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.”

Tag: prepaid card

  • 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.”

  • Retailers Celebrate Swipe Fee Ruling – Federal Reserve Caps Swipe Fees

    Retailers Celebrate Swipe Fee Ruling – Federal Reserve Caps Swipe Fees

    By Shane Tripcony

    It has been an issue of contention for a long time. The so-called swipe, or interchange, fees that retailers are charged every time a customer makes a purchase using a debit card have long been a boon for banks and the bane of retailers who have to pay them.

    Most recently, thanks to the Dodd-Frank law that passed in 2010, the Federal Reserve put a cap on those fees at 21 cents per transaction. Although banks screamed that the cap would cost them billions in lost revenue – and force them to eliminate perks and awards programs – retailers were never overly thrilled with the ruling, either, arguing that the fee was still artificially high.

    According to a report in Bloomberg, U.S. District Judge Richard Leon in Washington ruled on July 31 that the Federal Reserve considered information it shouldn’t have in arriving at its cap of 21 cents. Additionally, Bloomberg reporter Tom Schoenberg writes that Leon’s ruling determined that the Fed did not sufficiently foster competition among the card networks that levy the fees. “The board’s final rule not only fails to carry out Congress’s intention; it effectively countermands it!” wrote Leon in his ruling.

    Although the current swipe fee cap will remain in effect, the ruling means that Fed regulators will have to go back to the drawing board and come up with either a new or an interim ruling. Not surprisingly, the reaction to the ruling was split, with retailers cheering the decision and banks claiming it will do harm to banks and their customers. “The price controls enacted as a result of the Durbin Amendment served one purpose – further lining the pockets of our nation’s big-box retailers at their own customers’ expense,” Bloomberg quoted Frank Keating, the president of the American Bankers Association as saying. “It was – and still is – all about trying to help retailers increase profit margins while providing no real benefit to consumers.” By contrast, the National Retail Federation released a statement saying that the “decision is the first step in setting these initial wrongs right and will ensure that swipe fee reform is done correctly.” Although nothing concrete has been announced yet, it’s unlikely that the ruling will not be appealed.

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