Business

Gift cards deliver profits of over €10m for One4all

More than half of revenues come from inactive balance charges and card administration fees, figures from GVS parent TSC Ventures indicate

By the end of 2022, the value of unredeemed balances on One4all giftcards in Ireland was €208.46 million.

Ellen O’Regan
Sat Feb 10 2024 - 00:00

GVS, the company that sells One4all gift cards in Ireland, has reported a profit of €10.43 million in 2022, as figures from its parent company indicate more than half of revenues come from inactive balance charges and other administration fees.

GVS Gift Voucher Shop Designated Activity Company oversees the sale of One4all gift cards in Ireland, which can be purchased online as well as through a number of vendors such as An Post, Tesco, Circle K and Dealz.

In its latest financial accounts for the year to December 31st, 2022, the company reported a profit after tax of €10.43 million, up from €10.15 million in 2021.

Turnover reached €34.57 million in 2022, up from €28.6 million the previous year.

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One4all cards can be redeemed at more than 170 stores across the country, but if a card is inactive for 18 months, GVS begins deducting a monthly inactive balance charge of €1.45 until the card balance reaches zero.

GVS also charges a fee of €2 per card when purchased from Post Point, Tesco, Circle K and Dealz outlets, or a €2 postage and packaging fee when purchasing cards online. If buying One4all cards from a post office, there is a fee of €2 for the first card and €0.50 per additional card.

The company did not provide a breakdown of how much of its Irish revenues were generated from gift card sales, or how much was generated from charges levied on inactive cards and other administration fees.

However, 2022 accounts for GVS parent company TSC Ventures Designated Activity Company show that more than half of revenues came from card administration fees.

Accounts for TSC Ventures, which oversees gift card sales across Ireland and the UK, reported total revenues of €72.31 million in 2022, which include GVS’s Irish revenues of €34.57 million.

[ Gift cards can hold unwelcome surprises as freezing of four shopping centres’ cards shows ]

TSC Ventures detailed that more than half (€37.11 million) of its revenues in 2022 came from “other income”, which includes card administration fees such as inactive balance charges and issuance fees.

Meanwhile, €34.2 million in revenue came from gift card sales, and €1 million from transaction fees.

A separate entity owned by TSC Ventures, GVS Prepaid (Europe) Limited, is responsible for the management and safeguarding of Irish client funds held in One4all gift vouchers.

[ An Post repays €30m loan to State in full ]

By the end of 2022, the value of unredeemed balances on One4all gift cards in Ireland was €208.46 million, which is held in a special client bank account controlled by GVS Prepaid (Europe) Limited.

GVS, GVS Prepaid (Europe) Limited and TSC Ventures are all ultimately owned by US company Blackhawk Network Holdings. The California-headquartered fintech acquired GVS from shareholders that included State-owned An Post in a €100 million deal in 2018.

Ellen O'Regan

Ellen O’Regan

Ellen O’Regan is an Irish Times journalist.

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