August 2016 - Woohoo Gifting Blog

Qwikcilver launches gift card exchange platform

As appeared in The Times of India on 26 August 2016 by Shalina Pillai.

—————————————————————————————

BENGALURU: Qwikcilver solutions, gift card technology and prepaid solutions company, has launched a consumer to consumer gift card trading exchange marketplace for consumers. This allows users to convert their unused or partially used gift cards to cash. Buyers, on the other hand, will be able to purchase gift cards at special prices.

We had been developing this for the past eight months and are launching this in time for the festive season. We got a number of feedback from our customers. We are bullish that it has the potential to drastically increase the number of gift card users in India. With the Indian Gift Card Industry growing at 300% annually, this would help to further scale the category across a new segment of Gift Card users,” said Pratap TP, co-founder and CMO, Qwikcilver.

The company, which recently raised funds from Sistema Asia Fund, the proprietary fund of Russian conglomerate Sistema, has partnered with over brands enabling access to 5000+ stores and portals’ including retail chains, entertainment platforms, travel partners and leading currency providers.

Qwikcilver’s consumer-focussed gifting app, Woohoo, would digitize the listed cards, Pratap added. “Once the seller lists their physical gift card on the platform, the card gets disabled and a new electronic version of the same is created and gets listed on the Woohoo Marketplace,” he said. It will also allow the users to convert loyalty points from banks and NBFCs to digital gift cards and cash.

It had recently appointed former Reserve Bank executive director, G Padmanabhan as a strategic advisor.

Qwikcilver has launched a platform that allows people to sell their partially used or unused gift cards

As appeared in The Hindu on 26 August 2016.

—————————————————————————————

Are you one of those saddled with too many gift cards and looking at ways to get rid of them. Don’t let them go to waste: there is now a place where you can trade them for cash.

Qwikcilver Solutions, a leading gift card technology provider, has come up with a platform that enables consumers to turn their partially used or unused gift cards into cash by listing them on the Woohoo gifting app.

They will also be able to convert loyalty points, generated from loyalty programs of multiple banks and NBFC channels, to digital gift cards, which can subsequently be sold on the newly launched Woohoo Secondary Marketplace. Once the card is sold, the money is credited directly to the seller’s bank account.

In order to obviate possibilities of misuse, all the listed gift cards are verified and authenticated in real time in the backend, said Pratap TP, Co-Founder & CMO, Qwikcilver.

Customers, who have physical gift cards, need not have to ship them to the buyer. Once customers list their physical cards on the platform, they get disabled and a new electronic version of the same (with the value and validity intact) gets created and listed, which can then be purchased by someone who is looking for a gift card.

The platform also allows sellers to change the price of the card, or even pull it off before it’s sold.

Stating that it’s India’s first fully integrated consumer-to-consumer marketplace for selling and buying gift cards, Mr Pratap said the launch of the platform ahead of the festival season is expected to give a further impetus to the Indian gift card industry that is growing at 300% annually.

There are over 150 brands and more than 5,000 stores and portals on board Woohoo, which is available on Android and also on the web. It allows customers to redeem the gift cards either at online or offline stores. Woohoo comes from Qwikcilver, the company whose technology works in the background powering the gift card schemes of a large number of online and physical outlets.

Qwikcilver – Trending and Buzzing across leading publications and sites

Qwikcilver, Funding, Investment, gift card platform

“..Bangalore-based Qwikcilver, which runs gift card tech site Woohoo has announced a fresh round of funding led by Sistema Asia Fund Advisory, a proprietary fund floated by Sistema JSFC..” –Techinasia.com

“..The company will use the funding to further invest in R&D, scale the Gift Card category, and expand into new geographies..”- Yahoo News Singapore

“..Qwikcilver has established and reinforced the Prepaid & Gift Card network in Indian retail, with close to 90 per cent share of the customer engagements across 150+ leading brands & retailers in 25 consumption categories…” – e27.co

“…QwikCilver will use the funding to double the value of gift cards it sells to Rs 4,000 crore in the current fiscal year. The company is also eyeing international expansion to markets in Middle East, Southeast Asia and Australia, where it is currently tying up with brands and merchants. ..” – Times of India

“..With Qwikcilver being the first startup in India back in 2014 to be backed by the Amazon India, it is no surprise to note that the existing investors such as Amazon India themselves, Accel India and Helion Venture Partners had also participated in this new round..”- techstory.in

Gifts for your friends relocating to a new city

While it’s exciting to move to a new city, it can also be tiresome. Relocating to a different city poses a number of challenges to a couple. For one thing, they have to sort out where they’ll live, how they’ll commute, where to send kids to school, how to arrange for amenities and so on. These challenges will take some time to overcome. Be sure to support and cheer your friends with gifts that they can use in their new home!

Let your gifts help them furnish their new home

While relocating to a new city, it becomes necessary to get rid of several belongings and move with a lighter load. Most people need to buy new furniture for their new home. Your friends might be wondering where and how to buy new furnishings and home goods. If you know a bunch of their friends, you could all pool in and buy the relocating couple a gift card from The Home Stop, Lifestyle, Shoppers Stop, Central or @Home. These are large shopping malls that sell every imaginable item of furnishing and home equipment one can want.

Gift them a well-deserved break!

Relocating to another city could be physically and mentally exhausting. Wouldn’t it be nice if you could gift your friends a short and nice trip or an experience to unwind, feel refreshed and good about the new possibilities that are in store for them? How about a gift voucher for a fine dining experience? You can choose a restaurant based on the couple’s favorite cuisine, such as Mainland China for Chinese, Spaghetti Kitchen for Italian, Oh! Calcutta for some Bengali cuisine or a host of other interesting options. Or, send them both to PVR Cinemas for a nice movie together. A nice and short weekend trip is also a great gift idea. You could pick a gift card from MakeMyTrip.com or Cleartrip.com.

Gifts that won’t be misplaced

You like the idea of gifting them these gift cards, but fear they might happen to misplace the physical card in the whole process of packing, moving and unpacking? There’s a perfect workaround! You can gift all of this via the Woohoo App. This way your friends will receive your e-gift voucher on their mobiles and will not run the risk of losing it. Not just that. To make the gift even more special, you could personalize it with pictures of fond memories, a voice note or a text message.

You know they’ll thank you for your warm gesture!

Note: Image is from smallbiztrends.com. Copyright vests with respective copyright holders.

(Post updated on 19 Aug 2016)

Woohoo Launches India’s First-Ever Platform For Trading Gift Cards

Woohoo is proud to announce the launch of India’s first peer to peer gift card trade solution that enables you to convert your unused gift cards to cash and offers buyers gift cards from some of the best brands at low prices, offered directly by the seller.

Buy Sell Gift Cards, trade gift cards

SELLERS – DON’T LET UNUSED GIFT CARDS GO TO WASTE. MONETISE IT.

Yes, Woohoo makes it possible for you to convert your unused gift cards into cash by giving you a platform to put it up for sale. All you need to do is to list your card on the “Buy / Sell Gift Cards” section in your Woohoo app. The listings are instant so you do not have to wait. Once your card is sold, you get the money directly in your bank account. Moreover, with the robust security system provided by Woohoo you can rest assured that the buyers are verified. Another feature that makes selling physical gift cards on the platform as hassle-free as selling e-gift cards is that you do not have to take the trouble of shipping your physical gift card to the buyer. Once you list your physical gift card on the Woohoo Buy / Sell platform, your physical gift card gets disabled and a new electronic version of the same (with the value and validity intact) is created, which can then be purchased by the buyers. At any point in time you could choose to de-list your gift card (if it has not been sold) and use it yourself.

BUYERS – GET THE BEST DEALS ON GIFT CARDS DIRECTLY FROM THE SELLERS

If you’re looking for gift cards at discounted prices, Woohoo would be your go-to destination. This innovative platform offers gift cards from brands like Woohoo, Lakme, Lifestyle, Arvind and Hidesign (many more are making their way as you read this) directly listed by the sellers at competitive prices. Of course, you’d have to be an early bird to catch the best deals before they’re gone!

Woohoo does the checks for you in the background to ensure you get what you see. In other words, the card value and validity are verified by Woohoo. Besides, once you purchase a gift card, the seller will no longer be able to use it. As for the delivery of the E-gift Card, it’s as instant as the click of your button. Once you’ve successfully made the payment for the gift card, it is electronically delivered to you that very instant. So you can go ahead and make your purchase without a moment’s hesitation.