GiftYa Raises $1 Million to Develop Patented Gift Credit System (Jan. 30, 2013)
Jan. 30, 2013
GiftYa LLC, a mobile and digital gift credit platform and spinoff company of parent GiftCards.com LLC, has received $1 million of seed capital to develop the GiftYa platform. The $1 million investment comes from Jason Wolfe, founder of GiftCards.com and CEO of Wolfe LLC.
GiftYa, which will be available online and as a mobile app in the first half of 2013, enables consumers to buy a GiftYa gift credit for any merchant, anywhere in the world, and deliver it to friends and relatives within minutes, according to an announcement. GiftYa recipients receive an email, text message and/or Facebook post announcing the GiftYa sender, amount and merchant.
From the app or Website, consumers select a dollar amount, merchant and recipient from their address book or list of Facebook friends. Then, they select a gift template or use a personal photo and add a message. When GiftYa recipients make a purchase at the specified merchant with a credit or debit card, the card they used is recognized by GiftYa and credited for the gift credit amount. Any unused funds are returned to the GiftYa buyer. There are no fees associated with GiftYa, according to the company.
“We’re committed to further growing and transforming the gift card industry and also leading this growth since we entered the industry 14 years ago,” said Wolfe, who added that the company has spent three years conceiving, developing and patenting GiftYa.
