Coupon

In marketing, a coupon is a ticket or document that can be redeemed for a financial discount or rebate when purchasing a product.

Customarily, coupons are issued by manufacturers of consumer packaged goods or by retailers, to be used in retail stores as a part of sales promotions. They are often widely distributed through mail, coupon envelopes, magazines, newspapers, the Internet (social media, email newsletter), directly from the retailer, and mobile devices such as cell phones. Since only price conscious consumers are likely to spend the time to claim the savings, coupons function as a form of price discrimination, enabling retailers to offer a lower price only to those consumers who would otherwise go elsewhere. In addition, coupons can also be targeted selectively to regional markets in which price competition is great.

In government, a coupon is a paper certificate used to administer a benefit or permission.

Pronunciation

The word is of French origin, pronounced [kupɔ̃]. In Britain, the United States, and Canada it is pronounced /ˈkuːpɒn/ KOO-pon. A common alternate American pronunciation is /ˈkjuːpɑːn/ CUE-pahn.

Coupon (bond)

A coupon payment on a bond is a periodic interest payment that the bondholder receives during the time between when the bond is issued and when it matures.

Coupons are normally described in terms of the coupon rate, which is calculated by adding the total amount of coupons paid per year and dividing by the bond's face value. For example, if a bond has a face value of $1,000 and a coupon rate of 5%, then it pays total coupons of $50 per year. For the typical bond, this will consist of semi-annual payments of $25 each.

The coupon rate is the yield that the bond pays on its issue date; however, this yield can change as the value of the bond changes and thus giving the bond's yield to maturity. Bonds having higher coupon rates are therefore more desirable for investors than those having lower coupon rates.

Overview

The origin of the term "coupon" is that bonds were historically issued in the form of bearer certificates. Physical possession of the certificate was proof of ownership. Several coupons, one for each scheduled interest payment over the life of the bond, were printed on the certificate. At the date the coupon was due, the owner would detach the coupon and present it for payment (an act called "clipping the coupon").

Coupon (PWB)

A coupon or test coupon is a printed circuit board (PCB) used to test the quality of a printed wiring board (PWB) fabrication process. Test coupons are fabricated on the same panel as the PWBs, typically at the edges. Coupons are then inspected to ensure proper layer alignment, electrical connectivity, and cross sectioned to inspect internal structures. Coupons can be designed custom for a PWB or selected from a vendor library.

Overview

A coupon is designed to include traces and vias with the same dimensions and structures as those of the main PWB. It is standard practice to locate coupons on the edges of a panel, from which multiple PWBs are fabricated, to verify the consistency of plating, etching, and lamination across the whole panel. The use of coupons for testing is a necessary step in accurately and reliably monitoring fabrication quality and consistency.