INTERSPORT gift cards increasing in popularity

The sports retail group raised the amount of money loaded onto their gift cards by €20 million with epay’s digital gift card system.

Martinsried (Munich), Heilbronn, June 17, 2019:

Gift cards are increasing in popularity among customers and have long been an integral component of the offering of renowned retail companies such as INTERSPORT as a customer loyalty tool.

Leading sports retail company INTERSPORT, and epay, a leading full-service provider of gift card and prepaid solutions as well as electronic payment services in Europe, have been collaborating on a standardized, digital gift card system for the affiliated countries in the INTERSPORT group since 2016.

epay, which is part of Euronet Worldwide Inc. (NASDAQ: EEFT), is responsible for the technical and commercial implementation. The project was launched in Germany in 2016, followed by Austria in 2017, then Slovakia and the Czech Republic in 2018 and Hungary in April of this year. Since then, consumer interest in the gift cards has increased significantly, meaning that since the launch in 2016 to 2018, the amount of money loaded onto gift cards has increased by more than €20 million. The gift card is currently used by more than 1,000 affiliated stores in the five-country group.

The new gift card system is now available to all of the currently more than 1,100 INTERSPORT retailers and over 1,800 affiliated stores in the five-country group.

The gift card solution comprises cards that are available in a range of values and which feature various designs to suit the gift-giving occasion. Consumers can buy the cards online or in store from INTERSPORT retailers. The cards can then be redeemed online or at a retail outlet in the respective country.

“Despite the many different cash register systems used by the member companies, we have managed to introduce a single gift card solution with which we are successfully supporting INTERSPORT internationally in its repositioning and digitization activities,” said Stephan Heintz, Senior Director of Issuing at epay, explaining the particular challenges of the project. Even retailers without cash register integration can use the solution via the INTERSPORT gift card portal’s online tool. The online stores in Slovakia, the Czech Republic and Hungary are currently also being connected.

In addition, INTERSPORT has access to epay’s network of the largest retailers with 707,000 point-of-sale terminals worldwide via gift cards in third-party sales as well as in B2B sales as an incentive solution for new customer acquisition, customer loyalty and employee motivation via cadooz, a sister company of epay. “INTERSPORT is thus opening up additional sources of revenue in the form of the haptic gift card in stationary retail and, in particular, a further sales channel,” explains Stephan Heintz of epay. The company’s numerous retailers also benefit from having this attractive fashion and sports gift card in their gift card range.

About INTERSPORT

Since 2013, INTERSPORT Germany and Austria, together with the markets in Hungary, the Czech Republic and Slovakia, have formed a team in the heart of Europe – the five-country group with more than 1,800 stores and revenue totaling €3.53 billion in 2018. INTERSPORT Germany represents the largest market within this group. The more than 900 German INTERSPORT retailers generated revenues of €2.85 billion on sports items in 2018. INTERSPORT was founded in 1956 as a medium-sized buying group by 15 forward-thinking retailers in Heilbronn, Germany.

About epay

epay is a world-leading full-service provider for payment processing and prepaid solutions and processed 1.15 billion transactions in 2018. The company has built up an extensive network of retailers with 707,000 point-of-sale terminals in 47 countries, to connect renowned brands with consumers all around the world. The company offers a portfolio of gift cards (prepaid, closed loop and digital media), business incentives and payment solutions (card acceptance, terminals, e-commerce, mobile and Internet of Payment) for omnichannel commerce, and offers its services thanks to its proprietary cash register integration software.

epay is a division of Euronet Worldwide, Inc. (NASDAQ: EEFT), a Kansas-based company which earned $2.5 billion in revenue in 2018, employing a staff of 7,100 employees and serving customers in 165 countries.

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