Partner and profit with gift and loyalty royalty

Valutec, a full-service gift card and loyalty solutions provider and FIS Global brand, was founded in 1998 in Franklin, Tenn., by Jack Lance, a payments leader focused on helping processor partners deliver affordable solutions to small and midsize merchants. Today the company is part of the FIS Merchant Payment Platforms division. Anna Ladd, senior product sales leader at FIS, helms Valutec's team of six sales associates, three channel managers, three reorder specialists, a sales coordinator and marketing specialist.

Throughout its history, Valutec has striven to "be the change" while remaining true to core values of winning as one team and leading with integrity. The company prides itself on continuously enhancing its suite of gift and loyalty solutions, which include digital gifting, digital marketing, social programs, mobile wallets and cash-back reward solutions, all with auto-reloading capabilities.

Continuous innovation

Chelsea King, senior channel development manager at Valutec, noted Valutec rolled out digital gifting in 2021, using the same trusted rails that Valutec has always offered but in new ways. "Digital Gift Plus took Valutec to the next level," she said. "Our gift platform has always offered top-tier services for classic gifting needs, but as ecommerce grew and COVID 19 changed buying behavior, our customers needed more than just classic gift."

Describing Digital Gift Plus as a two-fold product, King said the solution is designed to simplify and enhance online gifting. Merchants can use the platform's advanced analytics to track and understand customer data, and they can use these insights to fine tune marketing and targeted online offers, she added.

King also noted that Valutec continually advances its solutions to remain competitive and attractive to merchants. For example, the company regularly offers premium promotions as a strong incentive for merchants to expand their gift card offerings and benefit from these programs.

Partner, reseller benefits

Valutec has long-lasting relationships with employees and partners, King noted, and has always been processor agnostic. The company provides merchant acquirers, ISOs and agents, and their customers with 24/7 support, access to gift card balances and more, she added, citing the following partnership benefits:

• Merchant longevity, profitability: Merchants who process gift cards tend to stay in Valutec partners' portfolios longer and have higher average tickets, which translates to high residual earnings.
• Recurring revenue streams: Monthly residuals for Valutec partners on gift card services equate to $10 or more per merchant account for upgraded Valutec packages.
• Card sale profits: Commissions from plastic gift card sales, which could add up to thousands of dollars per year for Valutec partners.
• Merchant account growth: Valutec partners have seen nearly every gift card sold bring at least two customers into a store, and 55 percent of gift card users visit more than once to deplete their card balances.

Proven leadership

King went on to say that Valutec has been a leading gift card and loyalty provider since 1998, while staying true to its values and remaining processor agnostic through many changes. The company was acquired in 2007 by Metavante, she said, which merged with FIS in 2009. In 2019, FIS purchased Worldpay, and the heritage Mercury gift solution was integrated into the Valutec platform. Throughout these events, Valutec continued to build and integrate digital gifting and marketing solutions and unveiled a new technology suite in 2020.

King noted that with a five-year goal of growing revenue to $300 million, Valutec plans to continue innovating in the gift and loyalty space by expanding gift and loyalty solutions globally, launching new solutions for payment facilitation and ecommerce channels, and expanding distribution through APIs and NFTs. "Today, we have a best-of-breed card and digital gift platform that is ready for growth after completing $4 million in upgrades over the past two years," King said. "Valutec was recently named Best Prepaid Card Solution in 2021 by Global Payments."

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