Virtual Incentives introduced a Global eGiftCards offering on January 26, 2016, covering more than 600 brands, more than 43 countries and 16 currencies. The company described digital delivery for online or in-store redemption, depending on the selected brand. [S01]

Local choices inside a common ordering process

The launch combined programme branding and personalisation with an online ordering platform and an API option. Email delivery supported desktop and mobile recipients. James Gary, identified as the company’s chief operating officer in the announcement, said the product was designed around differing market and currency needs. [S01]

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Local choices inside a common ordering process

Launch coverage

January 2016 announcement

Brands

More than 600

Countries

More than 43

Currencies

16

Ordering

Online platform or API

These were catalog coverage figures at launch. The release did not say that every brand was available in every country, or that an individual card could be spent across the whole international network. [S01]

Distribution reach and spending rights are different

That distinction is central to international reward procurement. A programme can reach recipients in many countries by offering different local products. It does not follow that each product has universal acceptance. Buyers still need to match the recipient’s market with the right denomination and redemption route.

The announcement’s significance was the common ordering layer around those local options. Consolidating a purchasing process can reduce the number of separate supplier relationships an operator manages, while the recipient experience remains dependent on the specific card chosen.

This is a historical account of the 2016 launch. The figures describe the offering announced then and should not be used as a statement of the company’s present-day catalog.