Stored Value Systems and Coinstar Open New Gift Card Distribution Channels

Coinstar, Inc. operates self-service coin counting kiosks in more than 12,000 locations nationwide. Any SVS merchant who has a Coinstar Center in their location(s) can now work directly with Coinstar to offer customers the opportunity to receive a gift card of equal value to coins redeemed. This differs from a coins to cash transaction where there is an 8.9 percent convenience fee charged to consumers.

Merchants who add the Coin to Card functionality may include their own gift card along with a variety of other retail gift cards from which their customer can choose when redeeming coins for cards. The gift card sale and transaction activity is processed by SVS and seamlessly combined with the customer's existing in-store gift card sales reporting.

The gift card mall program offers merchants a turnkey solution to providing customers with a range of retail gift cards that can be purchased through the check-out lane. Merchant card categories include books, clothing, home/office, dining, specialty, online and entertainment.

"We're very pleased to be working with a trusted technology leader like SVS to make available gift cards to consumers in a variety of ways," said Peter Rowan, vice president of New Business Innovation at Coinstar, Inc. "In addition, because SVS and Coinstar have many merchant clients in common, we believe we can save our customers time while delivering great value."

"The new frontier in gift card sales is not just boosting traditional sales within a merchant's four walls," Bob Skiba, SVS executive vice president and general manager, said. "Merchants are now looking for ways to get their gift cards in customer hands outside the traditional in-store delivery system. This agreement is a significant milestone in offering more distribution options for this very popular product."