Ahaus’s city super-app and the Erlebnisregion Europa-Park CARD & App won Digital City Award categories on September 28, 2026. The LBMA published the results the following day, recognizing two ways to combine local prepaid value with broader services. [S01]
Two local voucher models, with merchant-set regional cashback
Tobit.Software’s Ahaus SuperApp won Best Digital City Solution. Its chayns platform combines a city voucher and payments with municipal, retail, hospitality and leisure services. The organizer and supplier report more than 400 local applications or partners, more than 10,000 users and roughly EUR 1 million of voucher turnover over the preceding year. The 400 figure is not a verified count of voucher acceptors. The organizer also reports operation in six other cities and preparation in 14, rather than announcing those launches at the award ceremony. [S01] [S02]
Best Regional Collaboration went to the Europa-Park regional card, submitted by Simpli CityCard with seven municipalities. The organizer reports more than 8,000 users and more than 60 participating businesses after the April 1 regional launch. Its operational directory also shows how merchants use the card: the three examples below offer different percentages of purchase value back as card credit. [S01] [S03] [S04]
Three published cashback offers in the awarded regional network
Current programme records show 3% at Buntstift, 2% at Haarmode Himmelsbach and 1% at Ulmer in Herbolzheim.
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Tap or hover for details. All values are also available in the data table.
Source
Selected examples checked October 19, 2026, not a network average, exhaustive range or ranking of merchant value. These are card-linked purchase bonuses, not immediate discounts. Registration is required; merchants can change offers. No purchases or realized cashback are measured.
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| Category | Published card cashback rate |
|---|---|
| Buntstift | 3% |
| Haarmode Himmelsbach | 2% |
| Ulmer | 1% |
All three charted businesses have current regional-programme profiles in Herbolzheim, with voucher loading and redemption enabled. The amounts are credited for future spending within the participating network. The operator’s FAQ requires a registered card, allows the underlying purchase to be paid by cash or another method, and says merchants may change their offers. It also distinguishes cashback from an immediate price reduction. [S04] [S05]
The regional service combines a physical or digital card, app and partner portal for gifts, bonuses, visitor benefits and employee benefits. The municipal launch account confirms that the existing Ettenheim and Herbolzheim cards were integrated. A January bulletin already reported around 8,000 registered cards across those predecessor systems, so the later user figure cannot be treated as 8,000 new customers acquired since April. [S03] [S06]
The award figures do not share an independently audited definition of active use or incremental local spending. They therefore do not establish a performance ranking between Ahaus and Europa-Park, and the cashback examples show published terms rather than measured economic impact. The remaining award categories recognized Marburg’s city marketing and retailer Schuh-Beck’s use of artificial intelligence; four winners were selected from 15 submissions by a six-member jury. [S01]
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Suzie Elis
Suzie Elis covers gift card products, digital gifting and distribution for Gift Card News.