Apple Pay users will have the option to make payments with gift and loyalty cards through an arrangement with Blackhawk Network's digital stored value system.
Pleasanton, Calif.-based Blackhawk Network will integrate its gift cards, e-gifts, loyalty and rewards programs into the Apple Pay mobile payment system. Blackhawk says the technology will enable it to serve as a digital pass provider for merchants by adding these forms of branded value into Apple Pay.
Consumers have the option to store, manage and make payments with gift and loyalty cards using the Wallet app on their iPhones.
“Blackhawk is working with our vast partnership network to lead the digital transition of different forms of branded value such as gift cards, e-gift and loyalty,” Talbott Roche, CEO and president of Blackhawk Network, said in a Dec. 5 press release.
The partnership allows consumers to make the payments through their iPhones or the Apple Watch, while simultaneously earning rewards and loyalty points at participating merchants through "just a touch of their device," Roche said.
Retailers can continue to encourage mobile payment adoption in knowing their branded cards are included, while promoting speed and convenience and providing more value to consumers through the loyalty and gift cards, said David Jones, Blackhawk Network's manager of global digital and e-commerce.
“The ability for a consumer to store all their loyalty programs in their mobile wallet along with any gift cards and checkout in one simple tap may be the impetus that digital wallets need,” Jones said in the release. “We believe that the ease of our Apple Pay solution could also advance enrollment and use of loyalty programs for brands and merchants.”
Earlier this year, Apple established a partnership with Kohl's to incorporate the
