DES MOINES, Iowa — Credit unions which are issuing gift cards through their membership in the Atira program have found a sharp increase in demand this holiday season, according to The Members Group, the CUSO which offers the program.
The Members Group, which is affiliated with the Iowa Credit Union League, reported that since the day after Thanksgiving, the official start of the holiday shopping season, the 55 CUs offering the cards have sold nearly 15,000 of the instant issue gift cards with an average load of more than $90 per card.
"This is a strong start to the peak gift card season," said Jeff Falk, TMG director of product development. "During the past three holiday seasons, we have seen sales growth every season, but traditionally the first weekend isn't the biggest sales weekend. People are typically more focused on the sales that retailers are advertising rather than picking up a gift card for that special someone on their list."
Recommended For You
In fact, Falk compared the gift card purchase trend to resembling a hockey stick. "Sales are fairly flat following Thanksgiving and then rapidly trend upward the two weeks before Christmas with continued strong sales through the first of the year," he said. "So we are pleased to have a strong start."
America First Credit Union in Utah is offering gift cards for the second holiday season. Rich Syme, senior vice president, said he is pleased with the numbers so far and expects the overall numbers to increase from last year's nearly 10,600.
"We've added a new twist to our product by offering a personalized card that gift givers can use their own photos as the card design. This unique feature has really gotten the attention of our members," he said. "In addition to the photo card, which is available only online, we expect brisk branch traffic for the generic gift cards which will result in the sale of 400 — 500 cards a day."
Falk noted most of the gift cards sold in the first two weeks of the holiday season were to walk-in traffic, but a number of credit unions are already working with companies to provide bulk-order opportunities.
"Since we started the program, we have seen credit unions partner with companies to provide year-end incentives and bonuses on the Visa-branded prepaid debit card," he said. "Employers like the versatility of gift cards. They aren't tied to a specific restaurant or store, and employees can immediately use the card. We have really seen an uptick this year with small, medium, and large-sized companies wanting to leverage the ATIRA gift card as their year-end or holiday bonus. And obviously we are hoping to replace the traditional company holiday ham or turkey give-a-way with a gift card."
© 2025 ALM Global, LLC, All Rights Reserved. Request academic re-use from www.copyright.com. All other uses, submit a request to [email protected]. For more information visit Asset & Logo Licensing.
