Ecount News & Press Releases

Ecount Prepaid Index™ of Consumer Spending Launched

Ecount Introduces First Quarterly Index on Prepaid Spending Trends

Conshohocken, PA, April 5, 2006 – Ecount, the prepaid experts, today introduced the Ecount Prepaid Index (EPI) of Consumer Spending, the first source for consumer spending trends using prepaid issued dollars.

Ecount enables companies to deliver more efficient and effective payments by converting traditional payments – from paychecks to rebates – directly to prepaid accounts. With millions of cards in circulation, Ecount has unique insight into the spending behavior of myriad types of consumers. The Ecount Prepaid Index will provide baseline spending behaviors and explore ongoing trends in a wide array of areas.

Some of the forthcoming analysis will include:

• Rebates and Rewards: Where do consumers spend 'free' money?
• Banked vs. Unbanked: Putting your paycheck on prepaid cards, how do these groups differ?
• Online Spending: How do online spending trends differ from brick and mortar?
• Discretionary Funds: Where are people spending their disposable income?

Also to be explored will be relevant trends including:

• Fast Food Spending: How do New Years' resolutions impact our drive thru purchases?
• Gas Gauge: Did the skyrocketing of gas prices effect our transactions? Automotive Dealers: With the incentive war raging, where are consumers spending their dollars?
• Going Electric: Do seasonal trends affect electronics purchases – or is it accelerating utility costs?

Why prepaid? The prepaid industry has quickly evolved from gift and phone cards to represent a broad spectrum of everyday payments. Now, thousands of corporations are using prepaid cards and virtual accounts to provide rewards, commissions, payroll, rebates, incentives and more. What is unique about the prepaid index is that, for the first time, both the type and the use of funds are known. So, the Ecount Prepaid Index can provide insight on consumer spending as divided by, for example, payroll dollars versus reward dollars or rebate expenditures versus commission payments.

Please visit http://ecount.com/articles/Ecount-Prepaid-Index.pdf to view the inaugural index. The Ecount Prepaid Index will be released quarterly and monthly trend updates will be provided.

About Ecount:
Ecount provides customized prepaid programs for corporations looking for a simple and convenient way to deliver electronic payments. With products ranging from incentives to compensation to specialized disbursements, Ecount offers comprehensive programs to corporations looking to influence and motivate consumers, employees and customers. Ecount's proprietary technology enables complete communication and brand extension coupled with a secure payment vehicle. More than 1000 leading corporations, including more than one third of the Fortune 100, rely on Ecount's prepaid solutions to gain a strategic advantage in their market. For more information, please visit HYPERLINK "http://www.ecount.com" www.ecount.com.

Note to the Media:
Extensive resources are available for the media community, including corporate, client and cardholder interviews. If you are interested in specific data not published here, please contact Ecount for additional information.
Please contact Theresa Wabler, Director of Marketing, at 610-941-4600x169 or twabler@ecount.com.