Tower Center Rijeka
How did Tower Center Rijeka achieve complete financial independence and launch a gift card system featuring automated, one-click merchant payouts?
By entrusting its gift card program management to the advanced SmartGifty platform. This enabled the owners to maintain high-level oversight across the entire group, granted the shopping center full operational and financial autonomy, and introduced both online sales and a fast, one-click merchant payout feature for completed purchases.
From administrative challenges to full operational autonomy
Business challenge
Right from the start, the project encountered a demanding business challenge related to the tax treatment of gift cards. The client wanted to obtain official confirmation from competent authorities to ensure the solution would be fully compliant in the event of any future audits. Because the approval process took longer than expected, the launch of the project was delayed. At the same time, the center’s owner—who manages multiple shopping centers—needed a system that allowed centralized control at the group level while leaving each individual center with complete operational and financial autonomy.
The biggest operational hurdle was the complex settlement process; the system had to enable fast, simple, and transparent payouts to a massive number of different merchants within the center, which would have created a massive administrative burden if handled manually.
The solution: Automating a closed-loop system with a dinancial interface
To address these challenges, we implemented the advanced SmartGifty platform, designed for the comprehensive management of closed-loop gift card systems. Since our team specializes in end-to-end support, we did not just handle the technical integration; we also provided the center with vital expert consultation to help secure the final official ruling from the Tax Administration. By deploying the SmartGifty solution, the owners gained a high-level overview of the entire card ecosystem, while Tower Center Rijeka received a flexible software tool equipped with a powerful financial interface. This interface allowed the accounting department to fully automate processes and introduce a fast, one-click merchant payout feature. For end consumers, we streamlined the entire experience, making gift card purchases safely and easily available online as well.
For the end visitor of Tower Center Rijeka, the SmartGifty system delivers a premium, elegant, and modern shopping experience. Gifting has become completely effortless, and using the card offers true freedom. With just a single card, a guest can shop across the center’s five floors, enjoy a lunch, or visit the cinema. The entire checkout process runs smoothly without complications or waiting in lines, which boosts overall satisfaction with the center and strengthens the emotional connection to the brand.
From an operational standpoint, the rollout of the SmartGifty system brought massive relief to the shopping center’s administration and accounting departments. Complex and time-consuming manual tracking of sales volumes and reconciling accounts with more than a hundred different retailers is a thing of the past. Accounting now has a complete digital overview of transactions in real time, and the system automatically generates the documentation needed for payouts. This translates to significantly less paperwork, a minimal risk of human error, and exceptionally fast settlement of financial obligations to the business partners (merchants) operating within the center.
- Complete operational autonomy: Each center within the group operates independently, while management retains a comprehensive, high-level overview of the entire system’s performance.
- “One-click” merchant payouts: The integrated financial interface allows the accounting department to settle obligations to merchants lightning-fast and effortlessly with a single click.
- Regulatory and legal compliance: Thanks to our expert support and guidance during coordination with the Tax Administration, the system is fully compliant with all applicable financial regulations.
The result and long-term value
The investment in the SmartGifty system has proven to be a strategic decision that delivers long-term value to Tower Center Rijeka on multiple levels. The center has successfully digitalized its gift program offerings and captured the rising wave of gift card popularity. In the long run, this solution does not just represent a stable revenue stream and capital retention within their own ecosystem; it serves as a powerful tool for building customer loyalty that will provide the center with a competitive edge and optimized operational costs for years to come.
Looking for ways to unify gift cards, loyalty programs, and visitors into a seamless digital experience?
Contact us for a no-obligation consultation.Do you want to find out more?
Learn more about the SmartGifty solution and discover how to unify gift cards, loyalty programs, marketing automation, and analytics into a single, seamless ecosystem.
