The Pulse electronic funds transfer network has relaunched a website dedicated to educating consumers about debit cards to better reflect increasing use among younger cardholders.
Pulse designed debitsavvy.org specifically for consumers ages 18 to 34, many of whom use debit cards more than any other payment method, according to the network. The website originally launched as debitfacts.org in 2008 (
“We felt it made a whole lot of sense to shift the site’s focus specifically to that demographic to fortify their confidence in continuing to use debit,” Steve Sievert, Pulse senior vice president of communications and marketing, tells PaymentsSource.
Pulse partly will rely on Facebook and Twitter to increase dialogue between consumers and the network, Sievert says. A website campaign scheduled to start this fall will encourage consumers to share on Twitter a recent experience regarding a debit card purchase. Pulse will enter respondents into a contest to win a Discover-branded gift card.
Discover Financial Services owns Pulse.
“That specific campaign will leverage Twitter and help drive traffic back to the website,” Sievert says.
Indeed, since the Generation Y, or Millenials, demographic relies so heavily on social networks to communicate, Pulse will do the same with its website, Sievert adds.
Pulse already has populated the website with sections discussing how debit cards work in their different forms, such as prepaid gift and government electronic benefits transfer versions. The network also has a section that educates consumers about the Durbin amendment.
Philip Philliou, a partner with the consulting firm Philliou Partners LLC in New York, notes some misperceptions exist between consumers and banks because of Durbin, and Pulse’s website can help clear up any confusion debit users might have.
“Within the confusion, if Pulse is looking to put a stake in the ground for debit, that’s commendable,” he says.
Pulse’s decision to target younger consumers also is advantageous for the network and its efforts to grow, Sievert says.
“The longevity of the [younger] cardholder [is a factor] in catering to them as is the readily available, high disposable income,” he says. “They are the market you want to capture.”
Pulse is promoting the website through its partner financial institutions. Some banks have expressed interest in linking to the site from their own, Sievert says. Pulse views debitsavvy.org as an additional tool to help banks educate consumers about debit, he adds.
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