The partnership will integrate the CardSpring web service platform with VeriFone's open interface to its PAYware Connect (PWC) gateway, enabling developers to easily create card-linked services for any POS system interfaced to PWC.

Enabling retailers to turn their customers' credit and debit cards into digital loyalty cards for their business: Converting transactions into personalized relationships:

The partnership enables retailers and third-party developers to use the CardSpring APIs to easily create card-linked services for POS systems and VeriFone devices without requiring changes to shoppers' purchase experience or existing store infrastructure. Card-linked applications let retailers turn traditional retail tools like paper coupons, gift cards, loyalty programs, or paper receipts into digital services that consumers can add to their existing credit or debit cards. Retailers can now leverage their existing devices to create digital, personalized relationships with their customers through card-linked services, at a fraction of the cost and complexity of installing new software or hardware.

"The new digital payment environment not only promises greater understanding about customer behavior via POS integration, but it also has the ability to add promotions and services to payments, increasing their volume, usage and utility," said Peter Krasilovsky, VP and Senior Analyst at BIA Kelsey. "CardSpring has been among the leaders in developing these capabilities, and the new partnership with VeriFone will greatly increase its reach."
Connecting online marketing to the physical world

"Enabling innovation at the point of sale adds a new layer of complexity for today's retailers," said David Talach, vice president of Strategic Partner Development for VeriFone. "For 30 years, VeriFone has helped find real-world applications for game-changing concepts and has eased the complexity burden of integrating new ideas into retailers' existing infrastructure, so they can focus on creating new experiences for the customer."

Through the partnership, online publishers, such as Foursquare, are now able to bring the power of digital performance marketing to the retail world by linking online promotions to actual purchases at a broad range of POS Systems and VeriFone payment devices integrated to PWC. When a shopper redeems a card-linked offer at a store, VeriFone connects the purchase through CardSpring back to the original online promotion, giving retailers access to real-time performance metrics that have long been available to online businesses and are foundational to online performance marketing.

"Foursquare recently partnered with Cardspring and First Data to extend our Specials for Credit Cards program to accept more types of credit and debit cards, allowing even more people to get savings at the great merchants, simply by linking a credit card to their Foursquare account," said Steven Rosenblatt, Chief Revenue Officer at Foursquare. "A Cardspring/Verifone partnership is great news for people who use Foursquare, because it allows merchants using Verifone's solutions at the POS to seamlessly run specials our members love, whenever they want."

"We are excited to work with VeriFone to help retailers connect with their customers and grow their business through card-linked services", said Eckart Walther, CardSpring's CEO. "Through this partnership, retailers and third-party developers will be able to leverage VeriFone's industry-leading open payment platform to create a new generation of applications that bring the power and accountability of digital commerce tools to hundreds of millions of retail shoppers."

CardSpring is available in private beta.