Recordable Gift Cards Let You Send AMessage

BOSTON - (01/31/06) -- Gift car issuer Arthur Blank &Co. is offering retailers a prepaid gift card that enablescardholders to leave a personalized, 10-second message. The carduses a voice chip embedded in the plastic to record and play themessage. A voice recorder on the back of the card enables buyers torecord and lock their messages. The playback button is on the frontof the card. The card's recorder is nonmagnetic, a step up fromprevious voice recorders that came with magnets that interferedwith the card's magnetic stripe. Merchants will pay $3 to $4 eachfor the Talking Gift Cards, which can be attached, in turn, to giftcards of higher values.