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Category Descriptions

Best New Credit Card Product Of The Year

This award will go to the best new credit card first issued or advertised between 1 October 2009 and 30 September 2010. Judges will be looking for new products which offer best value to the customer. Results should refer to number of cards issued, accounts in force, and the average monthly value of transactions. Creativity, innovation, clarity of product information, clear T&Cs, usefulness of product surround i.e. benefits package, cashback, loyalty schemes etc. are likely to feature in successful entries.

Best New Prepaid Card Product of the Year

This award will go to the best new prepaid card product first issued or advertised between 1 October 2009 and 30 September 2010. Entries must demonstrate commercial success with an innovative card application and provide evidence that it responds to its targeted customers’ needs. Judges will assess the level of card utilisation, how well the programme has been delivered to end users, suitable distribution networks in place for the target users, customer service, and the ease of reloading if appropriate.

Best New Debit Card Product Of The Year

This award will go to the best new debit card first issued or advertised between 1 October 2009 and 30 September 2010. The winning card will clearly demonstrate that it meets the needs of its target customers, with particular focus on assessing the attributes of convenience, reassurance, flexibility and control. Judges will assess the level of commercial success (in terms of number of cards issued and average monthly transaction value per card) and the degree of innovation, as well as the effectiveness of the communication of benefits to the consumer and how effectively the card deepens the customer relationship with the associated current account provider.

Best Card Design Of The Year

Sponsored by: Serverside Group

The judges will make this award to the card brand or issuer who can demonstrate creative thinking behind the design of its card. Qualifying designs will have been first issued or advertised between 1 October 2009 and 30 September 2010. The design should stand out from other cards in the market. The judges will assess the card’s aesthetic appeal, innovative shape, materials used etc. Eighteen sample cards should be provided.

Best Credit Card Marketing Campaign Of The Year

Sponsored by: Citymain

Open to all credit card brands and issuers who have conducted a marketing campaign between 1 October 2009 and 30 September 2010. Entrants should outline, within the context of an overall marketing strategy, how their organisation has used an integrated campaign featuring a number of techniques to improve market share, enhance customer loyalty, target specific or new markets etc. Results will be assessed not only on profitability (sales volumes, value of transactions) of the campaign, but also its creativity and its contribution to building brand values and awareness. Finally, judges will be assessing how clearly the information within the campaign has been communicated to ensure transparency to customers.

Best Prepaid Card Marketing Campaign Of The Year

Sponsored by: FIS

Open to all prepaid issuers who have conducted a marketing campaign between 1 October 2009 and 30 September 2010. Entrants should outline, within the context of an overall marketing strategy, how their organisation has used a campaign ideally featuring a number of techniques to improve market share, target specific or new markets and encourage usage and reloading where appropriate. Results will be assessed not only on success (sales volumes, activation, value of transactions) of the campaign, but also its creativity and its contribution to building brand values and awareness.

Best Card Benefits Programme of the Year

Sponsored by: International SOS Insurance Services

Entries will be accepted from card brands and issuers or merchant acquirers for benefits programmes launched between 1 October 2009 and 30 September 2010. Judges will be looking for examples of benefits packages provided free of charge or within an overall card fee, where entrants can demonstrate how they have addressed customer needs and targeted an attractive package to specific segments. For acquirer entries, judges will want to see innovative merchant programmes that incentivise customers. They will be looking for genuine creativity and imagination, whilst also assessing evidence of measurement of success within the context of card sales, loyalty and customer value.

Best Cross-selling Programme Of The Year

Sponsored by: Assurant Solutions

This category is open to card brands and issuers for cross-selling programmes launched between 1 October 2009 and 30 September 2010. Entrants should demonstrate how they have successfully cross-sold additional products to cardholders which are relevant to their needs coupled with a high level of service. The judges will assess the programme in the context of successful up-selling leading to profitable growth. Other key factors will be how the programme benefits were packaged, marketed and fulfilled whilst meeting the ever increasing requirements of regulatory bodies, where appropriate.

Best Affinity or Co-Branded Credit Card Programme

Sponsored by: Zurich Insurance

This award will go to the credit card brand or issuer that can show how it has created the best non-charity affinity or co-branded credit card offering (including store cards where the retail brand is not itself owned by a bank or card issuer), under one or more of the following criteria – value to the customer, commercial benefits for the card issuer/co-brand/retailer, enhancement of the brand for the co-branded partner. Entries should reflect results achieved during the period 1 October 2009 and 30 September 2010.

Best Charity Credit Card Programme

Sponsored by: Genworth Financial

This award will go to the charity credit card brand or issuer that can show how it has created the best charity credit card offering, under one or more of the following criteria – value to the customer, commercial benefits for the card issuer and charity, enhancement of the brand for the charity partner. Entries should reflect results achieved during the period 1 October 2009 and 30 September 2010.

Best Business Card Programme

This award will go to the card issuer or brand that can show how it has offered the best card programme focussed on the business customer (large or small), under one or more of the following criteria – value to the customer, commercial benefits for the card issuer and the business user, innovation, features and enhancements, clear T&Cs. Results should reflect achievements during the period 1 October 2009 and 30 September 2010.

Best Corporate Social Responsibility Programme

Sponsored by: MasterCard Worldwide

Card brands/issuers, merchant acquirers and other payment providers are eligible to enter this category. The judges will be looking for a project, illustrating results achieved between 1 October 2009 and 30 September 2010, which has effectively delivered its corporate and social responsibility objectives. This could be an international, national, or local project and should demonstrate a coherent and integrated approach to the practical demonstration of CSR policies around community, social, ethical or reputational issues in action. Judges will also welcome programmes which aim to improve responsibility or education to key stakeholders groups, such as customers or employees.

Best Merchant Acquiring Initiative

Sponsored by: Thyron Systems

This award will recognise the merchant acquirer that has made the most significant impact on the industry this year under one or more of the following criteria - product enhancement, technological advancements, merchant acquisition, merchant satisfaction improvement or other significant activities. Judges will look also for innovation, speed of adoption where appropriate by merchants or cardholders and measurable benefit to the acquirer's business and that of its customers. Achievements or developments should relate to activities between 1 October 2009 and 30 September 2010.

Best Alternative Payments Programme

Entries will be accepted from companies who offer facilities for electronic payment or money transmission which do not necessarily require a physical card or card account. This would include electronic wallets, mobile payments, money transmission services, e-money, electronic vouchers or cheques and other online payments. Entries can be submitted only by the organisation that has the direct interface with the end 'payer' or the merchant offering the service. Judges will be looking for socially responsible programmes which can demonstrate innovation, penetration of its chosen market where this information is available, a range of applications, number of transactions and/or active accounts. Results should refer to activity and developments between 1 October 2009 and 30 September 2010.

Best Security Or Anti-Fraud Development

Sponsored by: FICO

Open to card issuers, merchant acquirers and other payment providers who will be expected to set out an innovative solution which has improved the security of customers’ transactions at any stage of the payment process or has protected the customer from internet and other card-not-present (CNP) fraud, identity theft, card interception etc. When outlining your fraud prevention or detection initiative, you should give particular focus to developments between 1 October 2009 and 30 September 2010 and provide details of the business case, technology, integration and the process used to measure the success of the development.

Best Technology Initiative Of The Year

Sponsored by: Ingenico

This award will recognise card brands, issuers, merchant acquirers or other payment providers who have shown innovation and best practice in the use of new information and communications technology. Entries are encouraged from organisations, which can demonstrate and measure the use of information technology as an enabler for business and customer advantage. Judges will be looking at cost-effective projects where IT has played a key role in enhancing quality, functionality, efficiency, better customer service etc. Submissions should demonstrate effective implementation during the period 1 October 2009 and 30 September 2010.

Best Customer Relationship Management (CRM) Strategy

Sponsored by: WhiteConcierge

The winning card brand or issuer in this category will have developed a strategy based around utilising the knowledge and information they hold about their customers to offer them a better service and improve activation. Judges will assess CRM strategies which demonstrate the use of new methods and channels to improve customer retention and revenues. Entrants should include details, relating to activity between 1 October 2009 and 30 September 2010, of profitable customer segmentation, offering better value to customers, original thinking to increase customer revenues and return on investment.

Best Industry Innovation Of The Year

Sponsored by: First Data

Entries are invited from card issuers and their associated brands. Merchant acquirers and other payment providers are also eligible to enter in this category. Judges will be looking for innovations implemented or launched between 1 October 2009 and 30 September 2010, which have increased the organisation’s competitiveness and effectiveness and could be considered ‘firsts’ in the market. An innovation can be a product, service, technology, system or procedure.

Best Achievement in Customer Service

Sponsored by: Lifestyle Services Group

Entrants from card issuers, their brands, merchant acquirers and other payment providers need to demonstrate a true understanding of their customers’ needs through the delivery of world class customer service. Judges will look for achievements and initiatives between 1 October 2009 and 30 September 2010 which show proof of the impact of an innovative customer care strategy on retention levels and customer satisfaction. Initiatives can refer to different channels of service including written, verbal or electronic communications but must be associated with the card product as opposed to general bank account servicing or in the case of merchant acquirers with their merchant customers.

Most Responsible Credit Card Lending Practices

Sponsored by: Visa

Open to any credit card brand or issuer that has made a significant contribution in the last twelve months to the advancement of responsible customer lending practices. The judges will be looking for evidence in areas of responsible customer acquisition, application of appropriate scoring and other approval procedures, responsible lending criteria, comprehensible disclosure and clarity of T&Cs, responsible arrears and account management. Where applicable, results should also be supported by qualitative evidence to indicate that customers understand and are happy with the lending terms.

Industry Personality Of The Year (By nomination)

Sponsored by: American Express

This special award will be presented to an individual or team initiative, who has made an outstanding contribution to the advancement and success of the card and payments industry. Nominations may apply to anyone in the industry and are not restricted to financial institutions. The judges will nominate candidates that they feel qualify for this award; however individuals or organisations are also welcome to contact us directly with their nominations on info@cardandpaymentsawards.com before 6 October 2010.