CardCash is taking its gift-card exchange service into Follett Higher Education campus bookstores, connecting unused retailer balances with spending on college supplies and merchandise. The partnership announced by parent company Giftify on June 29, 2026, has two commercial purposes: reaching new customers in physical stores and bringing additional gift cards into CardCash's resale marketplace. [S01]
The programme enables students, parents and campus visitors to exchange unused cards for purchasing value at participating campus stores. Giftify's announcement targeted expansion to approximately 700 locations by August 2026, including stores serving Stanford University and the University of Texas. That figure is the announced rollout target, not evidence that every location was already operating the service.
Campus distribution within CardCash's gift-card business
Giftify describes the resulting value as usable for purchases including textbooks, apparel, technology and dorm essentials. The new channel brings the exchange process into a setting where customers may already have an immediate purchase in mind. It connects value held with one retailer to a different shopping need through an exchange transaction. [S01]
That is distinct from a campus bookstore simply accepting every outside gift card as payment. The announcement describes exchanging unused cards for spendable campus-store value. It does not disclose the programme's valuation schedule, the brands accepted at each store, applicable limits or the detailed customer process. Those terms determine how much purchasing power a particular card can produce.
Follett's existing business supplies the retail setting. The company manages campus stores and provides academic materials and merchandise services to higher-education institutions. Its stores combine course-related purchases with branded clothing, gifts and other retail categories. That wider assortment creates several possible uses for exchanged value beyond the textbook counter. [S02]
CardCash operates in the secondary gift-card market, where existing cards are bought and sold. Giftify says its platform handles cards from more than 1,100 retailers. The Follett programme adds an in-person route into that business rather than announcing a new retailer-issued gift card. [S01]
Giftify identifies customer acquisition as the primary rationale. It expects campus stores to introduce the exchange service to shoppers at moments of active spending, particularly graduation and the return to college. The company also expects incoming cards to increase the supply available through CardCash. Both benefits are stated objectives; the launch release supplies no transaction results demonstrating their scale.
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