Tango Card has announced the launch of a new approach to giving and getting gift cards. In addition to its free web and iPhone platform for organizing cards and checking gift card balances, the company now sells leading retail gift cards and a multi-use card, the Tango Card. Tango Card is launching with ten major retail brands and eight non-profit partners, according to the company.

"Over the next five years, we will see major changes in how consumers buy and use gift cards," says David Leeds, CEO and founder of Tango Card. "Tango Card will deliver great consumer solutions, and this starts with our anchor product, the Tango Card."

The Tango Card provides the recipient with three options. First, they can use their value (called "Tango Dollars") to select gift cards from premier consumer-friendly retail brands. This ensures the recipient gets the exact card they want. Second, the recipient can choose to donate a portion or all of their Tango Dollars to one of Tango Card's eight non-profit partners. "Charity gift cards are an emerging source of revenue for these organizations, and the Tango Card offers key advantages to consumers and to non-profits," says Leeds.

"Grameen Foundation is pleased to work with Tango Card. Our collaboration gives us an opportunity to introduce our programs to more people and to creatively raise money to end global poverty through microfinance and technology," says Sandra Adams, vice president of external affairs, Grameen Foundation.
 
The third feature is that any unused value on a Tango Card can be redeemed for cash. "Consumers and consumer groups have been calling for the ability to get cash for unused balances," says Leeds. "We have made this ability a core component of our product and we are the first company to do it."

Tango Card charges an administrative fee, under 5 percent, for its automated cash redemption service. According to the company, this fee is much lower than the purchase fees on many pre-paid cash cards, and approximately four times lower than explicit and hidden costs associated with selling a card through a third-party site that buys unwanted cards.