News

Merchant Warehouse acquires gift, loyalty provider Opticard

March 26, 2014

Merchant Warehouse, a provider of payment technologies, has announced the acquisition of Opticard, a provider of gift and loyalty programs for organizations worldwide. Through this acquisition, Merchant Warehouse said it will offer deeper mobile and digital engagement opportunities for small and mid-sized businesses through an expanded suite of gift, loyalty and prepaid programs.

According to the companies, for nearly 20 years, Opticard has offered best-in-class solution processing for merchants, ranging from small businesses to Fortune 500 companies, completing more than 20 million transactions annually.

"Loyalty is truly centered around the customer experience; every customer counts, but it's the ones that keep coming back that are vital to any business. This is where we excel — providing the right type of loyalty program or prepaid cards for businesses to better attract, engage and retain customers," said Troy Smith, general manager at Opticard. "Bringing our solutions to the Merchant Warehouse product suite significantly expands the opportunity for merchants to create and deliver the right type of gift, loyalty or prepaid program for their customers. Merchant Warehouse is an innovative company, and we're thrilled to be part of a team that consistently looks for ways to enhance the business-customer relationship."

"Prepaid offerings shouldn't be complicated for the merchant or the consumer. It's really about delivering experience and value, and when done right, driving customer retention and business growth. That's why the next step in mobile innovation is transitioning the traditional gift, loyalty and prepaid options into digital formats," said Henry Helgeson, CEO of Merchant Warehouse. "Bringing these capabilities to mobile devices ensures consumers never have to worry about leaving coupons, gift cards or even their loyalty cards at home; they'll always be easily accessible and usable through their phones. This has significant potential for merchants to generate greater revenue and more effectively compete with big-box stores. We're looking forward to continued expansion and innovation of our payment technology capabilities and services for businesses to build greater customer loyalty."

Through the acquisition, Opticard employees will join the Merchant Warehouse team. Merchant Warehouse will continue to invest in Opticard's solutions, offerings and infrastructure, enabling continuous improvement and growth. Opticard will continue to operate independently and will remain in its current location.