Blackhawk Network is expanding its presence in the B2B gift card market through strategic partnerships and investments

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The B2B gift card market experienced strong growth over the last four to eight quarters. With the ongoing pandemic, businesses have already switched to digital gift cards from physical gift cards for promotions, rewards, and incentives. Even charitable organizations are entering the space for offering rewards and incentives. Consequently, payment companies are entering the corporate gifting space to expand market share from a medium to long-term perspective through strategic partnerships and investments. For instance,

• In February 2021, the global payments provider, Blackhawk Network, and United States-based Kroger had partnered to introduce Mastercard and Visa-powered bulk prepaid cards. These prepaid cards will be brought to the market via the SaaS-based Velocity B2B end-to-end gift card service of the Blackhawk network. Particularly suitable for businesses and charities, these prepaid cards can be used in-store as well as for online purchases in all Mastercard and Visa networks.
• According to the company, the intention behind adding Mastercard and Visa to Kroger’s corporate gift card program is to support the existing B2B partners as well as new customers and charity partners to offer bulk gift card offerings. Notably, an organization, after getting approval, can order customizable gift cards of denominations ranging from US$20 - US$500 and can be delivered to the recipients of the United States.

During the last few quarters, digital rewards and loyalties have gained popularity in the APAC regions such as Singapore, Hong Kong, Malaysia, Thailand, the Philippines, Vietnam, and Indonesia. Therefore, companies are expanding their businesses in this region to acquire new customers, thereby reaping profit over the next few quarters in the region. For instance,

• In January 2022, Blackhawk Network purchased a minority stake in Singapore-based Wogi, which specializes in rewards and incentives. The companies, in particular, collaborated to boost the growth of the rewards and incentives market throughout Southeast Asia for shoppers as well as for employees. With Blackhawk’s investment, Wogi will now be able to cater to businesses to increase top-line revenue through reward strategies, thereby accelerating employee, partner, and customer satisfaction.
• Notably, the collaboration with Blackhawk will offer the existing opportunities to the clients of Wogi with larger rewards offerings, including original gift card content personalization, easy ordering, and delivery of gift cards for the recipients. Businesses will, therefore, be attracted to partner with Wogi to adopt modern reward programs in their businesses, which will further help it capture greater market share.

To know more and gain a deeper understanding of the global gift card market, click here.