As the busiest retail season of the year draws closer, a Melbourne-based fintech that aggregates retail brands under themed gift card offerings has been snatched up by global payments giant InComm Payments for an undisclosed sum today.
Combining brands ranging from Adidas to JB Hi-Fi (ASX: JBH), Dymock's to Xbox and more, The Card Network (TCN) collates themed gift card offerings based on specific themes. One such example is The Active Card, which allows recipients to shop at major sports retailers like Rebel, Foot Locker, HYPE and Puma.
Other options include The Baby Card, The Her Card, or The Him Card, which can be found either online or in-store at any Woolworths (ASX: WOW), Target or Coles (ASX: COL) stores nationwide.
TCN also sells gift cards via its website card.gift, enabling consumers to purchase personalised packages paired with customised photo or video messages. In addition to consumer-facing products, the company offers Australian companies gift products for incentive, loyalty and rewards programs, as well as business-to-business (B2B) gifting opportunities.
The Australian-founded group will bolster InComm Payments' ability to create personable gift card products for consumers, as well as support business growth for its 1,000-plus brand and retail partners.
The buyout will see TCN join the portfolio of a 30-year-old company that has generated more than USD$50 billion (AUD$77 billion) in annual transaction volume and is the exclusive distributor of American Express gift cards in the US.
“InComm Payments has been a great partner to TCN, and we couldn't be happier to be officially joining the family," said TCN co-founder Nick Sims, who founded the company in 2019 alongside Richard Hewitt.
"Together, InComm Payments and TCN have reinvented the gift card market in Australia, and we look forward to continue providing customers and channels with the best product selection in the market."
Atlanta-based InComm Payments first entered Australia and New Zealand in 2010, where it introduced international brands to the gift card market which were previously unavailable in the region.
The company - which was behind the first iTunes gift card in 2004 - has 420 global patents and a presence in 30-plus countries since gearing up for international expansion 15 years ago.
"TCN is a pioneer of the multi-brand gift card category with a proven record of delivering reliable products to both the gift giver and their recipient," said InComm Payments senior vice president of financial services and Asia-Pacific Adam Brault.
"We could not be more excited to welcome TCN's expertise and creativity to our global team."
Help us deliver quality journalism to you.
As a free and independent news site providing daily updates
during a period of unprecedented challenges for businesses everywhere
we call on your support