We're including the piece below today because we think it's an interesting idea to position gift cards as a form of currency. One of the companies cited in the clip - Jifiti - provides apps that offer digital gift cards, and count retail behemoths Amazon, Ikea, Best Buy and Barnes & Noble as customers, amongst others. They also strongly emphasize their data collection, technology expertise and fraud prevention on their website. Seems currency is going through a big change these days. With digital currencies & digital gift cards, who needs old fashioned cash anymore? Let's go shopping, everyone!
(Cindy Taylor/Publisher)
"Giving and receiving unwanted gifts is an experience all too familiar for most of us. In fact, Americans spend a whopping $9.5 billion on unwanted gifts.
Of course, returning a gift to the giver is not an option, unless you want to effectively severe ties with the person. Today, thanks to advancements in technology, gifting is witnessing the emergence of new companies crafting innovative solutions to an age-old industry.
According to Yaacov Martin, CEO of gifting solutions company Jifiti, gifting can and should be thoughtful, yet flexible.
"This is achievable by pairing digital product catalogs with the ability to issue digital gift cards. This allows gift-givers to digitally select and send a thoughtful gift, but the recipient can choose how, when, where and even what to redeem; the thoughtfulness of a gift, but the flexibility of a gift card."
Indeed, even if we convince ourselves that it is the thought that counts, we do place monetary value on gifts and gift cards are, in essence, currency. Just like how actual cash can be used tender in countries, gift cards can be spent on goods and services even though offered by a specific business. Even the IRS considers gift cards and certificates as cash equivalents..."
Read Full Story at Forbes