Hallmark and InComm Payments have launched Gift Card Greetings, a range of physical greeting cards that can carry a digital gift card. The service connects the paper card to InComm’s online gift card shop, where senders can select from more than 100 brands.

After buying a greeting card, the sender scans the code printed inside it, chooses a participating brand and adds the amount to give. A handwritten message can accompany the digital gift, preserving the familiar greeting-card format while moving the stored value into a digital product.

The recipient scans the same code and enters a four-digit PIN to retrieve the gift card. The value can then be spent with the relevant brand or retailer. InComm said a sender can forward redemption instructions by email if the paper greeting card is lost.

At launch, the cards were available through Hallmark’s website, Hallmark Gold Crown stores and selected retailers across the United States. InComm described the collaboration as a way to combine its prepaid and online distribution technology with Hallmark’s established greeting-card channel ahead of the holiday season.