FastLane Launches Its POS Advertising Program with a $2 Million Deal

Boulder, Colo.-based Combined Payments Inc.'s FastLane, a new network that converts driver's licenses into loyalty and payment cards, Thursday announced that it had secured its first advertiser as part of a point-of-sale program that will share revenues with participating merchants. The $2 million deal involves the La Jolla, Calif., office of Tucson, Ariz.-based Charter Funding, the retail arm of the large private mortgage bank, First Magnus Financial Corp. “I never expected a mortgage company to be our first advertiser,” Carl Towner, FastLane's chief executive, said in a release. He added that if a mortgage company sees point-of-sale advertising as an ad medium, so should the fast-food chains and national retailers FastLane is seeking for its network, which allows consumers to use mag-striped driver's licenses as PIN-protected debit cards. Under the deal, each lead the La Jolla office gets from a FastLane user will generate $4 of revenue, with FastLane splitting half with the participating merchant. Consumers at a FastLane-accepting POS terminal will see a Charter Funding promotional message, with so-called click-through referrals from the terminal being forwarded to the advertiser. FastLane plans to unveil its new network at the Electronic Transactions Association's annual conference set for April 18-20 in Las Vegas. The network will allow a consumer whose driver's license has a magnetic stripe to register with FastLane and use the license as a loyalty or debit card. About half of the states issue mag-stripe licenses, Towner estimates, and these cards account for about 70% of all driver's licenses issued (Digital Transactions News, Jan. 18). As consumers enroll in FastLane's programs, they will be asked to tie their checking accounts to their licenses as well. If they do, they will select a PIN and will be able to use their licenses as debit cards, with payments settling through the automated clearing house. FastLane is pitching its network to merchants as a way to increase customer loyalty and add a competitively priced alternative to bank-issued credit and debit cards.