Your bank can offer a multipurpose gift card. (New Products).

Oh sure, you can buy gift certificates at Barnes & Noble, or Sam Goody or Hollywood Video, and many recipients will be happy. But what about those friends who don't read, or listen to music or watch videos? For hard-to-please loved ones, you need something more powerful than a gift certificate. You need a gift card.

And not just any gift card. You need one that can be used almost anywhere. Synergistics Research says its surveys indicate that more than half the respondents would prefer a "multipurpose" gift card that doesn't restrict them to a single store or chain.

A company called PrivaCash is making prepaid MasterCard gift cards available through banks. One institution that has been providing the service to customers is KeyBank USA. The PrivaCash MasterCard card can be used any place that accepts MasterCard, online or offline, domestically or internationally. The card comes attached to a booklet that explains how the card works and offers user tips based on real-life consumer experiences. The card comes with a predetermined value, which cannot be used to acquire cash, but can be used to acquire almost anything else. MasterCard says its credit card product is accepted at 23 million retail locations, ranging from Brooks Brothers to 7-Eleven.

What does this mean for banks? PrivaCash is another product that can be sold at banks without risk. You have to provide a secure place for storing blank cards and a standard data-card reader terminal. There's also a setup fee for each location.

The credit cards are blank when they arrive. When a customer buys a card, a bank employee runs the card through the data terminal to encode the designated amount. MasterCard does the rest, then pays you a commission on each card sold. Banks receive a monthly report. The PrivaCash database tracks every transaction in real time, although the identity of each cardholder is anonymous.

Point-of-sale merchandising displays are also provided free of charge, and MasterCard provides a 24-hour toll-free number and a website to answer consumers' questions.

For more information call [phone] or go to www.privacash.com