What is a Fence Network?
Simply put, a fence network is a method of organizing businesses by category, or fences. A Fence Network is created by defining a qualifier, which in turn, allows the categories to be determined. The IGV’s Fence Network uses the qualifier “categories of items able to be given as a gift.”
After the first fence is determined, new fences follow a “no subset” rule- any prospective fence’s item or service can not overlap more than 50% with an existing Fence Network. This prevents a “pizza IGV” from being created, since all pizza restaurants are covered by the Restaurant IGV.
To date, 22 official Fences have been identified.
Industry Gift Vouchers
Excluding actual cash gifts, giving a monetary gift has traditionally been done 2 ways: A store gift card or gift certificate(closed loop), or a Visa or MasterCard gift card (open loop).
The IGV is a category specific monetary gift, based on a defined Fence
1
More convenient than a store card
A restaurant IGV holder can choose to go get pancakes if they want, but an IHOP gift card holder is locked into those pancakes, even if the nearest IHOP is 100 miles away.
2
More personal than a generic card
Giving an IGV tells the recipient you’ve considered their interests when getting their gift. Giving a generic, all purpose payment card does not.
3
Ensures it will be spent as intended
Allows your customer the peace of mind that they can be altruistic and purchase a Grocery IGV, and the Grocery IGV won’t be accepted at a hobby shop, or liquor store.
4
Solves logistical issues in shipping regulated goods.
Cannabis is legal in many areas of the US, but the regulations are different in each state. In fact, it is illegal to send cannabis from NJ to CA. Instead, that person in NJ could send the person in CA a Cannabis IGV. Then, it can be redeemed at a local dispensary.
5
Applications Outside Gifting
The IGV licensees are encouraged to seek out applicable local, federal, and state contracts to facilitate spending, especially in areas of economic stimulus.