Netherlands-based prepaid payments company Recharge has added a B2B service that seeks to enable corporate gifting of prepaid products. The new service enables businesses to purchase a selected range of prepaid items like gift cards and prepaid cards in large quantities.

The product is reportedly addressed to enterprises interested in incentivising or rewarding their employees with prepaid offerings. According to the official statement, the new offering provides long-term cost savings for businesses, as it can help them reduce packaging costs – given that they can buy large quantities of digital products. Recharge has a digital prepaid product catalogue that purportedly contains over 15,300 products from more than 800 brands worldwide.

The wider context When discussing the reasons behind the launch of this B2B service, an official from Recharge outlined that the offering serves as evidence of their dedication to addressing the changing needs of businesses. On top of that, the representative pointed to the overall profitability of the global corporate gifting sector by referring to an article that analyses its recent development. According to researchers, in 2021 alone, the before mentioned sector expanded to USD 242 billion.

Apart from being used as a means to reward and incentivise employees, studies have shown that gift cards can also ease the living cost burden. As recent research conducted by the Blackhawk Network on US citizens shows, with inflation rates climbing, consumers face the task of balancing their budgets. To navigate this surge, one of the tactics employed involves purchasing gift cards for personal use—primarily aimed at exerting control over their spending (37%).

Much like the trend observed with gift cards, experts predict a surge in the popularity of prepaid cards as well. As one Juniper report indicates, as a result of the digitalisation boom, the worldwide adoption of digital prepaid cards is projected to experience a 650% growth by 2028. Recharge’s foray into the B2B market builds on its expertise and reputation in the prepaid payments industry.

The company operates in over 180 markets all around the world and processes millions of online transactions each year. Its online platform offers digital vouchers and prepaid solutions from brands like Apple, Google, PlayStation, and Paysafe. On top of that, Recharge extends cross-border call and data credit remittance services.

Earlier in 2023, Blackhawk Network (BHN) and Recharge revealed that they expanded their previous collaboration in a bid to enable BHN to digitally distribute gift cards across the United States and Canada. .