Blackhawk Network, a leading provider of prepaid and financial payments products for consumers and businesses, has contracted with mFoundry, enabling Blackhawk to offer digital and physical gift cards from hundreds of brand name merchants to smartphone users through Fin.X from mFoundry. Fin.X is the next generation mobile banking platform from mFoundry, North America's leading provider of mobile banking and mobile payments.

Smartphone users whose financial institution has deployed Fin.X and offers this option can browse and buy gift cards electronically from entertainment, fashion, dining, and home improvement brands that have a relationship with Blackhawk Network. The purchased gift cards are accessible via the consumer's smartphone and can be redeemed electronically at participating merchants.

For institutions, Blackhawk Network's nationwide gift card network can provide a new profit center that delivers a new revenue stream. Institutions that want to offer Blackhawk Network's gift card network simply check that option on mFoundry's mobile banking platform and the feature will appear on their institution's smartphone application.

"This new partnership between Blackhawk Network and mFoundry is an exciting milestone for us," said Talbott Roche, President, Blackhawk Network. "Our ability to offer both digital and physical gift cards from the nation's leading retailers combined with mFoundry's mobile banking and payment solutions expertise allows us to bring financial institutions a wonderful opportunity to drive new revenue streams from digital channels while deepening relationships with consumers and retailers."

A hosted, cloud-based solution, mFoundry's Fin.X enables financial institutions to deliver significantly more mobile banking features to smartphones and tablets through an advanced, extensible architecture and a newly created, best-in-class Service Provider Network. By adopting mFoundry's Fin.X, institutions can provide a mobile banking experience that delivers the industry's widest choice of services, including remote deposit capture, peer-to-peer money transfer, account funding, mortgage rates, auto insurance quotes, account opening, gift card issuance, merchant funded offers, and retail bar-code scanning, among other features. mFoundry's new platform packs up to $100 of incremental per user revenue each year.1

"Blackhawk Network is a terrific partner who is creating revenue opportunities for financial institutions by satisfying the existing demand for gift cards across almost every product category," said mFoundry CEO Drew Sievers. "Gift card distribution is just one way mFoundry is helping banks turn mobile into their most profitable channel."