CashStar

CashStar operates as a provider of digital gifting solutions, offering a comprehensive Software-as-a-Service (SaaS) platform for merchants to manage gift card commerce. The company was co-founded in late 2007 by Steven Boal, who also founded Coupons.com, and David Douglas Stone. The founding story is one of a reboot; an earlier California-based version of CashStar incubated at Coupons Inc. was unsuccessful, but its investors provided the remaining $4 million to Boal and Stone to launch a new company in Portland, Maine, focused on virtual gift cards. David Stone, who conceptualized the business from his attic in Falmouth, Maine, became the founding CEO and started building the team in December 2007.

The company's core offering is the CashStar Commerce platform, a technology that enables retailers to market, sell, and distribute both digital and physical gift cards directly to consumers (B2C) and businesses (B2B). This platform operates across multiple channels, including web, mobile applications, and social media. CashStar's business model is centered on providing this white-label platform to major brands, allowing them to maintain their branding while managing their gift card programs. The company serves a diverse client base of leading brands in retail, restaurant, and travel, including names like SEPHORA, Starbucks, The Home Depot, and Uber.

The platform's features are designed to handle the entire customer lifecycle, from acquisition to loyalty. For B2B clients, CashStar Business provides tools for managing corporate relationships, offering features like custom and co-branded cards, promotional programs, and funds management to streamline bulk purchases. For B2C engagement, the platform allows for personalized recipient experiences and can be integrated directly into a merchant's native mobile app via an SDK. A significant milestone for CashStar was its acquisition by Blackhawk Network (BHN) in August 2017 for approximately $175 million in cash. This acquisition integrated CashStar's digital platform into BHN's broader suite of branded payment and financial technology solutions, strengthening BHN's position in the first-party digital gift card market. Following the acquisition, CashStar continued to operate as part of Blackhawk's digital and incentives business.

Keywords: digital gifting, gift card commerce, SaaS platform, prepaid commerce, B2B gift cards, B2C eGifting, omnichannel retail, merchant solutions, branded payments, mobile gifting, customer engagement, e-commerce solutions, retail technology, loyalty programs, Blackhawk Network, David Stone, Steven Boal, virtual gift cards, gift card API, promotions platform