epay expanded Amazon.de gift card distribution into around 3,350 retail stores in the Czech Republic and Poland, the company announced on 13 December 2018. The Euronet Worldwide division handled technical and commercial implementation for Amazon, using a different initial format in each market. [S01] [S02]

Two markets, two launch formats

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Two markets, two launch formats

Market

Approximate store count

Format at launch

Czech Republic

550

Claim code printed on the receipt

Poland

2,800

Physical gift cards

Combined footprint

3,350

Both formats together

Source: epay's December 2018 announcement. Counts describe retail distribution points, not customers or redemptions. The total is the sum of the two reported approximate store counts. [S01]

Czech customers received a PIN on their receipt and could redeem it to an Amazon.de gift card balance. Poland began with physical cards; receipt codes were planned for later in December, followed by barcode-based account loading in early 2019. Those later steps were announced plans, rather than completed deployments evidenced by the release. [S02]

A physical route into an online balance

The rollout linked a local retail purchase with value held in an online account. That structure gives the retailer a distribution role even when the eventual shopping takes place elsewhere. Receipt codes also separate the value purchased from the need to stock a physical card for every transaction.

The destination matters: the announcement concerned Amazon.de balances. Selling a card in another country does not turn it into a generic balance for every Amazon marketplace. Clear product identification and redemption instructions are therefore central to the customer journey.

epay said its relationship with Amazon dated to 2013 and had covered gift card solutions in 11 countries by the announcement. Marc Ehler, then epay's managing director in Europe, positioned the Czech and Polish expansion as additional distribution for Amazon and a broader international-brand offering for local retailers. [S02]

A promotion with an explicit end date

The launch included a promotion running through 31 March 2019: qualifying first in-store top-ups of at least €30 received €10 in promotional credit, subject to terms. This was a time-limited launch offer and is not a current promotion. [S01]

The announcement reported availability, formats and an incentive to try the service. It did not publish sales volumes, redemption rates or the proportion of shoppers who used the promotion. Those measures would be needed to establish what the enlarged store footprint delivered commercially.