What Karta does

Karta is an Australian payments technology company that operates a gift card issuance and distribution platform targeted at corporate gifting and staff rewards use cases. The platform enables businesses of any size — from SMBs to enterprises — to issue branded digital and physical prepaid Mastercard gift cards without integration requirements, set-up costs, or minimum commitments, using a pay-as-you-go pricing model. Underlying technology is differentiated by the patented SafeToBuy NFC-based digital customer experience, which allows physical cardholders to check balances, register cards, and convert physical cards to digital versions via Apple App Clip or Android Instant App, and by AES encryption protocols developed in partnership with Infineon Technologies to mitigate gift card cloning, skimming, and replay attacks.

Karta's product portfolio comprises Karta Digital Gift Cards (activated via the Karta mobile app and added to Apple Wallet or Google Pay), Karta Physical Gift Cards (NFC-enabled, convertible to digital), Karta Connect (a B2B issuance and campaign management platform with spend controls, purchase limits, and insights-rich reporting), and the SafeToBuy patented interaction layer. The company generates revenue through transaction fees on gift card usage, service fees on corporate gifting platform loads, and purchase fees on physical cards. Cards are issued by 545490 Pty Ltd (ABN 83 648 605 225) and distributed by 545490 Ops Pty Ltd (ABN 48 659 671 315), both registered in New South Wales, Australia.

The business operates exclusively within the Australian market with Mastercard network acceptance providing broad in-store and online merchant reach. Strategic validation is evidenced by a 20% equity investment from CPI Card Group Inc. for $10 million in May 2025, alongside a core ecosystem partnership with Infineon Technologies AG for secured prepaid tag solutions. The founding team includes co-founders David Anderson (CEO) and Clare Kinsey (COO), with Marco Stazi as tech lead and founding member. The company is privately held and not listed on any stock exchange, with primary operations headquartered in Sydney.

Name

Karta

Legal name

545490 Pty Ltd trading as Karta Co

Website

https://karta.com.au

Company type

Private

Founded year

2021

Operating status

Operating

Headcount range

11–50 employees

Short description

Karta is an Australian payments technology firm operating a gift card issuance and distribution platform for corporate gifting and staff rewards, issuing branded digital and physical prepaid Mastercard gift cards via its patented SafeToBuy NFC technology and Karta Connect B2B platform.

Ownership category

akta.pro rank

Product category

Prepaid Gift Cards & Corporate Gifting Platform

NAICS

Credit Card Issuing (52221), Custom Computer Programming Services (541511)

SIC

Finance Services (6199), Miscellaneous Business Credit Institution (6159), Services-Computer Programming, Data Processing, Etc. (7370)

akta.pro primary industry

Prepaid Card Program Managers & Issuers (BIN Sponsors) (FSAMANAK)

akta.pro secondary industry

Embedded Card Issuing & Card-as-a-Service (FSAGALAC)

Keywords

• Prepaid gift cards
• Corporate gifting platform
• Mastercard prepaid cards
• Digital gift card issuance
• Staff rewards platform

Headquarters

HQ city

Sydney

HQ country

Australia

HQ region

Oceania

Offices1 record

Markets served

GTM type

B2B

Offering type

Software

Cost components

Technology or R&D, Personnel, Operations, Marketing or Sales, Infrastructure

Revenue model

1. Gift Card Sales and Transaction Fees: Karta earns revenue from the issuance of prepaid Mastercard gift cards. Digital gift cards are provided with no fees for using the card, while physical gift cards may have a purchase fee at time of buying. The company processes transactions and earns fees on each card use at participating merchants.
2. Corporate Gifting Platform Services: Karta provides businesses with a platform for corporate gifting and staff rewards programs. Clients establish a funding account and pay for load value of gift cards plus associated service fees. The platform provides branded digital gift cards, insights-rich business portal, and campaign management capabilities.

Pricing tiers

Go-to-market motion1 record

Distribution channels2 records

Marketing channels4 records

Core offering

Karta operates a B2B gift card issuance and management platform (Karta Connect) that enables businesses to issue branded digital and physical Mastercard prepaid gift cards for corporate gifting and staff rewards. Businesses can onboard within minutes with no setup costs and pay-as-you-go pricing, configure spend controls and campaign management via an insights-rich portal, and deliver cards that recipients can spend anywhere Mastercard is accepted in Australia, including via Apple Pay, Google Pay, and the patented SafeToBuy NFC experience.

Product overview

Karta is an Australian gift card platform operated by 545490 Pty Ltd (trading as Karta Co), offering both digital and physical prepaid Mastercard gift cards. The product portfolio consists of Digital Gift Cards (activated via the Karta mobile app and loaded into Apple Wallet or Google Wallet for contactless in-store and online spending), Physical Gift Cards (purchased in-store and convertible to digital via NFC registration), Karta Connect (a B2B platform for businesses to issue and manage branded gift card programs), and SafeToBuy (a patented NFC-based feature enabling balance checking, registration, and digital conversion of physical cards). Together, these products allow businesses to run corporate gifting and staff rewards programs while providing end recipients with a flexible Mastercard prepaid card experience.

Differentiator

Problem solved

Functional benefit

Products and services

• Karta Digital Gift Card Digital prepaid Mastercard gift card issued by Karta for Australian businesses and their staff/recipients; activated via the Karta Gift Card mobile app and used like a bank debit or credit card for in-store, online, and over-the-phone purchases via Apple Pay or Google Pay.
• Karta Physical Gift Card Physical Mastercard prepaid gift card accepted in-store at Mastercard merchants in Australia, with NFC-enabled registration and conversion to a digital wallet version via the Karta mobile app.
• Karta Connect B2B gift card issuance and management platform that enables Australian businesses of any size to issue branded digital and physical Mastercard prepaid gift cards, run one-off or ongoing corporate gifting and staff rewards campaigns, and manage spend controls, purchase limits, refunds, and campaign insights from a business portal.

Quantifiable outcome

• Merchants can onboard and start issuing gift cards within minutes

Segments2 records

Ideal customer profiles2 records

Technology focussed Yes

API detail

Has API

No

API docs

API detail

Core technology

AI maturity

App detail

Integration5 records

Feature4 records

Partnerships

One partnership is on record.

• Infineon Technologies AGcoreTechnology or Integration · 23 October 2025Infineon Technologies partnered with Karta Gift Card Ltd. as their first ecosystem partner for Infineon's secured prepaid tag solutions for gift cards. Karta provides AES encryption protocols and processing capabilities. The combined technology is aimed at preventing gift card cloning, skimming, and replay attacks using cryptographic chip technology accessible via NFC tap-and-pay.

Scale indicators1 record

Recent moves5 records

Expansion highlights5 records

Broad incumbents

• Marqeta: Marqeta is a US-listed modern card issuing platform providing API-based infrastructure for fintechs and corporates to issue prepaid and credit cards. It is a broad incumbent in the card-as-a-service space that Karta could either partner with or compete against for B2B issuing.

Others

• CPI Card Group: CPI Card Group is a US-based financial card manufacturer and personalization provider, and a 20% equity holder in Karta. It is comparable as both a strategic partner and an upstream card production supplier, but does not directly compete in end-customer gift card issuance in the same way.

Direct peers

• Givex: Givex is a gift card, loyalty, and stored value platform operating across North America, EMEA, and APAC. It is a direct peer to Karta in offering branded gift card programs, POS integration, and corporate rewards, and operates in Australia through Givex Australia.
• Tango Card: Tango Card is a US-based digital rewards and corporate gifting platform (acquired by Blackhawk Network). It is a direct competitor to Karta Connect in the corporate rewards and gift card issuance space, serving SMB and enterprise customers with a self-serve platform.
• Blackhawk Network: Blackhawk Network is the largest global gift card distribution and prepaid network, operating across the US, Europe, and APAC. It directly competes with Karta in issuing and distributing branded prepaid gift cards for retail and corporate use, and is the most relevant comparable on scale and product breadth.
• InComm Payments: InComm Payments is a global prepaid product and payment technology company that designs and delivers gift card, prepaid, and incentive programs for retail and corporate clients. It directly competes with Karta in prepaid card issuing and program management.
• PrePay Technologies (powered by Edenred): PrePay Technologies is a UK-based prepaid program manager and BIN sponsor offering white-label prepaid card solutions. It directly parallels Karta's BIN-sponsored prepaid Mastercard issuance model and corporate gift card programs.
• Edenred: Edenred is a French-listed global leader in prepaid corporate benefits (meal vouchers, gift, mobility). It is a direct peer to Karta in the corporate gifting and employee rewards segment, with a global network-agnostic prepaid card offering across multiple geographies.

Emerging players

• Reward Gateway: Reward Gateway is an employee engagement and rewards platform with strong UK and APAC presence. It overlaps with Karta in the employee rewards and recognition use case, though it bundles broader HR/engagement features beyond card issuance.
• Swile: Swile is a French employee benefits and corporate card platform combining prepaid Mastercard acceptance with an engagement app. It is comparable to Karta as a digital-first prepaid corporate card provider, though more focused on the European meal voucher and benefits segment.

Market position

Strengths5 records

Weaknesses5 records

Competitive moat4 records

Key risks6 records

Key highlights6 records

Customer concentration

Compliance2 records

Revenue estimate

Valuation estimate

Number of profiles

Profiles3 records

Funding overview

Funding rounds3 records

Investors2 records

Funding detail is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →

M&A

Investments

M&A and investment is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →

Frequently asked questions about Karta