Blackhawk Network Obtains New RAN Patent

PLEASANTON, Calif., March 13, 2015 /PRNewswire/ -- Blackhawk Network, a leading prepaid and payments network, announced the issuance of U.S. Patent No. 8,973,820 on March 10, 2015, a patent that covers the DirectSpend® RAN program and equivalent methods of filtering transactions.

The patent is for a computer system and computer implemented method for determining whether a transaction is valid based on whether the merchant is a merchant selected under the client card program from all participating merchants. The latest patent adds to Blackhawk's other patents also applied to the DirectSpend program.

"Blackhawk has various patents covering its RAN technology, with additional patent applications pending," said David Durant,  general counsel at Blackhawk Network. "We are pleased to extend coverage for our program and our licensees to the year 2027 with the allowance of this patent application."

This latest patent allows Blackhawk to authorize transactions based on a determination that the transaction request is from a merchant that is part of the client program, as well as deny transaction requests from merchants that are not part of the client program.

"This allowance grows the number of our patents to more than 55 patents while confirming Blackhawk's leadership role in developing technology for RAN programs," continued Durant.

Blackhawk also owns a variety of patents that apply to ewallet technology, swipe reload technology, card network processing, digital gift card delivery, gift card exchange, and card security technology.  

About Blackhawk Network
Blackhawk Network Holdings, Inc. (NASDAQ: HAWK and HAWKB) is a leading prepaid and payments global company, which supports the program management and distribution of gift cards, prepaid telecom products and financial service products in a number of different retail, digital and incentive channels. Blackhawk's digital platform supports prepaid across a network of digital distribution partners including retailers, financial service providers, and mobile wallets. For more information please, visit www.blackhawknetwork.com and www.GiftCardMall.com.

SOURCE Blackhawk Network Holdings, Inc.

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