Blackhawk Network

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Blackhawk Network
Type	Gift Cards, DVD Rentals, ACH Payment Systems, Prepaid Debit and Credit Cards
Founded	2001
Headquarters	Pleasanton, California, United States of America
Area served	North America, Europe and Austrailia
Parent	Safeway Inc.
Website	http://www.blackhawknetwork.com

Blackhawk Network or Blackhawk is a worldwide gift card distribution network responsible for the sales and activation of gift cards, prepaid credit cards and prepaid debit cards. Blackhawk also owns a DVD rental kiosk service known as DVD play. Blackhawk is also in the process of phasing in an ACH payment system, known as Fastforward, starting with Safeway Inc. stores with plans to extend this to other affiliates sometime in the future.

Gift Cards

Blackhawk is responsible for both the distribution of gift cards to stores, and for the software involved in the activation of the cards. Blackhawk has gift cards for over 250 affiliates ranging from music to restaurants and sporting events. These are all free of processing fees to the consumer.

Prepaid Credit/Debit

Prepaid credit and debit cards are also sold through Blackhawk. These usually come with a service or activation fee on top of the cost of the card. These cards are issued with names such as Visa and Master Card. These cards are used as a regular credit card so they can be used anywhere that accepts that brand of credit card.

DVD Play

DVD Play Kiosks are DVD rental Kiosks that allow you to rent DVDs by just using your credit card and selecting a movie you wish to rent. These kiosks are operated completely backstage this allows DVDs rented from one machined may be returned to any other machine, also allowing machines to be fixed without coming to the store.