Yiftee

What Yiftee does

Yiftee is a Menlo Park-based payments technology company that operates a Mastercard-powered digital gift card and local-currency platform. The company sells two core products on a shared closed-loop payment infrastructure: the Community Card Platform, which enables cities, chambers of commerce, tourism boards, universities, employers, and government agencies to issue custom-branded digital cards redeemable only at a curated network of approved local businesses; and Merchant & Franchise Cards, which lets individual businesses, restaurant groups, and franchise operators run their own branded digital gift card programs. Cards run on the Mastercard network with no special POS equipment required, load into Apple Pay and Google Pay, and as of June 2025 support Tap & Go contactless payments developed in partnership with Mastercard and Silicon Valley Bank. PCI compliance is inherited from the Mastercard network rather than built by Yiftee.

Yiftee's go-to-market is dual-track. For communities and large institutional buyers (the dominant revenue-driving segment indirectly), Yiftee runs enterprise field sales targeting economic development managers, city officials, HR leaders, and university administrators, supported by a deep case-study library. For individual merchants, it operates a self-serve PLG portal where SMBs can apply, get approved in minutes, and subscribe at $29.95/month for the first location plus $12/month per additional location. Revenue streams include merchant subscriptions, individual card eDelivery fees of $1.00 + 5% per card (waived on bulk corporate orders), and transaction economics on closed-loop volume. The platform is free to launch and administer for community programs, with monetization tied to merchant participation and transaction throughput.

The company is privately held, was founded in 2012 by CEO Donna Novitsky with co-founders Jon Kepecs and Aldo Briano, and has raised approximately $2.95 million across two early-stage rounds in 2013–2014 (Mohr Davidow Ventures and TransPacific Venture Partners). It serves 800+ communities and 20,000+ local businesses in the United States, with documented program outcomes including $1M reinvested in Franklin County KY businesses, $750K+ redeemed in Mason OH, and a $67-per-$100 local economic return cited from Civic Economics research. No AI/ML capabilities are disclosed in the product stack.

Name

Yiftee

Legal name

Yiftee, Inc.

Website

https://yiftee.com

Company type

Private

Founded year

2012

Operating status

Operating

Headcount range

11–50 employees

Short description

Yiftee operates a Mastercard-powered digital gift card and closed-loop local-currency platform serving cities, tourism boards, universities, employers, and 20,000+ merchants across 800+ US communities with tap-to-pay Community Cards.

Ownership category

akta.pro rank

Product category

Digital Gift Card & Local Commerce Platform

NAICS

Credit Card Issuing (52221)

SIC

Finance Services (6199)

akta.pro primary industry

Closed-Loop Gift Cards (Single-Merchant) (FSAMANAB)

akta.pro secondary industries

Card Issuing Platforms (Issuer Processing) (FSAGABAD), Card Issuing & Virtual Cards (lodge cards, single-use, tokenization) (THALAHAB)

Keywords

• Digital gift cards
• Community commerce
• Local currency platform
• Employee rewards
• Merchant payments

Headquarters

HQ city

Menlo Park

HQ country

United States

HQ region

North America

Offices1 record

Markets served

GTM type

B2B

Offering type

Software

Cost components

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

Revenue model

1. Community Card Platform: Free platform for communities, cities, and organizations to launch Community Card programs. Revenue is generated indirectly through merchant participation and transaction volume across the network.
2. Merchant & Franchise Card Subscriptions: Monthly subscription model for individual merchants and franchises to sell branded digital gift cards. $29.95/month for first location, $12/month per additional location.
3. Individual Card eDelivery Fees: Small eDelivery fee of $1.00 + 5% per individual card purchase. This fee can be waived on bulk orders through Rewards Hub corporate accounts.

Pricing tiers

Go-to-market motion3 records

Distribution channels4 records

Marketing channels4 records

Core offering

Yiftee sells a digital closed-loop gift card and "local currency" platform built on the Mastercard network. Cities, tourism boards, universities, employers, and merchants use it to issue branded cards that can only be redeemed at approved local businesses, with Tap & Go contactless support via Apple Pay and Google Pay, real-time redemption dashboards, and no hardware requirement at the point of sale.

Product overview

Yiftee offers two core product lines built on a shared Mastercard-powered closed-loop payment infrastructure. The Community Card Platform serves institutional customers — cities, chambers, tourism boards, universities, and government agencies — who issue branded local currency cards to drive economic development, distribute aid, reward employees, or promote tourism. The Merchant & Franchise Cards product serves individual businesses and franchise operators who want their own custom-branded digital gift card programs. Both products share the same underlying Mastercard network integration, digital wallet support (Apple Pay, Google Pay), Tap & Go contactless acceptance, and merchant dashboard, but serve different buyers: institutional programs (Community Card) vs. individual merchant programs (Merchant & Franchise Cards). The platform also powers white-label community card programs for specific cities and causes (e.g., Come Together Mason Card, YES Card, Experience Princeton).

Differentiator

Problem solved

Functional benefit

Brands

• Community Card: A digital closed-loop gift card platform that keeps spending local at approved community businesses.
• Merchant & Franchise Cards
• YES Card
• Come Together Mason Card

Products and services

• Community Card Platform A closed-loop local-currency platform that enables cities, tourism boards, universities, employers, and local government programs to issue branded digital gift cards redeemable only at a curated network of approved local businesses. Free to launch and administer, with Tap & Go contactless via Mastercard, Apple Pay/Google Pay support, real-time redemption tracking, and Buy-One-Get-One promotions.
• Merchant & Franchise Cards Custom-branded digital eGift card platform for individual merchants, restaurant groups, franchise networks, and retail chains. Runs on the Mastercard network, requires no POS integration, and supports same-day credit card settlement. Includes real-time sales reporting, customer data tracking, marketing tools, and multi-location management from a single dashboard, at $29.95/month for the first location plus $12/month per additional location.

Quantifiable outcome

• 30% average overspend beyond card value reported by recipients
• +4 more outcomes

Named customers8 records

Segments6 records

Ideal customer profiles6 records

Technology focussed Yes

API detail

Has API

Yes

API docs

API detail

Core technology

AI maturity

App detail

Integration10 records

Feature5 records

Partnerships

Two partnerships are on record, tiered flagship and core.

• MastercardflagshipTechnology or Integration · 5 August 2025Strategic technology partnership powering the Community Card platform. Mastercard provides payment infrastructure, In Control for Mobile Payments technology, and Tap & Go contactless capabilities. Enables cards to work at any Mastercard accepting terminal globally while maintaining local spending restrictions.
• Silicon Valley Bank (division of First Citizens Bank)coreTechnology or IntegrationDevelopment partnership for Tap & Go contactless payment functionality on Community Cards. Silicon Valley Bank's technology division collaborated with Yiftee and Mastercard to enable secure mobile wallet integration.

Scale indicators12 records

Recent moves6 records

Expansion highlights5 records

Market position

Strengths4 records

Competitive moat4 records

Key risks7 records

Key highlights7 records

Customer concentration

• Xx.com/yiftee
• Facebookfacebook.com/yiftee
• LinkedInlinkedin.com/company/yiftee

Compliance1 record

Revenue estimate

Valuation estimate

Number of profiles

Profiles3 records

Funding overview

Funding rounds2 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 Yiftee