PORTLAND, OR–(Marketwire – July 28, 2010) –  Giftango Corporation, the virtual gift card company allowing incentive houses, loyalty professionals, and merchants to significantly reduce the fulfillment costs associated with traditional gift cards, today announced the signing of 35 national merchant brands that span categories such as retail, travel, hospitality, cosmetics and consumer electronics. Giftango is simplifying the management and delivery of virtual gift cards for both issuers and distributors and has signed customers Amazon®, Cabela’s®, JCPenney®, Lowe’s®, Nike®, and many others.

Eight Incentive and Loyalty companies have signed with Giftango to issue virtual gift cards to date. One of the first to issue Giftango gift cards in an incentive program, Madison Performance Group (MADISON), already has plans for expansion. “The option to instantly receive a gift card via email has proven to be a popular selection for employees within in our programs,” said Alex Richman, director, global services. “We are very pleased with the Giftango virtual gift card user experience and our clients appreciate the eco-friendly option this solution provides. MADISON has deployed the solution for several clients and it is quickly being adopted by many of our programs.”

The Gift Card Predicament For Incentive & Loyalty Companies

Incentive and Loyalty companies manage rewards programs for credit card companies, airlines, employee incentives and similar programs. Participants typically exchange the “points” they earn for a variety of goods and services including travel vouchers, gift cards, or merchandise. Each year, these rewards “points” are redeemed for the gift cards of several national brands.

While immensely popular, these programs often present challenges for incentive companies. Managing gift card inventories and the fulfillment costs associated with plastic gift cards has long been a time consuming exercise and significant expense for Incentive and Loyalty companies. In addition, consumers often wait several days to receive their plastic cards through traditional mail delivery.

“We provide virtual card delivery for merchants around the country through a variety of web based solutions, and our customers find that 70% of online shoppers select virtual gift card fulfillment when given the choice,” said David Nelsen, CEO, Giftango. “The platform we have built and invested in over the course of the last five years allows Giftango to provide a very flexible solution for our partners in the Incentive and Loyalty space. We have been fortunate to work with several successful Incentive companies to tailor aspects of our solution that help reduce the costs associated with traditional gift cards, as well as integrate with existing retail systems. Forward thinking merchants are more than eager to participate and we are adding leading brands by the day.” 

How The Giftango Solution Works

The Giftango solution allows Incentive and Loyalty companies to make a onetime connection to Giftango and issue gift cards to the consumer’s email address and or mobile device. In addition to dramatically lowering fulfillment costs and inventory concerns, the Giftango solution brings with it a host of additional benefits including:

• Verified delivery — Cards are delivered to the consumer’s email immediately at the conclusion of the transaction. The Giftango solution tracks the receipt of the gift card and issues reminders to the consumer if they have not viewed their gift card
• Brick & Mortar Retail Acceptance — All of Giftango’s brands that have retail outlets accept the printed or mobile versions of the gift card
• A unique consumer experience including: the ability for the consumer to re-gift the virtual card, select from numerous gift card designs, view video on the card, and display a mobile friendly version of the gift card on their phone

About Giftango
Giftango, founded in 2005, is the virtual e-gift card company. The Giftango fulfillment solution gives Loyalty and Incentive companies the ability to add virtual gift card fulfillment for a wide variety of national brands to their existing user interface. Giftango is integrated with eight gift card processors and has patent pending technology focused on security, the delivery of virtual gift cards to mobile devices, and virtual card functionality. www.giftango.com.

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