Granite moved from physical gift cards to digital prepaid Mastercards for employee gifting in 2022, according to a CleverCards case study published on December 13, 2023. The account describes a change in distribution and spending choice, supported by employee feedback reported by the supplier. [S01]

CleverCards identifies ordering costs, delivery delays and restricted merchant choice as problems with the previous arrangement. It says the digital cards received a stronger response from employees. These are claims in a customer case study, rather than findings from a published independent evaluation. [S01]

The reported feedback

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The reported feedback

Gift format in the case study

Reported average satisfaction

Previous physical gift cards

1.6 out of 5

Digital CleverCards

4.8 out of 5

The public account does not disclose respondent numbers, the questionnaire, response rates or whether the same employees assessed both formats. The ratings should be read as reported feedback about this case, not as a representative comparison of all physical and digital gift cards. [S01]

What can be learned from the switch

An employer issuing physical rewards must account for ordering and delivery. A digital arrangement moves the focus to recipient access and the conditions under which the value can be spent. Either design still has to suit the workforce and the purpose of the award.

The commercial question is which aspects of the previous process created friction, and whether the replacement addresses them. A different acceptance footprint, a simpler distribution process and a new provider can all change the experience at once, making a single cause difficult to isolate.

The case provides a historical example of an employer changing its gift-card setup. It does not establish a measured productivity or retention benefit. Nor does the product format alone establish the tax treatment of every award. The evidence is the described transition and the limited feedback reported alongside it.