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First Data Corp. has added another digital gift card company to its portfolio with the purchase announced Tuesday of Transaction Wireless Inc., a digital gift card distribution company. The purchase of San Diego-based Transaction Wireless complements First Data’s 2014 deal to buy Gyft, a digital platform that enables consumers buy, …
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Spurred by Heavier Marketing, Gift Card Loads Grew 9% in 2014, New Report Says
With a little more marketing oomph behind it, the gift card market rebounded in 2014 after a down year in 2013, according to a report released Wednesday by Mercator Advisory Group. Virtual gift cards, a small but key segment of the market, held their own and may soon benefit from …
Read More »With Holiday Gift Card Sales Wilting, Issuers Will Have to Push Harder, Add Digital
The earliest known example of a closed-loop gift card was offered during the Christmas holiday season in 1916 by Hampton’s Quality Store in Eugene, Ore. The store advertised a “Christmas Glove Gift Card” that could be given to a lady, allowing her to redeem it for the gloves she wanted. …
Read More »Gift Card Sales To Surpass $124 Billion in 2014
Gift cards sales in 2014 will top $124 billion in the United States, but that comes amid slowing growth, says a new report from CEB TowerGroup. The Arlington, Va.-based advisory firm predicts that gift card sales will see annual growth rates from 5% to 6% through 2017, an indication …
Read More »Gift Cards Top Holiday Wish Lists, With Total Spending Estimated at $31.74 Billion
Consumers want gift cards this holiday season, but are reluctant to ask for them, finds a survey from CashStar Inc., a Portland, Maine-based company that specializes in e-coupons and digital gift cards. Meanwhile the National Retail Federation forecasts that consumers will spend $31.74 billion on gift cards this holiday …
Read More »PayPal Turns to InComm To Boost Digital Gift Card Presence
PayPal Inc. will use electronic gift card services from InComm Holdings Inc., a move that will enable PayPal to expand the number of retailers’ gift cards that it sells on the PayPal Digital Gifts store and in the eBay marketplace. PayPal, a unit of San Jose, Calif.-based eBay Inc., …
Read More »FleetCor Buying Comdata; Gift Card Business May Be On the Block
FleetCor Technologies Inc. is buying payment processor Comdata Inc. for $3.45 billion, Norcross, Ga.-based FleetCor announced Tuesday. The deal gets FleetCor access to four businesses it is not already in, including over-the-road fleet payment services, fuel cards for national accounts, virtual payments and gift cards via Comdata’s Stored Value …
Read More »Stockpile Emerges To Offer Digital Gift Cards Backed by Stock to ‘Everyday’ Consumers
A new type of gift card is set to debut this summer that will be backed not by cash but by shares of stock. The virtual card will come from a startup called Stockpile Inc., which has created a waiting list for interested potential accountholders and is planning to market …
Read More »In a Sudden About-Face, Wal-Mart Stops Gift Card Sales Through Gyft E-Card Service
Less than a month after electronic gift card provider Gyft announced it was selling Wal-Mart Stores Inc. gift cards, they no longer are available. According to a report on Coindesk.com, a digital-currency news site, Gyft stopped offering Wal-Mart gift cards on April 13. Gyft provides electronic gift card services for …
Read More »Digital Gift Cards Come Into Their Own As Holiday Promotions Spur Sales, ‘Self-Giving’
Only a few years old, digital gift cards are soaring in popularity as U.S. consumers head into the heart of the holiday shopping season. Total loads on the products will reach $1.3 billion for November and December, a nearly four-fold increase from the same two-month stretch last year, according to …
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