Target audience
Brands, PMs, Banks, Issuers, Technology providers with live solutions, retailers, government and government departments, incentive agencies, and closed-loop programme providers.
Detailed definition
Best Consumer Payments Product is open to scheme and non-scheme product and programmes where payments are made by a token or other element to recognise the user.
This category is open to any product that allows the consumer to pay, face-to-face or online, in whatever way they like, where the payment token or wallet/account is loaded in total or partially by the end consumer, government or businesses. This includes funds either loaded directly into the product or through another wallet or account. It also includes live load/pass-through products.
The product may use, as the token: mobile phones and all wearable devices, biometric authentication and, of course, cards. Alternatively, payments may be made through direct interactions between retailers and wallets/accounts. Payments may be in the form of currency, points or other considerations of value.
This category is also open to physical, digital or virtual solutions where some form of value is provided to the receiver of the gift, incentive or reward (but not as merchandise). Products may be nominated either because they are best in class in some way, e.g., results, effectiveness, engagement; or demonstrate innovation in packaging, delivery, customer engagement or implementation.
Products must be live, out of the test phase and with a launch plan at the time of submission. Pilot initiatives will be accepted but must clearly be described as such and the judges will be looking for evidence of success in the pilot. The product may be running in any country/countries.
Please note that Payment Platforms should submit their entries into the technology categories.
Your submission will require the following information:
- Name of nominating organisation
- Product or Programme name (entry title)
- Name(s) of nominated organisation(s)
- The nature of the business relationship between you as the nominator and the nominee company
Description
The judges will assess your entry against the following criteria. You are free to describe the product/programme and support your case with additional material as you think appropriate. However, please note that we strongly suggest NOT to submit generic promotional material and sales brochures. Please limit your submission to a maximum of 1,500 words.
The criteria are:
- The product provides benefit/value to the end user.
- The product provides benefit/value to the product provider.
- The product has leveraged brand, channels or other capabilities and technologies to deliver innovative solutions to specific problems or opportunities.
- The product has performed well and the submission is supported with quantitative evidence of success from a reliable source.
- The product stands out from its competition either through performance, innovation or value to stakeholders or other means as described in the submission.
Evidence of success/metrics
Please provide as much information as you can and quote the source of that information. Such information might include the following, but this is not an exhaustive list and, in each case, the judges will be looking for evidence that supports your claims about the key benefits of the product:
- The length of time the product has been live
- The number of transactions from initial launch to January 2026
- The number of unique participants using the initiative as of January 2026
- Growth in use, both historical and extrapolated projections
- How has this transformed the user experience?
