Palo Alto, Calif.-based Bling Nation has announced that The State Bank, based in La Junta, Colo., has deployed Redi Pay Bling, Bling Nation's bank-branded version of its mobile-payments network.
Bling Nation says the network enables banks and merchants to avoid global network costs and keep money within the community through a secure local debit network.
Brad Rose, vice president of information technology and security for The State Bank, says the mobile offering has significantly impacted the bank's profitability and transaction volume:
We have been blown away by how quickly the La Junta community has embraced mobile payments from physically tapping their phones to make a payment, instead of pulling out their wallets, to understanding the tangible benefits of a local payments network. In the first 90 days, we acquired 23 new business accounts as a result of offering mobile payments – twice as many (as) we had in the two previous years. Redi Pay Bling transaction volume currently occupies more than 20 percent of The State Bank's local debit transaction volume.
Bling Nation says The State Bank has seen more than 80 percent of its active debit card customers in the target market activate the BlingTag mobile technology in just more than four months, and that the bank also has seen more than 50 percent penetration among its target merchants.
Wences Casares, co-CEO of Bling Nation, says even his company was surprised by how much The State Bank's customers have embraced the new technology:
When Bling Nation began work in La Junta, we were confident The State Bank could lead the charge for mobile payments. What we did not foresee was the incredible and speedy adoption rates of mobile payments by consumers and merchants alike. To date, 62 percent of The State Bank's active debit account users have transacted with a BlingTag, and we expect that number to continue rising. The State Bank has worked closely with us to ensure a successful launch, and we are impressed with the commitment of their staff to making Redi Pay Bling a preferred payment mechanism. La Junta is quickly becoming the epicenter of mobile payments in use.
Bling Nation also says The State Bank has not seen any reports of fraud or lost BlingTags since it adopted Redi Pay Bling.
