Blackhawk Network or Blackhawk is a worldwide gift card distribution network owned by Safeway Inc.

Safeway Inc.

Safeway Inc. , a Fortune 500 company, is North America's second largest supermarket chain after The Kroger Co., with, as of December 2010, 1,694 stores located throughout the western and central United States and western Canada. It also operates some stores in the Mid-Atlantic region of the Eastern...

 responsible for the sales and activation of prepaid gift cards, prepaid credit cards and prepaid debit cards. Blackhawk is in the process of phasing in an Automated Clearing House

Automated Clearing House

Automated Clearing House is an electronic network for financial transactions in the United States. ACH processes large volumes of credit and debit transactions in batches. ACH credit transfers include direct deposit payroll and vendor payments. ACH direct debit transfers include consumer payments...

 payment system, known as Fastforward, starting with Safeway Inc.

Safeway Inc.

Safeway Inc. , a Fortune 500 company, is North America's second largest supermarket chain after The Kroger Co., with, as of December 2010, 1,694 stores located throughout the western and central United States and western Canada. It also operates some stores in the Mid-Atlantic region of the Eastern...

 stores with plans to extend this to other affiliates sometime in the future.

Gift Cards

Blackhawk offers gift cards for over 350 affiliates ranging from music to restaurants and sporting events. These are all free of processing fees to the consumer. Blackhawk is responsible for the distribution of gift cards to stores and for the software involved in the activation of the cards.

Prepaid Credit and debit cards

Prepaid credit and debit cards are sold through Blackhawk. These usually come with a service or activation fee on top of the cost of the card. These cards are issued with names such as Visa and Master Card, and can be used in the same way as a regular credit card.