tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-187276002010-01-03T11:06:09.135+01:00Payment and marketing convergence, with loyalty, discount, prepaid, and other added value features integrated into a single payment transaction - preferably using a mobile phone.Aneace Haddadhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08119604490247753986aneace.haddad@gmail.comBlogger353125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-18727600.post-51598282753832167302009-12-11T10:49:00.006+01:002009-12-11T11:03:12.508+01:00

(This article was first published as a guest post on e27.)I recently launched Taggo, a membership card aggregator and storefront, using a new platform-as-a-service model that is increasingly being referred to as Web 2.5.With Web 2.0 already mature – think social networking, blogs, video sharing, mash-ups, and a myriad of other applications that facilitate user-generated content – and with Web 3.0

Aneace Haddadhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08119604490247753986aneace.haddad@gmail.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-18727600.post-61108289556747176882009-12-11T01:54:00.004+01:002009-12-11T03:11:48.753+01:00

Youngupstarts recently did a piece on Taggo, and ended up doing something on entrepreneurship."Most people think entrepreneurship is one of the riskiest decisions they can ever make in their life. Not Taggo’s Aneace Haddad. The 49 year-old CEO and owner of the mobile card solutions provider says that entrepreneurship is the safest career path he could have chosen."See the full post here.

Aneace Haddadhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08119604490247753986aneace.haddad@gmail.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-18727600.post-51510067018146732482009-12-09T09:32:00.002+01:002009-12-09T09:41:40.233+01:00

Paul Volcker is angry with bankers."There is little evidence innovation in financial markets has had a visible effect on the productivities of the economy."“I wish somebody would give me some shred of evidence linking financial innovation with a benefit to the economy.”Volcker believes the industry's "single most important" contribution in the last 25 years has been automatic telling machines,

Aneace Haddadhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08119604490247753986aneace.haddad@gmail.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-18727600.post-55058356399147984472009-12-06T05:22:00.007+01:002009-12-06T15:15:31.188+01:00

There is a growing realization that retail applications will drive NFC adoption over the next few years, in a bigger way than credit cards and transit. Leave your loyalty card at home and tap your phone instead. Top-up your coffee account now, without a card. Get a free desert with your next value meal, just tap this smart poster.Assuming that NFC mobile phones finally become available, and that

Aneace Haddadhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08119604490247753986aneace.haddad@gmail.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-18727600.post-64571463535293517192009-11-20T04:18:00.002+01:002009-11-20T04:21:55.002+01:00

Wow, my workshop on the art of entrepreneurship is now overbooked, so we have set up a second session on Thursday November 26th, 7pm to 8:30pm.E-mail Kai at kai.kardiva@gmail.com to reserve your spot.

Aneace Haddadhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08119604490247753986aneace.haddad@gmail.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-18727600.post-87385015958411131282009-11-11T15:13:00.006+01:002009-11-12T03:44:00.634+01:00

Thinking about starting your own company? Fantasizing about being your own boss? Wondering if you have what it takes to start a company, create a great new product or service, and get funding for your project? Becoming an entrepreneur can be an incredibly rewarding way to express your creativity. Just like any art form, the path is not easy. Join us to learn a few basic skills that can

Aneace Haddadhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08119604490247753986aneace.haddad@gmail.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-18727600.post-55405900975891442342009-10-20T01:57:00.006+02:002009-10-20T02:14:27.761+02:00

Platform-as-a-service model allows card solution providers to play a greater role in helping retailers market their cards with very little capital expenditure (CAPEX)Taggo Pte Ltd, a membership card aggregator and storefront, today announced the availability of Taggo’s Web 2.5 platform-as-a-service model for companies which develop loyalty, prepaid, membership, access control and other similar

Aneace Haddadhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08119604490247753986aneace.haddad@gmail.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-18727600.post-29826458570292366432009-10-14T07:21:00.002+02:002009-10-14T07:27:37.184+02:00

This morning, a Straits Time article (see Smart cards not used) describes how many retailers don't see what they would get out of accepting contactless cards.I have written about this profusely, as early as this morning (see McDonald's swipe to pay - same benefits as contactless, but for all cards).My blog has a large number of similar entries under the contactless tag.

Aneace Haddadhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08119604490247753986aneace.haddad@gmail.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-18727600.post-31423383465975029042009-10-14T07:13:00.003+02:002009-10-14T07:17:41.993+02:00

I paid with my Visa credit card at a McDonald's restaurant in Singapore. With a single swipe, and no signature, the transaction was pretty much as fast as it would have been with a contactless card. How can the contactless tap and go value proposition hold up if you can get the same benefits with traditional magstripe cards that customers already have in their wallets?

Aneace Haddadhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08119604490247753986aneace.haddad@gmail.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-18727600.post-55038539575848784832009-10-12T01:00:00.002+02:002009-10-12T01:19:35.289+02:00

This weekend, my friend Cliff Go invited me to speak to a group of MBA students at an INSEAD Entrepreneurship Bootcamp event. I spoke earlier this year at another INSEAD event and also at an SMU event, all here in Singapore, but this one was very different. This time, I spent an hour sharing what I learned in my last startup venture (Welcome Real-time, a provider of credit card loyalty software

Aneace Haddadhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08119604490247753986aneace.haddad@gmail.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-18727600.post-78691904109395312652009-10-11T01:59:00.004+02:002009-10-11T02:42:02.503+02:00

I was interviewed for an article by Matthew Bandyk that was published in US News & World Report. I was asked several questions on interchange.Q: What about the argument that limiting interchange fees will lead to credit card companies offering fewer rewards and benefits? What about the business side? Are they only benefits for merchants if Congress were to limit interchange fees? Any potential

Aneace Haddadhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08119604490247753986aneace.haddad@gmail.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-18727600.post-24219520071744438792009-10-10T02:00:00.004+02:002009-10-10T02:13:04.965+02:00

Elderly pedestrians get more time to cross roads in Singapore when they tap their senior citizen mass transit cards at specially equipped cross walks. This is a novel use of NFC contactless technology that should help get creative juices flowing for all kinds of potential applications.See a press article here and here.

Aneace Haddadhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08119604490247753986aneace.haddad@gmail.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-18727600.post-72047235257075542172009-09-04T01:51:00.004+02:002009-09-04T03:13:55.704+02:00

Taggo is about to formally announce value added reseller partnerships that will offer retailers one-step enrolment and mobile tap and go convenience for their membership programs. Four VARs have currently signed up to distribute Taggo. These companies already provide membership, loyalty, discount, gift and prepaid cards and related systems and services to retailers and other organizations that

Aneace Haddadhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08119604490247753986aneace.haddad@gmail.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-18727600.post-67144311612741158582009-04-25T01:38:00.002+02:002009-04-25T01:52:11.019+02:00

According to a recent report by Colloquy, each U.S. household has an average of 14.1 loyalty program memberships, up from about a dozen in 2006. However, just 43.8% of those programs are active, translating into 6.2 average active memberships per household. Less than half of loyalty cards are active!“With the current economic climate, marketers must shift focus from growing their loyalty programs

Aneace Haddadhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08119604490247753986aneace.haddad@gmail.com5tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-18727600.post-59156556737085501252009-04-19T03:45:00.004+02:002009-04-19T04:11:44.727+02:00

Put loyalty and prepaid cards on mobile phones first, which will create the desire to have credit and debit cards as well, integrated into a single transaction. Going the other way, credit cards first, will be extremely challenging. The difference is the value proposition to customers and retailers.The main promise of putting credit and debit cards onto an NFC mobile phone seems to be, "you can

Aneace Haddadhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08119604490247753986aneace.haddad@gmail.com3tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-18727600.post-73908574805088226242009-04-14T11:02:00.005+02:002009-04-14T11:13:01.856+02:00

I now look at loyalty programs, discount cards, prepaid cards, and other membership programs as mobile content, very similar to ringtones and games.The same way that people today send a text message with a key word or code to get a ringtone or game sent to their mobile phone, customers can also add loyalty and prepaid card programs to their phones.This is a paradigm shift that focuses on getting

Aneace Haddadhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08119604490247753986aneace.haddad@gmail.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-18727600.post-28545843537211700532009-04-08T01:19:00.003+02:002009-04-14T11:14:40.523+02:00

Check it out here.

Aneace Haddadhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08119604490247753986aneace.haddad@gmail.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-18727600.post-43364337803333515342009-03-17T00:19:00.001+01:002009-03-17T00:21:15.633+01:00

This weekend, during a leadership training course I am doing here in Singapore, I had a breakthrough that helped me finally understand something important about empowering others. Top executives get to where they are by learning to delegate early in their careers. Many of us (raise my hand) tend to confuse delegating with empowering. I have had a nagging feeling for years that I could be much

Aneace Haddadhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08119604490247753986aneace.haddad@gmail.com3tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-18727600.post-56827230198453636742009-02-26T03:50:00.003+01:002009-02-26T04:06:40.933+01:00

Now here's a new angle. American Express is offering selected customers a gift of $300 if they pay off their balance and drop their account. This is the exact reverse of a sign-up bonus or gift that credit card issuers have been offering for years.More here.(Thanks Wan Ling for sending this to me! And Alan Hale too!)

Aneace Haddadhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08119604490247753986aneace.haddad@gmail.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-18727600.post-76118617447436534622009-02-19T04:21:00.009+01:002009-04-14T11:15:30.490+02:00

Ok here’s what I’ve been working on. The patent was filed this week, so I can finally talk about it.Taggo is designed to add mobile tap and go convenience and one-step enrolment to existing loyalty and rewards card programs in a very simple and cost-effective way.TaggoView more presentations from aneace. (tags: loyalty contactless)Faced with the growing proliferation of loyalty cards offering

Aneace Haddadhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08119604490247753986aneace.haddad@gmail.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-18727600.post-63673807307392420042009-01-28T21:00:00.001+01:002009-01-29T03:36:19.878+01:00

I have been thinking a lot about how the crisis is having a different impact on the world’s national banks, which don’t seem to be suffering as badly as the big international players. In the cards and payments business at least, national banks may be able to take advantage of the crisis to get ahead while big international players struggle to survive. Welcome’s customers tend in large part to be

Aneace Haddadhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08119604490247753986aneace.haddad@gmail.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-18727600.post-43546572164514931632009-01-26T01:16:00.000+01:002009-01-26T04:17:48.523+01:00

MasterCard recently published a report, “Benefits of Open Payments Systems and the Role of Interchange.” (direct link, background). I interviewed MasterCard’s Shawn Miles, Group Head, Global Public Policy and Regulatory Strategy Counsel.Aneace: One of the benefits of interchange is that it helps fund innovation, and we have definitely seen in Australia that lower interchange means lower

Aneace Haddadhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08119604490247753986aneace.haddad@gmail.com5tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-18727600.post-90712680450379630482009-01-24T01:21:00.002+01:002009-01-24T01:25:02.650+01:00

Many people have been after me for not keeping up with my blog. When the crisis hit everything changed. Things I was writing about suddenly seemed less relevant. Today, I can see more clearly that there are still many topics that are relevant, and even more so now, while there is at least one really big thing that is much less relevant. Interchange wars.One could imagine that some retailers might

Aneace Haddadhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08119604490247753986aneace.haddad@gmail.com3tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-18727600.post-40612595981875411472008-12-22T04:25:00.006+01:002008-12-22T06:40:40.411+01:00

Banks have already substantially cut credit limits and it seems obvious that they should be giving out fewer cards than in the past, but you can’t really tell this with all the credit card marketing still happening in Singapore’s shopping districts. Will banks continue promoting card usage and credit consumption as the crisis grows, or will rewards programmes now focus much more heavily on other

Aneace Haddadhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08119604490247753986aneace.haddad@gmail.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-18727600.post-24611349210899148072008-12-09T09:09:00.005+01:002008-12-11T08:56:20.501+01:00

I have just finished compiling the results of an early, exploratory on-line survey I ran recently here in Singapore, testing the market for a mobile tap & go startup project that I am working on. Then, bang, synchronicity! I just got an e-mail from Aite Group on a survey they recently did in a similar area.My survey explores how customers deal with lots of retailer loyalty and discount cards, and

Aneace Haddadhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08119604490247753986aneace.haddad@gmail.com5