The news: Blackhawk Network and Visa will launch physical gift cards with tap-to-pay capability.
The cards have no printed account numbers or CVVs. Gift card recipients will be able access their funds by tapping to pay at contactless terminals or by adding their card to a mobile wallet using the MyCardWallet app.
Enhanced security: Blackhawk’s contactless gift cards are not only a boon for consumer convenience—they’re a major step to thwarting fraud.
Without human-readable data elements, swindlers cannot as easily drain prepaid cards of their value before consumers purchase them, which is an endemic source of fraud in the payments space, per ACI Worldwide. Year to date, gift card-related fraud losses have already hit $53.6 million, per the FTC.
Blackhawk Network’s MyCardWallet app can stymie fraud further by using Apple ID and Google ID authentication to prevent bad actors from accessing gift card recipients’ accounts.
Why this matters: Gift cards reign supreme for holiday shopping and are highly popular among Gen Zers.
- 39% of holiday shoppers plan to spend nearly half (48%) of their total holiday shopping budget on gift cards, per Blackhawk Network.
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Gen Zers drive this spend: These shoppers were expected to increase their gift card purchases by 12% on gift cards in 2024.
Our take: Blackhawk’s rollout patches a serious security loophole that risked gifters and recipients’ money being snatched by fraudsters.