What was once a simple present has become a pillar of digital commerce
-- The humble gift card has undergone a quiet transformation. Once associated mainly with last-minute presents and retail promotions, it has evolved into a sophisticated instrument of modern commerce. With global transaction volumes now exceeding $1trn annually, the gift-card market is attracting increasing attention from retailers, banks and digital platforms alike.
Paul van der Schueren, president of Ogloba, a global infrastructure provider for gift-card programmes, argues that the industry is entering a new phase. “Gift cards are no longer just about gifting,” he says. “They have become embedded financial products used for payments, incentives and loyalty.”
You can watch the full interview with Xraised here.
From gift to financial tool
The scale of the market reflects a broader shift in how businesses engage customers. Gift cards today are used in employee-benefit schemes, loyalty programmes, promotional campaigns and even government initiatives. For companies, they provide a convenient way to distribute digital value while generating prepaid cash flow.
Retailers in particular have embraced the model. Gift-card programmes can attract new customers, increase basket sizes and create repeat visits. In some cases, large global brands generate hundreds of millions-occasionally billions-of dollars annually through their gift-card ecosystems.
The digital push
The market remains divided between two formats. Physical cards continue to play an important role in stores, where they provide visibility and encourage impulse purchases. Yet digital cards are expanding rapidly, propelled by e-commerce, mobile wallets and instant delivery.
Mr van der Schueren estimates the market is still roughly split between physical and digital formats, though the balance is shifting steadily toward digital. The most effective strategy, he argues, is not to replace one with the other but to integrate both into a seamless retail experience.
The infrastructure behind the market
Behind the scenes, the gift-card economy depends on complex infrastructure linking retailers, distributors, banks and incentive platforms. Companies such as Ogloba provide the systems that manage issuance, distribution and settlement across multiple countries and currencies.
Such platforms must ensure security, compliance and scalability-particularly as gift cards increasingly circulate through global digital marketplaces. Without this technological backbone, the industry would struggle to operate at its current scale.
Embedded in digital commerce
Looking ahead, the role of gift cards is likely to expand further as they become integrated into banking apps, loyalty wallets and so-called super-apps. Employers are using them for incentives and benefits; digital platforms distribute them as rewards or credits; governments sometimes rely on them for targeted spending programmes.
The result is that gift cards are becoming less a retail novelty and more a building block of the digital economy. As Mr van der Schueren puts it, “They are evolving into a layer of financial infrastructure embedded within everyday digital commerce.”
About Paul van der Schueren
Paul van der Schueren is president of Ogloba, a platform that provides infrastructure for gift-card issuance, digital value distribution and loyalty programmes. He has spent more than two decades working in digital payments and financial technology.
About Ogloba
Ogloba develops platforms that enable retailers, distributors and mobile operators to manage gift cards, digital payments and customer-engagement programmes across international markets.
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