For those who want further information on this event, KARS-Unlimited has an information center set up on their web site at:
http://www.kars-unlimited.com/FUN/fun_1999_information_cente.htm
As you may know by now, Terry Windholz of TW Phonecards recently lost everything including his home in a major flood in Kansas. Terry and his 13 year old daughter Kari basically got out with just the clothes on their backs. Thankfully, they are both ok but they also lost everything they had. ACME Telecards, Inc. is spearheading a Major Fund Raising Auction with all proceeds from the auction going directly to Terry and his daughter. The Auction will take place online Thursday December 5 and End December 8 at Midnight. Anybody wishing to donate cards to for this Fund Raising auction may do so by contacting me for more information. Today alone, a handful of dealers that I have spoken to can't wait to send some cards for this great cause. This is an opportunity for all of us to come together to help one of our own. Whether you're a dealer or collector it's a chance for all of us to be on the same page. Moneycard Collector will also be involved as will Phonecard Central and the Cardmall.
In addition to the auction, Terry could also use anything you could possibly think of. Items as small as a stapler or coffee maker to perhaps towels, clothes and most of all even some toys or games for his daughter. Over the next couple of days there will be an address posted where. The address to ship anything to is:
Terry Windholz
PO Box 551
Augusta, KS. 67010
Gift certificates from the following stores can also be sent:
For more information on the Auction, please feel free to email bruce@acmetel.com
For more information on straight donations involving everything else, you may also contact me or Genny English at 102061.3413@compuserve.com
(Publishers Note: The phonecard auction will be published in this newsletter the weekend that it is taking place)
COMMENT ON THE NEW ZEALAND MARKET:
Telecom New Zealand has had a busy time with the release of 2 new general issue sets, and the introduction of the traditional Christmas phonecards. All these issues have been preceded by limited edition collector packs.
Also, Telecom have released a number of interesting special collector packs, with card numbers down to 600, and unique cards with a mintage as low as 250.
The latest phonecard releases from Telecom are:
PEANUTS PART 1:
Part of a 3 part series, each 4 card set features a character from this great cartoon by Charles Schulz. The first set features Charlie Brown, the worrier. A total of only 750 cards of each design are for sale, making this a very desirable set indeed.
PHONECARD PLUS:
Telecom rewards regular customers with special cards once they have purchased a certain amount of phonecards from the Telecom Collector Service. The cards show baby chicks (750), snow geese (500) and penguin chicks (250).
RARE ENDANGERED NEW ZEALAND BIRDS GENERAL ISSUE:
In New Zealand, there are over 600 native species, both flora and fauna, under threat. Telecom worked with the WWF in producing this set of five cards featuring endangered native birds. Mintage: Black Stilt and Kakapo 240,650, Kokako 110,650, Kiwi 70,650 and Takahe 650, which is only available in the collectors folder.
SING A SONG OF CHRISTMAS GENERAL ISSUE:
Based on four of the world's favourite Christmas songs, each card features a range of hand made Christmas toys. Mintage: Up on the House Top and Santa Claus is coming to Town 120,650, The Little Drummer Boy 130,650, Jingle Bells 55,650 and Merry Christmas 650, which is only available as part of a special collector pack.
AMERICAN TV CLASSICS:
This is pure television nostalgia, featuring 4 of our favourite sitcoms. The Brady Bunch, Happy Days, Taxi and Cheers, all feature on their own cards. 1000 presentation packs have been produced, with detailed notes about these great shows.
THE AGE OF STEAM:
A limited edition 2 card set, both $20 cards, one showing JA class number 1271 and the other card KA class number 945. Only 600 presentation packs will be sold, giving a brief history of steam locomotives in New Zealand.
TALL SHIPS:
Two magnificent tall ships, the Spirit of Adventure and the Endeavour, are committed to modern voyages of discovery. Only 600 presentation packs will be released, with technical notes about both ships.
Under the agreement, McKesson's network of ValueRite and HealthMart drug stores will have the opportunity to sell AT&T PrePaid Cards in their stores. Consumers who shop at participating ValueRite and HealthMart Drug Stores will find something new in the aisles this week -- 15-, 30-, 60- and 100-minute denomination AT&T PrePaid Cards. The popular cards will be available at some of the chain's 5,000 drug store locations nationwide.
``We're thrilled to be working with McKesson's ValueRite network members and HealthMart franchises,'' said Mark Evans, general manager for AT&T PrePaid Cards. ``AT&T PrePaid Cards are becoming more and more popular with consumers everywhere and we've been working very hard to expand the retail distribution of our cards. Teaming up with McKesson is a great opportunity for us.''
Today's agreement is the fourth major retail announcement this year for AT&T's PrePaid organization, including recent agreements with Southland Corp. and its 7-Eleven franchise, Barnes & Noble College Bookstores and Red Roof Inns. These agreements have helped triple the number of retail locations carrying AT&T PrePaid Cards nationwide.
Advertising clients can place promotional announcements in the initial welcome greeting of the instructional guidelines. Companies can use this opportunity to inform customers on goods and services available through their outlets and to increase name recognition. After listening to the promotional greeting and calling instructions, customers will be allowed to make free calls for a predetermined length of time. When the amount of time is used up the caller can pay for additional time via credit card.
``Adding prepaid calling card products to our existing list of media services gives our advertising base a unique approach to informing customers of new products and services and to increase name recognition. Joining forces with an industry giant provides us with a quality partner that can handle complex technical applications and any conceivable amount of call traffic,' stated Patrick M. Rost, director of Business Development, for Jones Naughton Entertainment Inc.
Starting today, Nov. 16, and running through Dec. 31, 1998, consumers will get an extra 20 minutes of free additional domestic long distance on a $20 Spree prepaid foncard and an extra 30 minutes of free additional domestic long distance on the $30 Spree prepaid foncard. That adds up to a lot of extra time to wish people a safe and happy holiday season.
``This is really the perfect way for us to say thank you to consumers and to our retail partners for making Sprint the leader in prepaid phone cards,'' said Marlene Waltz, Sprint's director of prepaid card marketing. ``What could be better than giving people free long distance so they can stay in touch with loved ones during the holidays?''
Consumers should look for eye-catching point-of-purchase displays advertising the Spree holiday promotion at stores where Spree cards are sold. The first time a consumer uses the $20 or $30 card, they can add 20 and 30 minutes free domestic long distance minutes, respectively, to their card. The additional minutes need to be used during the holiday promotion period -- Nov. 16 to Dec. 31 -- in order to take full advantage of all the free minutes.
Spree prepaid foncards are sold in nearly 35,000 retail outlets. Spree cards are currently available in $5, $10, $20, $30, $50 and $100 denominations. Retailers who carry the Spree prepaid foncards include gas stations, mass merchandisers, supermarket chains, the Sprint Store at RadioShack, convenience stores and college bookstores nationwide.
Sprint was the first long distance carrier to introduce prepaid calling cards in the U.S. market in 1993. In May 1998, Sprint placed its 200 millionth card in the market, making Sprint the first prepaid card provider to reach this milestone.
The city plans to deploy 250 of the smart card terminals at local retail outlets by Christmas.
``Nottingham is one of the biggest retail centres in the country -- and one of the best -- and this is going to reinforce that position,'' said Councillor Graham Chapman, Nottingham City Council's leader.
``Participating retailers overwhelmingly selected VeriFone's OMNI 1250 smart card readers for the rollout because of its affordability, ease of use and flexibility in accepting various card payment schemes. This program will help to keep our city centre thriving by encouraging people to shop within the city instead of travelling to out-of-town shopping malls.''
Nottingham and many other British cities have become increasingly concerned as shopping patterns have changed in favour of out-of-town mall developments. The Nottingham City Council devised the loyalty card program to help invigorate local commerce while incorporating its own successful Passport to Leisure discount card for municipal amenities.
The City Council distributed 100,000 smart cards to its residents at the kick off of the program in October.
When shoppers make purchases at participating outlets, the smart card terminals log points equivalent to two per cent of the purchase price into the smart card's memory. Consumers can then use the accumulated points for discounts on purchases at local shops, restaurants, hotels and for local city programs.
The City Council of Nottingham is looking at a continued expansion of the smart card loyalty program for 1999. A successful launch in Nottingham may also lead to the implementation of similar schemes in other cities, notably Newcastle, where civic leaders have already expressed interest.
Under this agreement, EDS (NYSE: EDS - news) will transfer all assets from its card production facilities in Westlake, Ohio and La Mirada, California to Los Angeles-based Oberthur Smart Cards USA. The five-year agreement calls for EDS to maintain all of its existing client relationships, contracts and customer service while Oberthur will provide back-end production support for manufacturing and personalization activities.
The transition process will begin immediately with Oberthur assuming full responsibility for all production operations. EDS will continue to support its client base with a complete and expanding set of plastic card services.
``Oberthur Smart Cards USA is a world leader in plastic card technology and together, we'll provide stronger service to our existing clients and significantly expand our ability to offer them new card services, including smart card technology,'' said Paul Rudolph, president of EDS' Electronic Business unit. ``This is a powerful opportunity for EDS which allows us to merge two ancillary card production facilities into an industry leadership position.''
The EDS facilities produce and provide full support for over 5 million embossed cards annually. EDS is a leading provider of both credit and debit cards services. EDS is certified to support and issue all Visa and MasterCard products including Visa check card and MasterCard's MasterMoney along with a multitude of credit and debit cards for over 3,000 financial institutions.
The EDS card production services include secure card personalization and card manufacturing services, supply storage, customized card production, custom mailing and fulfillment.
Oberthur Smart Cards is the world's second largest manufacturer of financial cards with a full range of expertise in pre-press, production and security of magnetic stripe, memory and IC (Integrated Circuit) card solutions. Oberthur Smart Cards USA is a division of the Francois Charles Oberthur Group of France, one of the world's leading high security printers.
Through this cooperation agreement, EDS will transfer its US card production operation to OSC USA. Both companies will combine their marketing and technology strength to develop the smart card market.
``This is an exciting opportunity for us to strengthen our relationship with one of the world's leading information technology service providers,'' says Philippe Tartavull, chief operating officer of Oberthur Smart Cards USA. ``This alliance is in line with our strategy of partnering with large system integrators to provide a comprehensive range of magnetic stripe, memory and smart card solutions.''
``We have tremendous respect for EDS and are delighted with this long-term relationship,'' added Kirk Hyde, President and CEO of OSC USA. ``We look at this as an opportunity to grow our traditional business while partnering with EDS for smart card solutions''
The Electronic Business unit of EDS is focused on moving EDS customers into the global digital economy and helping to transform their business processes. This organization applies an array of electronic business technologies to enable the digital economy. Service offerings range from digital supply chain management to legacy transformation services. More information is available at www.eds.com/eb.
From: Jan Cooper
Until Next Time,
Alan
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