Digital gift and incentive provider CashStar has raised $5 million in funding. Investors in this round include Intel Capital, Passport Ventures and FTV Capital. CashStar said the money will be used  to drive continued growth, mobile innovation and product adoption.

"Gifting in the digital world offers new opportunities for businesses to take advantage of social and mobile platforms to reach and engage with consumers," said Dave Flanagan, managing director of Intel Capital.

Flanagan said CashStar's momentum in the past year is indicative of the transformation in the way both businesses and consumers are approaching the gifting experience.

With CashStar's digital gifting platform, consumers can personalize a digital gift from a number of retail partners and send it to a recipient through email, mobile and social media channels. Brands such as Best Buy, Gap, Staples, Starbucks, The Home Depot and Williams-Sonoma are currently offering digital gift cards through CashStar's platform.

"We know from recent research that consumers want e-gifts to be easily available on their smartphones, personalized and instant," said David Stone, cofounder and CEO of CashStar. Stone said top retailers have recognized this trend and are now using e-gifts as digital currency to interact with their customers via their smartphones, on the web and through social networks.

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