All Visa DPS Debit, Credit and Prepaid clients are eligible and automatically considered for the DPS Client Achievement Awards, with the exception of the Excellence in Innovation Award. Award categories and winners include:

Highest Point-of-Sale (POS) Usage:
Recognizing programs in which active cardholders have the greatest use at usage rate at the point of sale. Valuation is based on number of transactions per active card.
- Family Savings Credit Union (Debit)
- State Employees' Credit Union (Debit)
- Star One Credit Union (Credit)
- Commerce Bank (Prepaid Commercial)
- PNC Bank (Prepaid Consumer)

Highest Authorization Approval Rate:
Recognizing programs that display a commitment to customer service through high authorization approval rates while controlling risk.
- Royal Credit Union (Debit)
- ProFed Federal Credit Union (Debit)
- ProFed Federal Credit Union (Credit)
- ITA Group (Prepaid Commercial)
- Commerce Bank (Prepaid Consumer)

Highest Portfolio Growth:
Recognizing programs that achieve exceptional year-over-year growth. Valuation is based on growth in the portfolio's active accounts and transactions.
- Five Star Credit Union (Debit)
- Navy Federal Credit Union (Debit)
- Great Lakes Credit Union (Credit)
- Royal Bank of Canada (Prepaid Commercial)
- LSC (Prepaid Consumer)

Lowest Gross Fraud Rate:
Recognizing programs that effectively leverage their DPS partnership, tools and strategies to maintain a low fraud rate.
- Central Minnesota Credit Union (Debit)
- Umpqua Bank (Debit)
- Publix Employees Federal Credit Union (Credit)
- Commerce Bank (Prepaid Commercial)
- Commerce Bank (Prepaid Consumer)

Highest Overall Portfolio Performance:
Recognizing programs that maintain strong, well-balanced performance in authorization approval rate, POS usage, gross fraud rate and portfolio growth.
- Meritrust Credit Union (Debit)
- Truliant Federal Credit Union (Debit)
- Michigan State University Federal Credit Union (Credit)
- Commerce Bank (Prepaid Commercial)
- Commerce Bank (Prepaid Consumer)

Pursuit of Excellence:
Recognizing programs that have achieved the most improvement in the areas of authorization approval rates, POS usage, gross fraud rate and portfolio growth.
- Safe Federal Credit Union (Debit)
- Arrowhead Credit Union (Debit)
- Lake Michigan Credit Union (Credit)
- ITA Group (Prepaid Commercial)
- Commerce Bank (Prepaid Consumer)

Emerging Payment Adoption:
Recognizes programs achieving the greatest percentage of tokenized, contactless and Visa Direct transactions.
- Navy Federal Credit Union (Debit)
- State Employees Credit Union (Debit)
- Star One Credit Union (Credit)
- Commerce Bank (Prepaid Commercial)
- PNC Bank (Prepaid Consumer)

Excellence in Innovation:
Recognizing clients who demonstrate innovative approaches to improving card program performance and cardholder satisfaction.
- Lively, Inc.
- PNC Bank – numo indi
- Redwood Credit Union
- University Federal Credit Union
- Utah Community Credit Union

Lively Inc.
Lively is a San Francisco based Health Savings Account (HSA) provider providing individuals an opportunity to optimize their healthcare spending, maximize their savings and benefit their livelihood. In an industry largely tied to file based and offline processing, Lively has modernized the HSA card holder experience to enable account holders to make the most informed and up-to-date decisions available to them.

PNC Bank – numo indi
numo, a wholly owned subsidiary of PNC Bank has launched a new prepaid program named "indi". This program was designed specifically for the GIG economy. indi is smart banking for independent workers allowing cardholders to lighten their load with a single FDIC-insured account. Use indi to save for taxes, track expenses, and bank on the go — all in one app.

Redwood Credit Union
Redwood’s goal was to create a simplistic tool for employees to service all aspects of cards within its core system to drive efficiencies and allow first-call resolution. We accomplished this by using APIs from several systems merged into a user-friendly interface.
Learn more about the Redwood Credit Union Card Manager System

University Federal Credit Union
UFCU completed a project to convert our existing credit card portfolio to Symitar using the Visa DPS pass through credit service. Not only was this a large effort, we took the opportunity to complete a full product and solution facelift. We improved card issuance, digital capabilities, marketing and communications, rewards offering, and many processes. This undertaking solidified the decision that partnering with Visa was the best choice for our credit union and our members. Since this conversion we have seen significant portfolio growth through many metrics and improved member experience.

Utah Community Credit Union
Leveraging Visa DPS’s API capabilities, we are creating a direct link to our members and Visa for all aspects of card management using a smartphone app. Members can turn card on/off, receive real-time transaction push notifications, enable MCC/amount/geolocation controls, report cards lost/stolen, submit Visa-Falcon integrated travel notifications, activate cards, review enriched trans details, instantly issue digital cards/replacements, and push-provision their cards to mobile wallets.

Navy Federal
In a world where information is available on demand and literally at our fingertips, consumers have come to expect immediate attention when they notice a problem. By leveraging several Visa APIs, Navy Federal has piloted a solution that captures information submitted by our members regarding a possible dispute on a pending transaction, then monitors that transaction for posting.

Michigan State University Federal Credit Union
Created a customized multi-account management system which allows Michigan State University (MSU) to issue and fund reloadable debit cards for Athletics players, coaches, and staff. This web-based system allows administrators to manage all portions of the program including: account creation, adding funds, rescinding funds, updating cardholder and administrator information, and monitoring reports.
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The Excellence in Innovation Award recognizes clients demonstrating innovative approaches to improving card program performance, cost savings, and cardholder satisfaction.
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All Visa DPS clients are eligible to submit for this award. Clients can submit via Visa account representative, Visa DPS Online (VOL), or on this website. Upon your submission, you will receive a notification of a receipt of your submission form.
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Your Visa representative will present your submission to the DPS Executive Steering Committee.
The steering committee will judge submissions based on these five criteria:
- New learned insights and next steps for the innovation (25%)
- Measurable results, such as growth or new efficiencies (25%)
- Enhancement of customer relationship (25%)
- Engagement with and utilization of Visa services and capabilities (25%)
- Bonus for creativity of submission based on brief/write-up and supporting materials (videos, graphics, etc.) (+10%)
The scores of the steering committee will determine the finalists. Client finalists will then present their innovation during the Visa DPS Users’ Conference as part of a Client Panel.
After the conclusion of the client panel presentations, the client audience will vote for the best innovation via the conference mobile app.
Once all votes and rankings have been determined, the winner(s) of the Excellence in Innovation Award will be announced at the Visa DPS Users’ Conference.
The Excellence in Innovation award category is the sole qualitative award of the Visa DPS Client Achievement Awards. DPS clients interested in being considered for the Excellence in Innovation award must complete and submit the submission form by the determined deadline*. To submit for consideration, clients can work independently or with Visa DPS account and/or product teams. Partnership with Account Managers and/or Account Executives is recommended.
The DPS Awards Executive Steering Committee will review all submissions. Finalists selected are based on pre-determined criteria in the areas of digital payments, technology, and other related areas. Finalists will be selected and notified accordingly.
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All Visa DPS Clients are eligible to submit for the Excellence in Innovation Award.
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Excellence in Innovation winners will receive a customized engraved crystal and letter.
Excellence in Innovation winners may experience additional celebratory events as determined by the Empowerment & Performance Excellence program office.
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Yes, Visa DPS plans to announce the winners in a digital communication in conjunction with our Visa DPS Users’ Conference. Winners will also be promoted on Visa social media channels.

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The Visa DPS Client Achievement Awards recognize clients that achieve the pinnacle of performance in key areas that drive business growth and cardholder satisfaction. The awards celebrate the partnership between DPS and our clients.
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The Visa DPS Client Achievement Awards are held on an annual basis.
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- Highest POS Usage. Recognizing programs in which active cardholders have the greatest usage rate at the point of sale. Valuation based on number of transactions per active card, averaged over the 12-month period.
- Highest Authorization Approval Rate. Recognizing programs that display a commitment to customer service through high authorization approval rates while controlling risk.
- Highest Portfolio Growth. Recognizing programs that have achieved exceptional year-over-year growth. Valuation based on growth in the portfolio’s active accounts and transactions.
- Lowest Gross Fraud Rate. Recognizing programs that effectively leverage their DPS partnership, tools, and strategies to maintain a low fraud rate.
- Highest Overall Portfolio Performance. Recognizing programs that maintain strong, well-balanced performance in the areas of authorization approval rate, POS usage, gross fraud rate, and portfolio growth.
- Excellence in Innovation. Recognizing clients demonstrating innovative approaches to improving card program performance and cardholder satisfaction.
- Pursuit of Excellence. Recognizing programs that have achieved the most improvement in the areas of authorization approval rate, POS usage, gross fraud rate, and portfolio growth.
- Emerging Payment Adoption. Awarding programs achieving the greatest percentage of tokenized, contactless and Visa Direct transactions.
- Highest POS Usage. Recognizing programs in which active cardholders have the greatest usage rate at the point of sale. Valuation based on number of transactions per active card, averaged over the 12-month period.
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All Visa DPS Clients are eligible.