associated with each?

• How do the various stored value offerings compare to one another?  What about track record, experience, the ability to marry product to demographic? Who is leading the way, and how?  How do these companies measure up against traditional debit/credit card benchmarks?

• What are the short and long-term issues and opportunities associated with stored value?

• Stored value as a debit solution will generate new revenue streams for institutions.  The trick is getting there.  What is the best path to profits?

• How can stored value reduce customer churn, improve penetration and loyalty, and leverage the bottom-line?

• What is happening on the technology, standards, and regulatory fronts?

• What does The PELORUS Group foresee happening over the next five years for the different stored value and prepaid market segments, and for both the entrenched and emerging competitors now vying for greater market share?  Market growth and drivers…issues, trends, and forecasts…all fused together into one cohesive and understandable whole with The PELORUS Group’s compelling brand of insight!

This is not a trade show.  It is a special event dedicated to sharing the vision of stored value, and realizing the opportunities springing from current and future initiatives. This exclusive two-day conference has been structured to provide the most intensive information flow possible:  Sessions committed to helping clarify and promote strategies that reflect new market dynamics and demand; sessions that seek to clearly define the benefits – and drawbacks – of stored value campaigns; compelling presentations whose goal is to elicit cogent insight into where the emerging opportunities will spring; and much, much more.

If stored value is important to the future of your organization; if you’re looking for straight answers without the hype, then reserve your seat today.  Join The PELORUS Group and a global audience for this special, unbiased event.  The cost is $1,395 per registration.  However, if you register and we receive payment prior to November 30, 2003, you can benefit from a $200 discount per delegate.  Additional discounts for multiple registrations are available.  Most major credit cards are accepted.

On-Line Registration

Hotel Reservation Information

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