Ah, New York. So much shopping, so little time. So little money. Le sigh. The thing about shopping is that is can be fun even if you don’t purchase anything.  Especially in New York. On Saturday, after the pleasure and pain filled morning at the baths (tremble shudder moan squeal), we went shopping. Just a little.  Hoping for some sort of fab outfit that I could wear to stalk and capture Robert Pattinson. Since the baths took much more time than we planned, we decided to stick close to the hotel that was NOT in Soho and ended up at Century 21.  Have you heard of it? When Ashley mentioned it I was like ‘um, isn’t that a real estate company? the one wear they wear yellow jackets?’ Apparently not!  She described it as ‘TJ Maxx on crack’. A pretty apt description. They had Manolo Blahnik shoes for like 75% off.  Granted, they were the ugliest f*cking shoes I have ever seen but hey, they were a bargain! lol  So so so many shoes.  Everything from 9 West to the Manolos and in between. And that was just the shoe dept. Oh, and so so so so many (@$&)@ people. This place is not for the claustrophobic.

Browsed shoes. Looking for sky high f*ck me Robert pumps or over the knee boots. Practical stuff, kwim? Just wasn’t in the cards. Onto the clothes! Holy cow, so many clothes. Overwhelming. And a little skeevy. Just too many people, too many hands touching everything. Ick. I went back there on Sunday before I had to go to the train station and looked again. Sadly for me (and happily for the AmEx), NADA for me. But, I have high hopes for the next time I am up there. Which, please God, won’t be another 3-5 years.

On Sunday morning, Ashley left (Beer Fest in the Poconos – so cool – not) and Robin had a brunch date w/a girlfriend. That left me blissfully alone. ALONE. I spent several hours just walking thru Soho and parts of Chinatown ALONE. No one spoke to me. I spoke to no one. No one wanted a piece of me, kwim?  Funny, I spend years worried, consumed with fear of being alone for the rest of my life and now I CRAVE alone time. It’s just that rare.

Went to American Apparel (got a cute gray cotton jumper which I wore home on the train. Was almost like a nightgown but shorter and cuter!), Topshop…this place was COOL. Just opened.  It’s a UK store, filled with all kinds of merchandise that a boring suburban mom should not even glance at, let alone buy!  Love. LOVE. Expensive as hell. And so cool. Bought nothing. Shoegasm. Had to go in there, of course.  Madewell. Didn’t go in there b/c Katie Holmes was in there and the paparazzi had it surrounded. More on that later. Hit H&M right before the train. Wanted to see and HAVE a pair of the Jimmy Choo for H&M shoes. The only thing I said as much as ‘but more importantly, where is Robert Pattinson?’ was ‘I must have some CHOOS! I need those CHOOS!’ (please note that Choos sounds like Shoes. I found that quite funny. Robin and Ashley somehow grew tired of that. Bitches)

Look at the Choos! The fabulous Choos!

As you can imagine, this whole cheap Jimmy Choo thing was popular!  There were so few left. The first store we went into was sold out. The one near Penn Station had some.Not sure how clearly you can see the images above. I tried on the black stilettos (2nd image in, top row) and the zebra print ones (bottom row, on right). Le sigh. So so so sad. Weird european sizes. I was somewhere in between a 39 and a 40. The sizes made me feel fat somehow!  Anyway, couldn’t find a pair that fit. And, truth be told…they were so cheap. And awful. The leather was so stiff. I’m glad they didn’t fit b/c if they had fit, I would have been compelled to buy them. And suffer the consequences…the AmEx, the blisters. Not sure which would have been more painful??

The sum total of my weekend purchases? The American Apparel jumper ($30? maybe) and a pair of tights. The Frug is breathing a sigh of relief. AmEx is pissed.

Bono and his wife, Ali Hewson, have launched their own socially conscious fashion label

Not long ago, ethical fashion had an image problem. No one wanted to wear baggy-bottomed Thai fisherman’s trousers or an ecru smock top. Unflattering and unappealing, eco-fashion was best left to eco-warriors.

But there has been a definite swing over the past year. Ethical consumerism – from buying products made from recycled or renewable sources to supporting companies that adhere to fair trade principles – is on the rise. It is now cool to care.

So cool in fact, that the latest edition of Vogue has devoted 10 pages to ethical clothing. And London Fashion Week, which starts next week, will include an exhibition space dedicated to 13 ethical labels.

But it’s the celebrities behind the movement who are really making a difference. They’ve made ethical consumerism sexy. One is Bono. Last year, along with his wife, Ali Hewson, and designer Rogan Gregory, he launched Edun, a socially conscious fashion label.

Its clothes are made in locally run factories in Africa, South America and India and the company promotes trade rather than aid. The range is brilliantly designed: this autumn there are beautiful Art Nouveau printed silk dresses, elegant tie-neck chiffon blouses, urban skinny jeans and denim trench coats.

This year Bono also launched Project Red, a collaboration between Armani, Amex, Converse, Motorola and Gap. Each brand markets covetable and ecologically sound products under the Red banner; profits are donated to a fund fighting Aids, malaria and TB in Africa.

Project RED’s unofficial face is Scarlett Johansson, who appears in October’s issue of Vogue wearing Armani’s designs for the charity. The actress told the magazine: “We don’t have to live in a teepee and wear a hemp skirt to be conscious about what’s going on. Maybe somebody thinks, ‘It’s cool that she’s wearing the Red T-shirt, I’ll hop over to Gap and pick one up’.”

Gap, which launched the T-shirts in the spring ( parkas, hoodies and jeans will follow) isn’t the only store turning out fashionable and ethically produced clothes. Last week saw the launch of Adili, a website devoted to the top 25 ethical fashion labels, including Ciel, Patagonia, HUG and People Tree, which has a concession in Topshop, Oxford Circus.

People Tree has given the movement a boost with Trudie Styler as its new face. It has designed T-shirts in conjunction with Action Aid; 10 per cent of profits will go to help raise Fair Trade awareness in Asia, Africa and the Americas.

Small, independent fashion labels have also furrowed the green path. Brighton-based Enamore sells everything from pretty hand-made kimono tops to delicate hemp knickers ( far more appealing than they sound).

Chic shoes can be found at ethical boutiques such as Terra Plana, which designs shoes with recycled materials. And rather than squeezing into jeans made from cotton cultivated with pesticides, consumers can now choose brands such as Loomstate, whose eco-friendly designer jeans are sold at Harvey Nichols and Urban Outfitters.

Larger companies are catching on. Timberland, which sells eco-friendly footwear made with vegetable tanned leather and recycled rubber soles, is launching a reforestation project – it will plant one tree for each pair of boots sold.

And Marks & Spencer, which recently commissioned a survey that found that 78 per cent of shoppers wanted to know more about the way products were made, has just launched its own Fair Trade line.

Tesco, meanwhile, is to sell a range of organic clothing designed by Katherine Hamnett, a long-time crusader for ethical fashion.

Of course, it can be argued that eco-fashion is an oxymoron. How can eco-friendliness fit with so ephemeral an industry? The most significant progress should perhaps come from consumers: buying less, and more ethically, could be the most ecologically sound way to shop.

Source: Telegraph.co.uk, Author: Clare Coulson

Venerdi 20 Novembre 2009 dalle ore 22:30 in poi presso il Music Drome di Milano grande evento per festeggiare i 4 anni del Trance Gate!
Dopo il grande evento di Ottobre con Gareth Emery si rinnova la collaborazione con Under The Spotlight.. Special Guest per questo grande party uno dei migliori Dj e Producer della scena mondiale: SIMON PATTERSON!

LINE UP:
SIMON PATTERSON (UK) // FABIO XB (IT) // AMEX (IT) // EASTON (CH)
More @ Trancegate.it

This card won’t be for everyone – but if you buy a lot of airfare and collect Membership Rewards points from Amex, check out the new American Express(R) Premier Rewards Gold Card.  The 3X points on airfare plus no annual fee the first year might make this a winner for you.

Using this link, you’ll also get 15,000 Membership Rewards(R) bonus points when you spend $1,000 in your first 3 months of Card membership (be careful where you signup, not all links offer this!!)

Card benefits:

• Earn 15,000 Membership Rewards(R) bonus points when you spend $1,000 in your first 3 months of Card membership
• Earn Membership Rewards points up to three times as fast: You can earn 3X points on airfare, 2X points on gas and groceries, and 1X points on everything else
• Earn 15,000 Membership Rewards bonus points when you spend $30,000 per calendar year.
• No annual fee for your first year, a savings of $175

Click here to signup for the American Express(R) Premier Rewards Gold Card

Nem os principais papeis do mundo, conseguiram segurar nessa sexta dia 30 de outubro e acompanhando a tendência mundial, todos os papeis da Dow Jones também cairam.

Today was the day.
I finally cancelled my American Express Card after 10 months of a love&hate reletionship.
Everything started in the 5th month of my contract.
After spending too much, the money in my bank account was not enough to cover the credit card bill. Fair enough, I received a call from them to inform me that my card had been suspended until the payment had been done.
I was really surprised to receive such call because I thought they would get the money in the next money… but ok, no problem with that.
Next pay-day I transferred the money and back to the happy buying days!!!!

6th month was love, no problem at all. Just paid everything and realized I had a lot of customer points.

7th month was hell. I got a call again from the customer service telling me that my card was going to be suspended… again.
But why???
This time I was really surprised and couldn’t realize the reason of suspension once I’ve made the previous payments.

After the shock, I decided to call AMEX customer service once more and try to speak with someone who could understand some english (I am in japan remember? and even if you choose english in the automated phone service, they always speak to you in japanese).

After talk to a guy, I figured out the problem: my bill had exceeded 100.000 japanese yen. So far, so good… they had a reason to do it, and as a very understandable person .. I didn’t complain at all.

That was the moment when the guy asked me “do you have any other question sir?”. I decided to ask him about the number of payments that I could do when I buy something.
One of the main reasons for me to have a credit card is that you can have NOW what you could buy after saving money for 5 months. But my current AMEX was able to buy things in only ONE payment. So… what was the purpose?
His answer: “you can’t do it in your first year. If you want to use your credit card for that you should use another credit card” !!!!!!!!!!!!

WTF

It was really hard to hear that. How could he tell me to use another credit card???
Anyway… month by month I was paying it late. Sometimes on purpose, sometimes because I didn’t really have money. But I realized that only the fact that I have a credit card, was already puting me in danger. Holding a credit card gave me power that I didn’t have. Buying power!!!
It is like everything is “just” 10.000 yen, and I will pay it next month anyway.

After only ten of those “just”s, and my bill overflowed… again.

So… today, was the last day that I was a proud AMEX card holder.
Hated their customer service, hated their policy for first year’s customers, and hated when I tried to buy Skype credits and COULDN’T because they don’t accept AMEX!!!!!

Now I will be like tose japanese old mans. Will start walk with a lot of 10000 yen bills in my pocket. I just hope it doesn’t take me ’till the retirement to be able to have them. :s

Dear Air New Zealand

Why are you walking away from the revenue provided by people with bank rewards programs – and stopping conversion to Air New Zealand Airpoints Dollars?

I refer of course to the recent notification by BNZ and other banks that they will no longer support Airpoint Dollar conversion.

It puzzles me I admit – as it would seem to me that the program would be 100% electronic and cheap to administer, that the extra money people place in to their Airpoints accounts would encourage them to buy significantly more flights – with both Airpoint Dollars and cash, and that the effort you have put into making the Airpoints Rewards program as good as it is – well it’s a bit wasted now isn’t it?

It also seems like a bit of a clunker of a move for an organisation that in recent years has been getting everything right. What gives? Are you launching a bank?

Please work it out with your former partners – all we want is our AirPoint Dollars back.

Looking forward to your reply

Lance Wiggs

P.S. BNZ, Westpac, ASB and Amex are still on the hool for their annual fees if this benefit does  go away.

There is a battle royal on between the post click & post impression camps in digital advertising & media. Clients are increasingly becoming aware to the metrics that make a difference to their marketing efforts and in a time when all marketers are demanding more from their investments, it looks like the post click camp is clearly winning.

If you’ve read my blog in the past, you will know what I think of post view conversion metrics. Generally I think they are BS and trying to find any link to a conversion from post view cookies that have been sprayed indiscriminately is clearly based on trying to prove value where value does not exist. Anyway…..if you’d like to review that post you can check it out here.

Today I came to work & logged on as I usually do, part of my morning ritual is to read the news online before they day starts and demands kick in. Today I experienced a new form of ad format developed by Fairfax & the smh.com.au. The format is a home page, page surround where the advertiser owns all space that surrounds the news content. Let me say I think it’s an ok idea for digital branding purposes, especially on a high traffic home page like the SMH.com.au. My problem though is if you unintentionally click anywhere outside the main content area, you end up on the advertisers destination site / page, like I did.

Post click cookie spraying maybe?

What SMH.com.au have been able to engineer is the spraying of post click cookies ( yes hard to think really), where the site will record an inordinate amount of post click cookies and hence conversions within a reasonable cookie window. Again it raises the debate of data rules, last click attribution, consumer journey’s, cookie deduping etc. Personally I believe that post click is the ONLY way to determine online value creation, in combination with well-defined data business rules.

I see this as a way that the publisher community MAY, be fighting the post click / post view battle in a way that is attempting to build value back into online display advertising and stem the tide from display into Search. Is it right or wrong? You be the judge. My view….the only clickable area should be the ad itself.

Comments & alternate views welcome….

Há quase dez anos atrás, quando iniciei minha carreira profissional, comecei trabalhando na área de compensação de um banco, trabalhava exatamente com cheques devolvidos. Desde aquela época pensávamos que os cheques estariam com os dias contados, de tantas fraudes que pegávamos. Tinha falsificações bem grosseiras, desde cheques impressos em impressoras caseiras jato de tinta até cheques perfeitos, acima de quaisquer suspeitas. Lembro-me de uma quadrilha do cheque cruzado, eles cruzavam o cheque com riscos mais ou menos de 1 cm de largura, ou seja, impossibilitando a leitura dos dados essenciais do cheque. Uma coisa que queria entender é o tipo de pessoa que aceitava esse tipo de pagamento… anyway, eles estavam ali para serem ‘compensados’.

Porém, acredito que nossas previsões estavam erradas… vocês já perceberam que muitas empresas brigam com as operadoras de cartão de crédito, por considerarem as taxas abusivas, e acabam preferindo pagamentos em cheques? Semana passada aconteceu duas vezes comigo, as pessoas deram até descontos para pagamentos de cheque. E eu achando que estávamos entrando na era do dinheiro plástico, demos um passinho para trás…

Dammit all to hell.  I misspelled my blog address, so instead of reading Alter Ego Confessions it reads Altar Ego Confessions.  What? The church altar now has its own identity?  It only occurred to me when I tried logging in as alteregoconfessions and it wouldn’t work.  I don’t know if I can change it.  Maybe it’s unnecessary.  It’s quirky.  Quirky can be good.

Mike had one of his typical man moments last night. The moment where he either completely forgets a conversation he’s had with me or where he rearranges his memory to benefit himself.  Last month my gym membership was up for renewal so we had a discussion as to whether or not we should spend the money to renew it.  I could do the month-to-month membership plan or I could pay the full year in advance and get several months for free.  We ultimately decided to pay the full year up front.  Because I wasn’t sure of the balance in our joint checking account I put it on my AmEx card.  That was me thinking ahead: I didn’t want Mike getting pissed that I used the joint account when there wasn’t enough dough in there.  He, on the other hand, assumed I did use the joint checking because there was, in fact, enough money in there.  I informed him of what I had done and he was fine with it: he said to let me know when I go to pay my bill and he’ll give me the money to pay for it.

Yesterday I received the AmEx bill and told him I now needed that money so I could pay it.  Of course Mike didn’t remember it that way and he gave me the third degree about always needing money.  Then it turns into that I don’t clean the house enough or well enough and if I at least did that he wouldn’t have a problem with me getting the money!  I told him at least Shelly was trying to take care of her body!  Fortunately Mike must have remember the conversation we had last month after I gave him a blow-by-blow account of how it went.  He didn’t admit it, but he gave in fairly easily.

Well I thought it was only fair to Steiner to give readers an update in regard to the YANK909 fiasco I blogged about several days ago. On the 13th I was perusing a web forum and reading about the experience of other collectors in relation to their YANK909 Steiner orders. This inspired me to go to the Steiner website and check my order. I had checked a couple of days before and it said “departed”. This time it said “delivered”. I was taken aback because I hadn’t seen a package so I read on. Delivered October 13th at the front door. I stood up and ran outside and opened the door. Eureka! There was my package! Three Rawling’s Official Major League baseballs for $9.99. Amazing. But my positive Steiner experience is not being shared by many other collectors.

Some customers have been informed by Steiner that ALL orders made by non-season ticket holders were canceled. This is obviously not true and widely known to be untrue but certain Steiner reps continually try to sell that line to customers. One customer I know was offered his item at a reduced price (but not as low as the YANK909 offer would allow) AND a $50 gift certificate, because this particular collector is a Steiner regular. Then Steiner sent the gift certificate and canceled his order completely and not delivering the item as promised. Additionally, they informed one customer who had used an AMEX gift card that they don’t accept AMEX gift cards. Uhhhh everyone who accepts American Express pretty much accepts their gift cards and I’ve read that this includes Steiner Sports. When they want to.

Another thing I find is amusing is that after Steiner’s regular hours their customer service calls are transferred to a Ice Cream shop called Last Licks owned by Brandon Steiner. That just seems really unprofessional. You would think a company which deals in multi-million dollar contracts with athletes across America would either have 24 hour customer service or a more sensical way of taking calls after hours.

All in all Steiner still has a mess on their hands and I received my purcahse. Fantastic. Not only does Steiner have this mess but also they’re suing Yadier Molina. Tough week for Steiner.

1. Drinking and driving is inexcusable!  I don’t care who you are or what the circumstances are.  It is not okay!  I think women that allow thier husbands to drink and drive are secretly hoping they will die.
2. Government computers are monitored people!  Don’t be stupid!  and dear GOD don’t use my computer to look up stupid shit!  Use your own!
3. My co-worker has a bag of Doritos that is staring me in the face & I am being good at resisting them!  I am also resisting the bag of Reece’s pieces in my purse.  I think I am only doing this because i don’t want her to know what a pig I am!
4. I checked my blood sugar yesterday…I haven’t done it in a while, but I noticed that my mood swings have been getting worse… my blood sugar is out of control again!
5. I am pretty proud of myself that I am barely looking at the keyboard as i type this!  I am not a very good typer…
6. Facebook is addicting, but the games on facebook are even worse!  I have to calculate how long I can go without logging in just so I don’t loose crops on Farmtown and Island paradise, and God forbid i have cookies in the oven on Yoville!  I always burn them!  So far the only game on facebook that doesn’t have a timelimit to keep track of is vampire wars!
7. I really want to go home…my husband is making me doubt that it is as important as I think it is.  What if I ruin my marriage because I am “just being a baby” (as he says I am)?  I wish my mother were here to tell me what to do!  Everyone just tells me to “do what i want”, but no one tells me what they really think.  I guess that’s cause when they do I get mad.  I was very mad when my brother and my husband both said that i don’t need to go home.  But what if I need it???  Who will tell me???
8. if I really and truely didn’t dread the thought of what filing bankruptsy would do to my husbands career I would file it in a second just to get these damn bill collectors off my ass!  It is hopeless.  I will never get them paid off!
9. I tried to make a payment on my AMEX bill today, but i can’t get into the account!!!  And whenever i call the people don’t speak english & eventually when I do speak with someone they tell me that they can’t accept a payment lower that $1000 – R U FREAKIN KIDDING ME????

It’s that time of year again – Interbrand’s survey of global brands; and for the  first time the total value of the world’s top 100 brands fell – down 4.6% at $1.15 trillion.  Big depressers included the major financial brands (not surprisingly), including UBS, Morgan Stanley, Amex and others. The motor industry too saw big falls in brand values.

The interesting thing for me is that we are looking at brands that stood for reliability and stability. It is as much about broken brand promises as about broken economies. I would suggest that people no longer trust promises – financial institutions are built upon pledges and assurances. Even that most emotional of purchases, the automobile represents a compact… an affirmation (even the value of Audi VW’s brand slumped). The locus of trusted brands has shifted. It is not surprising then that brands that deliver by instant gratification, retail and food for example held up well, including McDonald’s and Coca Cola.

Perhaps this also explains why the other big trend beater, Google, did so well. It is right there in front of you on the screen: what you see is what you get; it delivers.

Since I still haven’t got ATT to straighten out my home internet, I thought I better share this info before I leave work today for the weekend.

Starting Sunday, Oct 4 – Friday, Oct 9 and again Sunday, Oct 11-Friday, Oct 16 dineLA will be hosting Restaurant Week.  (Yes thats week – singular – even though the event will take place over two weeks).  During this time over 200 LA area restaurants will be participating in the price fix restaurant event – many at more affordable prices than a usual trip to their establishment would cost you.  For a complete list of participating restaurants, menus and costs click here.  The event sounds like a great way to try out that place you have heard so much about or drive by daily on your way to work, but have never had the chance to dine there; or perhaps a great opportunity to try a special menu at one of your favorite dining spots. 

If you are overwhelmed by the possibilities here are a few places I have been to and enjoyed: BLD, Grace, Campanile, Ciudad, Minx, Larchmont Grill and Luna Park.  Here are a few other places you have probably heard of: Spago, Taste, Ugo, The Melting Pot, The Lobster, The Farm, Corkbar, Ketchup, Border Grill, Buddha’s Belly.  (After reading this mid-city centric list it is quite evident where I have spent most of my time).

Also, if you are an AmEx user, register your card on the event’s website.  If you dine at 3 restaurants during the event and use that card to pay all 3 times you will receive a $20 credit on your card’s statement.  That would cover one of your lunches at a premier level restaurant.  Enjoy!

There have been a few reports lately that South Bend area Martin’s Super Markets are not accepting American Express.  After speaking with an individual at the Martin’s on Ironwood, we were informed that every Martin’s location accepts American Express.  If you encounter a cashier who states otherwise, please ask to talk to a supervisor or store manager who should be able to clear up the situation with the cashier.

Martin’s just recently began accepting American Express, so some of their cashiers may not have been informed of the change or simply may have forgotten.  Please let us know if you encounter any problems when using your American Express p-cards at Martin’s and we will follow up with the store managers to make sure their staff is aware of the new policy.

Tom Westerhof
Buyer II
towester@iusb.edu
574-520-4399

Se seu plano de marketing não aumenta suas vendas, não é porque o mercado está louco

Se sua estratégia de negócios está indo por água abaixo, não é acidente

Se sua propaganda de TV não entrega os resultados esperados, seu público alvo não ficou louco

Se você acha que suas idéias são ótimas apesar de não receber valor na empresa em que trabalha, deve ter alguma coisa que você não percebe sobre seu comportamento

Desculpem, mas não existem acidentes. Pensar que o acaso está te sacaneando apenas tira seu controle sobre sua vida (pessoal ou profissional). Sim, se algo não está dando certo, é porque tem algo no seu comportamento (ou ação) que gerou isso. Simples.

Pegue a lista de marcas mais valiosas do mundo em 2009.

Microsoft, GE, General Motors, Nokia, Amex, Sony, HSBC, Dell podem reclamar da crise econômica o quanto quiserem, enquanto isso…

Google, Coca Cola, Apple, H&M, Ikea, Nike, Nivea, L’óreal, Nestlé comemoram resultados de decisões bem tomadas, planos bem feitos etc.

Post Relacionado

Lista das marcas mais valiosas do mundo: e a vencedora é…

I think my decision to write a blog was a bold step. I was ultimately deciding to share a part of myself with the public, those in what has been known as the “blogosophere.” However, it also meant that I was tempting fate. How did I come to that conclusion? Well, my life certainly got a lot more exciting. It was as though the powers that be thought, “Hm, well, she can’t just go writing a blog about what she ate for breakfast in the morning. We must make things happen so that she can have something blog-worthy!”

I mean that really could be the only explanation for why I ended up calling American Express desperately pleading for an emergency pin number to take out cash so that I could pay for the balance on the repairs of my computer.

Let’s back track: My computer has been in the hands of Conserve (www.Apple-help.de) for over a week and I am at my wit’s end. When I started drawing supply /demand curves to keep myself occupied, I knew that the problem could no longer be ignored. Sadly, TD Bank decided that that was unacceptable, had a network breakdown over on the other side of the Atlantic and refused to provide me with the funds so that I could pick up the computer. Thanks, TD, thanks. Don’t expect a Christmas card this year.

Anyways, upon this horrendous discovery I proceeded to spend the next two hours at the Computer repair place, desperately coming up with ingenius ways to physically transfer the outstanding balance to my dear friend Philipp. (Philipp is the guy who actually fixed my computer and stayed past closing time to explain everything to me – once he knew I could take the computer home.) According to the Evil Boss Man, (on the phone somewhere in Germany) unless everything was paid in full, I could not bring my computer home. Let’s put aside the fact that I was about 1.5 hrs away from home, I was not about to go home and write a third paper by hand. Arthritis, anyone?

Paypal, Visa, TD Bank… you tried but just couldn’t make it happen. But AmEx? Thank you for coming to my aid in my time of great need. I will make sure to cite you and your role in my future blog successes.

Oh, and I would just like to apologize to the numerous bike-riders that I almost caused to crash as I sprinted to the bank about 800 meters away. Really makes you think about our society’s dependency on technology now doesn’t it?

Amex Acquires Revolution Money – $300MM (Update 4)

18 November 2009

QUICK Take Analysis

Company Website

Investor Webcast – Amex Acquisition

News

• Bloomberg
• WSJ
• American Banker
• Computer World (Tech Overview)

Customers
Card Holders: 300,000
Merchants: TBD
TPV (FY 2009 Estimate): $200M-$400M

Revenue (2009 Estimate)
Interchange:   $1.0M (Est 50bps)
Fees:                 $0.30M *Est
NRFF:               $0.60M *Est
Other:               $0.20M *Est
Total 2009 Rev:  $2.1M (Estimated)

Invested Capital
Series A – $10 (Estimate)
Series B – $50M 9/07 Deutsche Bank, Morgan Stanley, Ted Leonsis
Series C – $42M 4/09 Goldman Sachs, Steve Case, Ted Leonsis, David Pottruck, David Golden, Citigroup, Morgan Stanley.

Total Invested Capital: $112MM (Estimate)

Post Money Valuation – Series C $200M (April 09) *Est
Purchase Price: $300M (11/18/09 Press Release)

Deal Analysis
• 142.8 times Forward Revenue
• 2.68 times Invested Capital
• Profitability. Assuming ACH funding costs of 42bps, gross margin on TPV is less than 8bps. If consumer fees remain consistent,  and merchants bear marketing costs, break even is TPV of $1.9-2.5B (12x+  current TPV). Note PayPal TPV is $60B.

Bank License: First Bank & Trust
Partnerships: Chase Paymenttech, 5th 3rd

Business Overview

The most telling data on this business is from the conference call above. CEO said “I don’t know what the numbers are, and if I did I probably wouldn’t tell you”. Revolution efforts to date, and their value proposition, are heavily merchant focused.  Early vision was to own the rails and act as both issuer and acquirer. Realizing that this was too much to bite off for a small company they chose to focus on a platform and partner w/ acquirer, selecting the most cost effective network (PIN Debit) as “rails to ride”.

Revolution has “tested” the platform, a platform which provides unique cards that resemble US Bank’s existing PIN Debit (ATM) card plus some additional security features.  Given the break in their acquisition strategy, Revolution’s margins are extremely compressed, with merchants provided a flat 50bps MDR. All accounts are funded by ACH transfer and no interest is paid to customer on funds held.  Payments funded though ACH typically carry a flat processing fee, usually less than 25c (this represents cost of less than 40 bps on an average PayPal transaction of $62). By comparison, PayPal’s funding mix includes option for credit which carries funding cost of 200-250bps.

Under existing US regulations (Reg E/ Reg Z) merchants suffer heavily in losses on Card Not Present (CNP) fraudulent transactions.  Visa and MC networks have had challenges implementing improved CNP risk controls as 4 parties (issuer, acquirer, merchant, network) have very different incentives. Revolution’s enhanced security controls attempt to address merchant liability in CNP fraud , and could lower costs for merchant, and issuer (Revolution).

Consumer Fees

Analysis

• 140x revenue represents a significant premium for a business model that has not proven itself, only “tested” its platform, requires substantial changes to consumer behavior, and leverages bank networks without providing bank incentives. It will take a 500%+ annual growth rate for this transaction to be accretive in a 5 year view with current pricing structure. American Express acquisition may be able to accelerate merchant growth, but marketing costs remain a challenge.
• Current MDR and Consumer fee structure will likely remain until a TPV of $2-$3B to drive merchant adoption and offset merchant costs associated with integrating (and marketing) a new payment instrument.
• Merchants may distrust AMEX intentions here as AMEX’s MDRs are among the highest of any payment type. Internally, AMEX will be challenged to allocate resources to Revolution’s given cannibalization issues surrounding fee structure. It may however, align with AMEX recent activity to form a deposit business.
• Amex merchant connectivity may be able to provide the low cost rails that were initially envisioned in Revolution’s early business model. Internal incentives will prove challenging.
• Price driven product. As the head of payments at a top 4 bank told me last week, what about this can I not do? The margins in this model have not driven earnings, and pricing will likely increase to support a sustainable business. A key element to pricing (and adoption) will be the degree to which merchants take ownership of marketing, loyalty and consumer adoption.
• Companies like LifeLock have demonstrated that there are profitable consumer segments that care deeply about security. Uptake of Revolution money may be influence heavily by customer awareness. Under Reg E and Reg Z, maximum consumer liability for a fraudulent Credit Card transaction is $50. The liability for a PIN Debit is much different (note below). If consumers realize that their existing card liability is superior (then this instrument), it may impact adoption.
• As with any new payment instrument, consumer adoption often proceeds much more gradually than predicted. PayPal solved a critical problem for an emerging market. Paypal’s ability to manage fraud and losses may justify their higher take rate (300-350bps), as the PIN debit model does not address merchant liability (see Chicago Fed Overview).
• It is Critical that Chase Paymenttech stay engaged in merchant acquisition, as they are the leading acquirer for online merchants (addressing CNP issues).
• Message to banks and issuers: set aside $10-$30M to invest in solutions to address CNP fraud.

Issues
Banks have invested enormous capital in building the ACH and PIN Debit (ATM) network, Revolution money leverages ACH to to fund their accounts, and then leverages the ATM PIN Debit network to conduct transactions. This flow of funds completely eliminates Debit card interchange revenue for “originating” banks (~150bps). Banks have not acted to date as current TPV is not of concern. In the event that TPV expands significantly, expect Bank involvement in restricting both the funding of accounts and use of PIN debit network. NACHA members have been very active in enforcing limits on clearing of non-bank payments, particularly if total transaction volume exceeds bank’s assets.

Non-bank money transfer services are typically a regulated activity. In addition to regulatory challenges, the unique regulatory environment (Reg E, 3rd party sender to ODFI) in the US may prohibit international expansion of this model. Another unique aspect to the US market is the card issuing business is typically separate from the merchant acquisition side (exceptions are American Express and Discover). Internationally, banks with both issuing and acquisition businesses are in a much better competitive position.

American Express will likely look to supplant role of Chase Paymenttech in merchant acquisition. Chase Paymenttech has several unique capabilities that will be challenging for AMEX to match. Look for AMEX to provide incentives for continued Chase Paymenttech involvement.

Value proposition is heavily merchant focused. Merchants may bear marketing costs to drive consumer adoption given the enormous cost benefits, however an integrated (merchant funded) marketing campaign will be challenged. Branding payments will eventually provoke a bank reaction. Paypal supported bank profitability through some interchange (50% funding mix w/ ACH). This model completely disintermediates banks (all while leveraging network in which they have influence/ownership).

Fraud does not typically attack a new payment system until it reaches critical mass, as fraud perpetrators must invest time to explore weaknesses and develop new tools. PayPal suffered losses of 7.4% of Revenue (over $300M gross fraud last year). This would obviously impact a business model with a margin of less then 10bps. The funding of the initial account is certainly a key weakness in this arrangement, as witnessed by both “direct banks” and transfer agents like Cashedge. Cashedge has a dedicated team of 30 risk analysts that have developed tools over 5 years to address fraud. See Mule Accounts.

Is the merchant value proposition strong enough that merchants will invest in building business teams that are capable of creating marketing and loyalty plans that can drive consumer adoption?

Karen Webster of Market Platform Dynamics asked me to share some quick reactions on the announced acquisition of Revolution Money by AmEx this morning. As a result, my thoughts are cross-posted on PYMNTS.com. Karen asked me to address the following questions/issues:

What was your initial reaction to the news?

My initial reaction was that AmEx move to purchase Revolution is a direct reaction to two big moves PayPal has made in recent months. First, last November, PayPal announced the acquisition of BillMeLater. If the incumbents needed a signal that alternative payments were ready for prime-time, PayPal/BillMeLater provided it. AmEx’ acquisition of Revolution Money only solidifies the trend and highlights how controlling the payment instrument is as important as controlling the back-end. Related to this, it is clear that AmEx wants to buoy it’s at-risk issuer-side revenue streams with the transactional revenues that are characteristic of alternative payment instruments.

Second, and perhaps more importantly, PayPal’s recent PayPal X developers conference is sending ripples through the industry.  In my mind, this highlights how the coming battles in payment will be about controlling how payment services are integrated at the point of payment wherever and whenever the user wants to access it. Bullet number three in the press release makes it clear that the legacy payment infrastructure must open up through APIs that allow developers to access new payment instruments and core processing infrastructure. In my mind, none of the incumbents have the skills, capabilities and resources to create a truly open platform that application developers can easily consume. PayPal made a big case around mobile at PayPal X and as bullet number four of the AmEx/Revolution Money press release highlights, mobile will play a key role at the edge of the payment network.

AmEx likely chose Revolution for its innovative management team and culture and for its scale, relative to other alternative payment instruments in the market.

Where do you believe AmEx will get the biggest bang for their buck?

In the short-term, AmEx certainly has the opportunity to drive Revolution’s services through its existing channels. With 4 million small businesses as customers, there is an opportunity to drive Revolution as an alternative payment instrument but also to enable SMB B2B payments. The long-term opportunity is, however, much bigger and much more strategic. AmEx can use Revolution’s P2P service as a wedge to drive AmEx services into emerging payment venues, like social networking sites, mobile, and instant messaging services. In the long-run, the opportunities to drive new payment instruments through hyper-fragmented software and web-based channels is compelling.

Also, in the mid-term, this could also create compelling transaction fees for Amex in the offline world as Revolution inherently uses PIN authentication.  The implication is lower merchant fraud with this instrument but the platform could also be used to create a new PIN debit network tied to, perhaps, a broader push by AmEx into offering DDA’s for their cardholders.

How will this affect the payments industry overall?

For the past year, there has been pressure building on payment industry incumbents to open up their infrastructure, enabling massive innovation and new payment instruments at the edge of their networks. The combination of PayPal’s recent moves and AmEx’ acquisition of Revolution Money solidify that trend. As a result, I think you will see the core processors and other payment networks looking for ways to rapidly open up their infrastructure to enable innovation on top of their services.

Where do you expect AmEx will deploy Revolution Money first?

It looks to me as if Revolution will continue to attack online and mobile channels as if it were an independent entity, but leveraging the AmEx brand and weight in the market. Beyond that, I expect AmEx to work to bring Revolution’s alternative tender types to Amex’ installed base.

Conclusion

There is no denying that innovation is coming to payments. That innovation is happening at the edge of the network through new payment instruments and through the opening up of the core industry infrastructure to software developers. As a result, highly-connected software-based platforms and their associated APIs will play a key role in the industry’s evolution. Such platforms enable low cost service delivery and massive and unpredictable innovation at the edge of the network.

American Express (s axp), the company well known for overpriced charge cards, is buying Ted Leonsis and Steve Case’s Revolution Money for $300 million. Leonsis shared this information on his blog. Amex wants to use Revolution Money to build a next-generation offering. Revolution Money has some kind of a next-generation payments technology that brings together offline and online worlds; it’s part of the Revolution group of companies floated by Steve Case. No one I know has either seen it or actually uses it. If there is one company that is going to do offline-online payments, that will be PayPal (s ebay).