Blackhawk Network Buys National Gift Card

Global branded payments provider Blackhawk Network has acquired National Gift Card, one of the biggest North American prepaid tech and card companies, according to a press release emailed to PYMNTS.

With the completion of the sale, Blackhawk now has more of a foothold in the gift card and prepaid card market, while also adding National Gift Card’s fulfillment capabilities, the release stated.

The National Gift Card base, in addition, will have the ability to access Blackhawk’s digital services and wide catalog of brands and original content, the release added.

Talbott Roche, CEO and president of Blackhawk Network, said in the release that the acquisition will “further enhance our incentive solutions and strengthen our end-to-end program management solutions.”

“With this acquisition, Blackhawk now offers full issuance program management, fulfillment, global retail and business-to-business distribution, and is the global single source for leading, reward-based incentive programs large or small,” Roche said, according to the release.

“Blackhawk has long been a leader in the gift card and incentives industry and has been a long-standing partner of [National Gift Card],” said Adam Van Witzenburg, CEO of National Gift Card, according to the release. “Together, we drove almost $3 billion in gift cards and prepaid products for loyalty, rewards and employee recognition programs in 2019 alone.”

In September, Blackhawk announced it was rolling out new cards that would trigger automatic donations to certain charities when loaded. The cards are called “Giving Good” cards and work at various restaurants and retail locations. The initial charities included were Feeding America, Habitat for Humanity, Make-A-Wish, St. Jude Children’s Research Hospital and Wounded Warrior Project.

“By introducing the Giving Good line of cards, we hope to provide the perfect way to not only give a great gift — regardless of physical proximity — but also to make a meaningful difference in the lives of others,” Brett Narlinger, head of global commerce at Blackhawk Network, said at the time.

Also in September, Blackhawk debuted a service to help companies outsource gift card program management. The service works to expand omnichannel access and boost client customer bases.