PayNearMe Partners with Blackhawk Network to Provide Financial Services to Retailers

SUNNYVALE, Calif., July 25, 2017 -- The U.S.’s largest electronic cash transaction network, PayNearMe, today announced a partnership with Blackhawk Network (NASDAQ:HAWK), a global financial technology company and a leader in connecting brands and people through branded value solutions. PayNearMe is now offering consumers the ability to pay with cash for rent, bills, online purchases and other goods and services at retail locations within Blackhawk’s extensive network of retailers. The first retailer currently utilizing PayNearMe’s service is Casey’s General Stores, which operates in 15 states throughout the Midwest. Adding PayNearMe to Casey’s General Stores allows more rural Americans to make electronic payments with cash—whether they are part of the 27 percent of U.S. households that are unbanked and underbanked or they simply prefer to use cash.

“Blackhawk Network is an outstanding provider of branded value and works with some of the largest, most specialized and unique retailers in the world,” said Danny Shader, PayNearMe CEO and founder. “We are incredibly excited to offer their retail partners new options for cash consumers. Together, we can help ensure that all payment methods are considered equal and easy to use.”

PayNearMe enables cash users to pay more than 17,000 national and local non-profits, businesses and government organizations in minutes with one trip to their local store. A scan of the PayNearMe barcode on the user’s phone or on paper and a cash payment to the store cashier ensure near real-time payment posting.

“We are pleased to be adding PayNearMe’s services within our network,” said David Tate, senior vice president, U.S. retail at Blackhawk Network. “Our new partnership provides consumers with additional convenience by making it even easier for them to make electronic payments, while creating value for our retail partners by driving traffic and new opportunities for customer engagement.”

Organizations like Comcast, Greyhound, Oportun, Grameen America, and more use PayNearMe’s innovative technology at 28,000 existing stores to ease the challenges of transacting with cash. Many of those stores are open 24/7, and others are open extended hours, making payment locations easily accessible for consumers on even the tightest of work schedules. Partnering with Casey’s adds nearly 2,000 stores across 15 states covering predominantly rural areas to PayNearMe’s network, bringing PayNearMe’s retail store count to 30,000.

PayNearMe enables cash payment acceptance for everything from one-time payments such as the purchase of a Greyhound ticket or payment of IRS taxes, to regularly occurring accounts-based payments such as utilities, child support and more. Organizations interested in accepting cash payments through PayNearMe can visit: http://paynearme.com/en/businesses/.

About PayNearMe
PayNearMe has been enabling government agencies and businesses to accept cash payments remotely since 2009. Using PayNearMe, consumers can make payments on their own schedule, in their own neighborhood, at one of 28,000 trusted locations in the U.S., which include CVS Pharmacy®, 7-Eleven®, Family Dollar®, ACE Cash Express and Fidelity Express stores. PayNearMe processes cash payments for the IRS, Comcast, Greyhound, Herbalife and the California Department of Child Support Services, among others. Follow PayNearMe on Twitter, LinkedIn and Facebook.
© 2017 Handle Financial, Inc. All rights reserved. Other company and product names may be trademarks of their respective owners.

About Blackhawk Network
Blackhawk Network Holdings, Inc. (NASDAQ:HAWK) is a global financial technology company and a leader in connecting brands and people through branded value solutions. Blackhawk platforms and solutions enable the management of stored value products, promotions and incentive programs in retail, ecommerce, financial services and mobile wallets. Blackhawk’s Hawk Commerce division offers technology solutions to businesses and direct to consumers. The Hawk Incentives division offers enterprise, SMB and reseller partners an array of platforms and branded value products to incent and reward consumers, employees and sales channels. Headquartered in Pleasanton, Calif., Blackhawk operates in 26 countries. For more information, please visit blackhawknetwork.com, hawkcommerce.com, hawkincentives.com or our product websites giftcards.com, giftcardmall.com, cardpool.com, giftcardlab.com and omnicard.com.

For Editorial Contact:
Amber Moore
GMK Communications
(503) 943-9381
[email protected]