Blackhawk Network Canada and FANBOX Announce Commercial Relationship to Offer Consumers a Greater Selection of Prepaid Gift Cards in Gift Card Mall Locations

MONTREAL, QUEBEC--(Marketwire - Sept. 18, 2012) - FANBOX, an industry leader in relational technologies and loyalty programs, and Blackhawk Network Canada, a leading provider of prepaid and financial payment products, today announced a new commercial relationship.

This new relationship will extend Blackhawk Network Canada's Gift Card Store retail sales throughout Quebec and other Canadian locations, while increasing the selection of third-party retail gift cards sold through its network.

"For a decade, the prepaid gift card market has been booming in the United States. We are now witnessing a growth surge in Quebec as consumers learn that a wide variety of Gift Cards are conveniently located in grocery, pharmacy and specialty stores," said Steve Dekker, Managing Director and Group Vice President, Blackhawk Network Canada. "This new relationship with FANBOX will increase the selection of third-party retail gift cards sold through Blackhawk Network Canada's Gift Card Store."

"We are thrilled to be a part of Blackhawk Network Canada's growth in Quebec," explains Daleyne Guay, President of FANBOX. "With the connection of our robust processing network with Blackhawk Network Canada, consumers will now benefit from more gift card choices in Quebec."

In a recent study conducted by Blackhawk Network, 70 percent of residents in Quebec stated they had purchased a gift card. The leading occasions for purchasing a gift card were birthday (62 percent), followed by Christmas (52 percent) and as a thank you (18 percent). Gift cards were most often purchased for a friend (34 percent), son/daughter (28 percent) and other family member (27 percent). The types of gift card most often purchased were restaurant (31 percent), department store (26 percent) and books/music/movies (23 percent).

About FANBOX

FANBOX is a North American leader in relational technologies and loyalty programs. FANBOX enables retailers to obtain, in real-time, the customer and product level information they need to deliver customized offers to the marketplace. Its patent pending MS2 platform is unique as it is: simple to interface, scalable for growth and secure for financial transactions. FANBOX's solutions are built on three pillars - all of which rely on the MS2 platform: loyalty programs, gift cards or pre-paid cards, the VIpass reward programs (VIpass.ca), and Communi-T, the token-based payment solution for senior residences. FANBOX is based in Boucherville, Quebec, Canada. For more information about FANBOX, visit http://www.fanbox.net.

About Blackhawk Network

Blackhawk Network, a subsidiary of Safeway Inc., is a leading provider of prepaid and financial payments products for consumers and businesses. The company's Gift Card Mall™ offers the industry's most popular prepaid gift card and telecom products from leading brands. Gift Card Mall, with access to 165 million unique customer visits each week, is available through a network of leading grocery stores, big box, convenience, pharmacy, specialty stores and Internet retailers including GiftCardMall.com. Blackhawk Network's business solutions include reward and incentive programs that offer choice and flexibility through a wide array of card brands, custom designed Visa® prepaid cards and fulfillment options. Headquartered in Pleasanton, California, Blackhawk Network Inc. has offices in the United States, Australia, Canada, France, Mexico and the United Kingdom. For more information about Blackhawk Network visit www.blackhawknetwork.com and www.giftcardmall.com.