Many consumers and retailers think it is time for a revolution in the credit card industry. Tired of banks increasing fees and the constant threat of identity theft, many American consumers are looking for options to the traditional credit card products from Visa, MasterCard, and American Express. One stand out alternative seems to be the RevolutionCard. The card offers many benefits that traditional credit cards do not. The RevolutionCard is a credit card offered by RevolutionMoney, a company that is part of Revolution LLC. The company was founded in 2005 by Steve Chase who also founded America Online. As the popularity of the RevolutionCard grows, more bank issuers are being attracted to it. First Bank and Trust in Brooking South Dakota has been an issuer, but recently Fifth Third Bank signed on as another issuing bank, giving Revolution Money one of its largest opportunities to date to grow and expand its brand.
RevolutionCard is the first personal identification number (PIN) based card on the market. It is also the first new credit card payment brand since Discover launched in 1985. In order to complete a transaction with the RevolutionCard, the consumer punches in their 4 digit PIN. There is no account number, name or signature embossed anywhere on the card. If the card is lost or stolen the chances of identity theft are greatly reduced. Identity theft victimizes over 9 million American consumers each year so having this feature on a credit card is priceless. The chances of a thief being able to ring up fraudulent charges are significantly less.
The RevolutionCard also encrypts all activities and transactions giving the card an additional measure of safety security. To keep fees down, RevolutionMoney processes transactions completely online through an internet based system. This is great news for consumers who are fed up with skyrocketing bank fees. This mode of internet processing also reduces the cost to retailers that must pay interchange fees with every credit card transaction they accept. This is the first card on the market to significantly reduce these fees for retailers.
The RevolutionCard also gives consumers and merchants incentives and discounts for using its card at the point of sale rather than having to rack up reward points like traditional credit cards. Currently the Revolution credit card is accepted in over 650,000 retail locations in the United States and 85% of US ATMs take the Revolution card. Presently, it can only be used in the United States, not internationally. It also is not stamped with the traditional Visa, MasterCard, American Express, or Discover logo. Check the website for specific retail locations where the card is accepted.
Money Exchange for Online Payments
Another service offered by Revolution is MoneyExchange. Designed to directly complete with PayPal which has built in fees for its services, MoneyExchange offers its account holders the ability to send, receive, request and transfer money for free. MoneyExchange also allows account holders to put the money in their account onto their Revolution credit card allowing the consumer to take the card with them and shop at stores and ATMs that accept the card.
Customers Driving the Change
The Revolution credit card and its sister program MoneyExchange are a growing trend in the credit card industry. Consumers are demanding more flexibility from their credit card companies as banks continue to raise rates and online payment sites require processing fees to handle their money. RevolutionMoney has found ways to cut rates and give consumers the options they are looking for. At this time the growth of the company is slow, but steady in the United States and not being accepted worldwide has slowed the growth, but having prominent issuers like Fifth Third Bank will raise the profile of the company exposing more consumers to its unique services.
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