Blackhawk Network Acquires Gift Card Rewards Firm Tango

Branded payments provider Blackhawk Network is acquiring B2B gift card firm Tango Card.

Tango established the digital-first reward experience through its application programming interface (API), coupled with its service and global content, according to a Wednesday (Jan. 31) press release.

“We have been a longtime partner to Tango and were also an early investor,” Blackhawk Network President and CEO Talbott Roche said in the release, adding the acquisition will provide “global, scalable solutions and innovation to the rewards and incentives industry.”

The deal will let customers of both companies access Tango’s B2B incentives platform and customer support, magnified by Blackhawk’s larger scale.

“Customers today need global rewards, innovative technology, reliable supply chains, and an unwavering focus on support and service,” Tango founder and CEO David Leeds said in the release, adding the combination with Blackhawk will improve support of “customers’ evolving global needs and create awesome experiences for recipients.”

The acquisition closes out a month that began with another deal in the gift card space, when RDE, operator of digital deals brand Restaurant.com, announced it had acquired secondary gift card marketplace CardCash.com.

The companies said their combination expands RDE’s cross-selling marketing opportunities and offers Restaurant.com’s customers a wider range of discounted gift card options.

Gift cards have grown in popularity, PYMNTS wrote last year, a trend that makes sense “given the fact that we’re living in such an inflationary environment, and the cards themselves can boost a recipient’s spending power at a favored store or site.”

Digital gift cards have certain benefits when compared to their physical counterparts.

“Often, recipients stow away these cards in their wallets or purses, unintentionally overlooking them amidst the accumulation of their belongings over time, resulting in these once-considerate gifts going untouched,” PYMNTS wrote in September. “Expiration dates on specific gift cards only worsen the situation, placing recipients at risk of forfeiting the card’s value.”

Blackhawk’s acquisition of Tango comes just over a month after the company partnered with payment network Affirm to give consumers more choice and freedom in buying gift cards. Shoppers can use Affirm to purchase digital gift cards on the company’s app or website.