March 4, 2025 | 5 min read

Giftbit unwraps prepaid cards with Marqeta

Marqeta
Giftbit is on a mission to make reward programs easy to implement for businesses and their reward recipients. Prepaid cards are at the center of their program because they’re pretty much universally accepted. However, legacy systems and friction-heavy processes can make these easy-to-use cards difficult to issue. 
Enter Marqeta, with a modern card-issuing platform that helped Giftbit fulfill their mission and make their clients happy. 
Giftbit empowers businesses to drive meaningful results with rewards. Whether celebrating employee milestones, encouraging survey participation, or rewarding learning achievements, Giftbit's solutions make reward programs easy to implement and scale. 
Their platform offers a self-service web application for easy access or a powerful API that can integrate and automate rewards, making it ideal for businesses of all sizes. In short, Giftbit helps companies foster rewarding relationships. 

The challenges of issuing prepaid Visa cards 



Whilst prepaid cards were ideal for recipients, the systems behind them were riddled with challenges that complicated Giftbit’s operations. These included: 
  • Lengthy due-diligence processes
  • Requiring projected annual purchases of $10M
  • Restrictive contracts with exclusivity clauses
  • Complex pricing structures with hidden fees
  • Outdated technology that slowed down operations
Frustrating cardholder experiences
Giftbit did not want to burden their clients with slow, outdated processes. They needed a partner that aligned with their mission and approach. 

Why Giftbit chose Marqeta 


When Giftbit discovered Marqeta, the fit was immediately apparent. Marqeta could provide the tools they needed to streamline their prepaid card program while delivering a better experience for recipients. Here’s what that looked like:
  • Reward programs could start operating quickly with a simple KYB (Know Your Business) check, shrinking the onboarding timeline
  • Unlike legacy providers, Marqeta placed no exclusivity or minimum purchase requirements on Giftbit
  • With intuitive activation processes and on-demand card usability, recipients could activate and spend their rewards without unnecessary steps or friction
By leveraging Marqeta’s advanced tools, Giftbit was able to build a reward card program that delivered exceptional value. 

Card-issuing APIs 


Marqeta’s enterprise-level APIs provided Giftbit with the flexibility to make their card program impactful. From endpoints and callbacks to detailed attributes, the robust API infrastructure put Giftbit in the driver’s seat to design experiences that mattered. 
“With Marqeta’s technology, cardholders can access their transaction history and card balance directly on a customer-facing site we host, allowing them to troubleshoot issues on their own before reaching out.”
Sofia Baltasar, Head of Customer Success, Giftbit

The Marqeta dashboard


Marqeta’s dashboard makes retrieving and analyzing cardholder data more efficient for Giftbit customer support. 
“The Marqeta dashboard equips our team with detailed transaction histories and clear explanations for any card issues, enabling us to assist cardholders efficiently so they can access and use their funds seamlessly.”
Sofia Baltasar, Head of Customer Success, Giftbit


Just-in-Time (JIT) Funding 


Marqeta’s JIT Funding added agility to Giftbit’s financial operations. Instead of pre-funding cards at issuance (as required by legacy systems), Giftbit only paid when a recipient used the card. 

The benefits: Cash flow isn’t tied up unnecessarily, and cardholders still get fast approvals on their purchases. 

By removing the pain points often found with legacy systems, Marqeta empowers businesses like Giftbit to focus on what truly matters; building lasting relationships with their customers. 
    

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