Credit and Debit Card Ratings

American Express Joins Forces With Video Game Maker

Talk about a big, captive audience. Every month the online video game called League of Legends attracts 32 million players from all around the world, who together spend a staggering one billion hours virtually battling and trying to outsmart one another.

In August of 2013, American Express announced a partnership with the developer of League of Legends, Riot Games, to release a line of prepaid debit cards geared specifically towards the game’s many devoted fans. According to a report in The New York Times, the collaboration is a way for American Express to capture the much- coveted attention of the mostly male, 18 to 24-year-old players while providing Riot Games with the kind of financial resources it needs to expand. “There is a great opportunity for brands here, particularly brands that make sense for our players,” Times reporter Tanzina Vega quoted Dustin Beck, vice president of electronic sports at Riot Games as saying.

While the American Express Serve Prepaid Account works in much the same way as any prepaid debit card – allowing cardholders to fund their accounts in a variety of ways, including direct deposit, and then spend the money wherever American Express is accepted – there are naturally a host of elements designed to appeal to League of Legend gamers. Indeed, according to the American Express press release announcing the partnership, players can personalize their cards with images and logos from the game. Perhaps more importantly, using the prepaid debit card earns players so-called “Riot Points,” which is the virtual currency used in League of Legends to purchase characters and other goodies helpful in the game.

For instance, anyone who completes registration for the card – which has no activation fee and no minimum balance – earns 1,000 Riot Points. Loading $20 onto the card for the first time earns gamers 1,000 and initiating direct deposit to fund the card garners 10,000 Riot Points. American Express undoubtedly hopes that the passion so many people have for League of Legends will transfer to the prepaid debit card. “Riot Games is passionate about serving their players and giving them avenues for enhancing their gaming experience,” said Stefan Happ, senior vice president, US Payment Options for American Express. “Together we’ve been able to create a co-branded product with a unique rewards program that will help League of Legends players earn Riot Points whenever they use their card to make qualifying purchases.”

Author: Chris Warren

  • American Express Joins Forces With Video Game Maker

    American Express Joins Forces With Video Game Maker

    Talk about a big, captive audience. Every month the online video game called League of Legends attracts 32 million players from all around the world, who together spend a staggering one billion hours virtually battling and trying to outsmart one another.

    In August of 2013, American Express announced a partnership with the developer of League of Legends, Riot Games, to release a line of prepaid debit cards geared specifically towards the game’s many devoted fans. According to a report in The New York Times, the collaboration is a way for American Express to capture the much- coveted attention of the mostly male, 18 to 24-year-old players while providing Riot Games with the kind of financial resources it needs to expand. “There is a great opportunity for brands here, particularly brands that make sense for our players,” Times reporter Tanzina Vega quoted Dustin Beck, vice president of electronic sports at Riot Games as saying.

    While the American Express Serve Prepaid Account works in much the same way as any prepaid debit card – allowing cardholders to fund their accounts in a variety of ways, including direct deposit, and then spend the money wherever American Express is accepted – there are naturally a host of elements designed to appeal to League of Legend gamers. Indeed, according to the American Express press release announcing the partnership, players can personalize their cards with images and logos from the game. Perhaps more importantly, using the prepaid debit card earns players so-called “Riot Points,” which is the virtual currency used in League of Legends to purchase characters and other goodies helpful in the game.

    For instance, anyone who completes registration for the card – which has no activation fee and no minimum balance – earns 1,000 Riot Points. Loading $20 onto the card for the first time earns gamers 1,000 and initiating direct deposit to fund the card garners 10,000 Riot Points. American Express undoubtedly hopes that the passion so many people have for League of Legends will transfer to the prepaid debit card. “Riot Games is passionate about serving their players and giving them avenues for enhancing their gaming experience,” said Stefan Happ, senior vice president, US Payment Options for American Express. “Together we’ve been able to create a co-branded product with a unique rewards program that will help League of Legends players earn Riot Points whenever they use their card to make qualifying purchases.”

  • A Better Payroll Card – Prepaid Debit Cards Without Victimizing Employees

    A Better Payroll Card – Prepaid Debit Cards Without Victimizing Employees

    Big companies like McDonald’s, Taco Bell and Walgreens received a heavy dose of negative press recently – not to mention unwanted attention from New York’s attorney general – when a host of stories appeared highlighting the practice of paying some workers with prepaid debit cards. The stories detailed how large corporations can save a lot of money by replacing direct deposit or paper checks traditionally used to pay wages with prepaid debit cards.

    But plenty of workers, many of them earning minimum wage, have complained about the practice, arguing that the fees associated with many prepaid cards take too large of a chunk from their earnings. But the use of prepaid debit cards to pay workers who don’t have traditional bank accounts isn’t necessarily a bad thing.

    At least that’s the conclusion reached in an opinion piece published by the American Payroll Association (APA) and the National Consumer Law Center (NCLC), two advocacy groups with very different constituencies. The National Consumer Law Center has been focused on promoting economic security for low-income and other disadvantaged people while the American Payroll Association provides education and training to thousands of payroll professionals. “Though we represent different constituencies (low income consumers and payroll administrators), we agree that payroll cards can offer unbanked workers an economical, safe and convenient way to receive their wages,” write the authors, William Dunn of the APA and Lauren Sanders of the NCLC.

    But the two organizations attach a host of caveats to their endorsement of the use of prepaid cards. Among the guidelines the groups suggest for the use of prepaid cards are
    these:

    • At least once during each pay period employees should be able to access all of their wages without having to pay any fees. That means that workers should be able to go to an ATM, a bank teller or get cash back from a purchase without being hit with a charge.

    • Workers should have a choice – be it direct deposit or paper check or prepaid card – about how to receive their pay. They should also be able to change the method of payment when they’d like.

    • Employees should be offered a prepaid card that is widely accepted, such as one bearing the Visa, MasterCard or Discover logo. If possible, the cards used should have a large network of surcharge-free ATMs.

    • Employers need to provide training about how prepaid debit cards work and what terms are required to understand them so that they can access their money without paying any fees.

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