Blackhawk Network has taken several strategic initiatives to enhance its reach and offerings. The company has been focusing on improving its capabilities and offerings via acquisitions. In November 2020, National Gift Card (NGC), a North American based prepaid tech and card company, was acquired by Blackhawk Network. This is expected to strengthen Blackhawk’s position in gift card and prepaid card market and give it access to National Gift Card’s fulfillment capabilities. The deal is expected to further improve the company’s incentive solutions as well as its end-to-end program management solutions.
In 2019, alone, together Blackhawk Network and NGC drove US$3 billion prepaid products and gift cards. Also, the acquisition would help expand growth of Blackhawk, NGC and the overall prepaid industry and hence providing further value for clients.
Similarly in April 2020, Blackhawk Network purchased SVM Cards, a physical and digital open- and closed-loop prepaid cards provider, to further expand its presence in prepaid and B2B gift card offerings. The deal boosts Blackhawk’s US catalog with closed-loop cards including various fuel and other brands. Additionally, SVM’s customers can get access to Blackhawk’s omnichannel commerce, incentive solutions, and digital products.
Product launches to further enhance portfolio
To cater to the rising demand for digital rewards and incentives, the company launched Canadian virtual prepaid Mastercard in February 2021, to be used for online experiences where Mastercard is accepted.The Canadian businesses can issue these virtual prepaid cards for providing incentives and can be customized.
Blackhawk Network introduced Giving Good Prepaid Mastercard in December 2020 to benefit various charitable organizations including Habitat for Humanity International, Feeding America, Make-A-Wish, St. Jude Children’s Research Hospital and Wounded Warrior Project. For any purchase made via Giving Good Prepaid Mastercard, Blackhawk Network will contribute 3% of the card’s initial loaded value to the charitable partner on the card.
The company also unveiled its Issuance and Program Management Solution as an expansion to gift card services, September 2020. The solution allows brands to fully outsource their gift card and eGift programs.
Other strategic initiatives
Blackhawk Network collaborated with SKUx, a fintech company, in December 2020, to enable its retail distribution points with solutions for seamless distribution, reconciliation, redemption, and settlement of promotional incentives and improved loyalty promotions.
The company also established strategic development center in India in January 2020 to further drive technology innovations and product development. India plays a key part in the company’s global strategy. It further ramped up its India employee headcount by extending its Strategic Development Centre team in India (Bengaluru), June 2020.