In the wake of the coronavirus outbreak, the mandated closures of non-essential businesses, a dramatic decrease in foot traffic to essential businesses, widespread layoffs, and an overall decline in consumer spending has had a seismic impact on the global economy—and small businesses have been hit the hardest.
Special small business loan and funding programs like federal grants, disaster relief loans, and the Paycheck Protection loan have all been developed to provide small businesses with an immediate infusion of much-needed working capital. But applying for these loan programs takes time, and approval isn’t always a guarantee. So in the meantime, there are ways that small business owners can take matters into their own hands. One of the quickest solutions is selling small business gift cards online.
Customers can redeem their digital gift cards either immediately, if you have an online store, or in person once your brick-and-mortar business is back up and running. But either way, selling gift cards online can help free up some cash flow on your end. Implementing a small business gift card system is simpler than you might think, too. We’ll show you exactly how to do it.
We’ll walk you through three of the simplest ways you can sell digital gift cards. One thing to keep in mind when evaluating gift card platforms: Make sure that your business receives the funds as soon as your customer purchases their gift card, not when they redeem their gift card. You should also review each platform’s fees, if applicable. Choose the platform that puts the most cash into your pocket as quickly as possible.
The simplest way to create an online gift card program that integrates with your POS system is to go straight to the source: your POS system itself.
Most cloud-based POS systems either offer their own gift card functionality, or they’ll integrate with a third-party gift card app. And some POS providers offer gift card functionality with every service plan, while others offer it as an add-on service for an extra fee. Either way, setting up a gift card system directly through your POS allows you to easily create, promote, send, and track gift cards that integrate with your business website and POS system—you just need to determine whether your provider offers this service and what extra cost, if any, it requires.
The following are just a few major POS systems that offer online gift card services. (Note that most of these providers also offer physical gift cards, but we’ll just be focusing on digital gift cards.)
Square’s eGift cards feature is free to set up and offer. Once you opt into this service, you can either create your own gift card design or use one of Square’s ready-made templates. Then you can integrate a gift card link into both your website and your social media pages, where customers can purchase gift cards either for themselves or to email to another recipient.
Gift cards can be redeemed in-store at any point, through a Square online store, or through Square partners (including Magento). Customers can also find your gift cards through their new Give and Get Local directory, which lists all businesses offering Square eGift cards.
With this service, you’ll pay a standard credit card processing rate of 2.9% + $0.30 every time a customer purchases a gift card online.
Toast’s add-on gift card feature allows restaurant owners to sell digital gift cards by adding a button to your business website or your online ordering site. You’ll also be able to track gift card sales through Toast’s reporting and analytics feature. Customers can purchase electronic gift cards, then send them either through email or via text. Note that gift cards can only be redeemed in-store, not online.
Alternatively, you can opt into one of Toast’s several third-party gift card platforms, but you’ll need to check in with these partner platforms to ensure that they offer digital gift cards, and to learn about their rates and fees. Toast’s own gift card service costs an additional $50 per month.
In light of COVID-19, Shopify has made their gift card feature available on all Shopify subscription plans for the foreseeable future. Customers can redeem online gift cards through any Shopify sales channel you use, including your online store, Pinterest, and Facebook Shop and Messenger. (They can also be redeemed in-person at a future date.)
Take a look at Shopify’s gift card manual for a step-by-step guide on how to add this feature to your existing Shopify plan, if you don’t have it set up already.
Other than using your POS system, the fastest way to start offering small business gift cards is to sign up for a gift card app. These apps work as standalone gift card systems that allow you to create, sell, and track online gift cards through a mobile app and dashboard. Many of these apps can also integrate with your business website, POS system, and other software you use to run your business, like your email newsletter service, if you want to streamline all your back-end processes.
Some of the more popular egift card apps for small business owners are GiftFly, Gift Up, Tango Card, Givex, and Yiftee. Keep in mind that most apps will charge either a monthly and/or a percentage-based processing fee for each transaction.
Equally important as finding a gift card program is getting those gift cards into the hands of your customers.
We probably don’t need to expound upon the importance of online marketing to do exactly that, but now is really the time to double down on your efforts. There are lots of subcategories that fall under the “online marketing” umbrella, but for now, social media marketing is an approachable (and crucial) channel to funnel your efforts. In the age of social distancing, social media is where most of your customers are hanging out, even more often than they did before.
In terms of selling gift cards, many digital gift card services, whether directly through your POS system or a third-party app, allow easy integrations or promotional features across social media channels. Still, it’s important to create your own posts and tweets to promote and consistently remind your customers of your gift card system. Not only does this achieve the obvious (namely, marketing your gift cards), but creating bespoke messages is so important for keeping you and your customers connected.
To make it really easy for your customers to purchase gift cards, you can also include a link in your Instagram and Twitter bios. Don’t forget to update your website to reflect your updates, too. For example, you might consider adding a pop-up window or announcement bar promoting your gift cards (including a direct link to your gift card portal, of course).
And if you don’t have one already, now is an ideal time to launch an email newsletter campaign. There are lots of platforms out there that can help you implement a simple email marketing strategy. Start by looking into MailChimp and Constant Contact, which are two of the most popular email marketing services. Keep in mind that some all-in-one POS systems like Shopify and Square, and website hosts like Squarespace and Wix, have their own email campaign tools, too.
We won’t sugarcoat it: This is a strange and scary time for small business owners (and for everyone, everywhere). But when it comes to running your business, we want you to feel empowered by the things you can control. Creating a digital gift card system is one simple step you can take today to recoup some of your cash—and, on a qualitative level, your customers will appreciate the opportunity to support you during these uncertain times.
And at any time, you can head to Fundera’s Small Business Relief Hub for detailed information about emergency funding options, remote management tools, how to support other small businesses, and more resources and articles about maintaining your operations during the COVID-19 pandemic. We’re here to support you.
Growing your business can be tough. With so many other merchants in your area offering similar products and services, attracting and retaining customers can be quite the challenge. In many cases, your loyalty and incentive programs are the main opportunities you have to set your business apart from the rest. Among the most impactful are gift card programs.
Running a gift card program serves two purposes: increasing revenue and improving customer loyalty. When you’re seeking a new and creative way to give yourself a leg up on the competition, a gift card program may be the solution you didn’t know you needed.
Buckle up: we’re going to teach you everything you need to know about gift cards. In this post, we’ll cover:
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Download for freeUsing a gift card is extremely simple.
An employee collects payment up front, as in any other transaction
The employee then selects the gift card program from the POS and swipes a new gift card through the terminal
The employee keys in the dollar amount on the POS system to processes the payment
A receipt with the card value is printed, which can then be presented with the card to the customer
An employee will take the card, as with any other payment type
The gift card option is selected on the POS interface
In similar fashion to chip-less credit cards, the gift card is run through the card reader with its magnetic stripe
The
merchant account processor
takes care of the approvals and the purchase balance is removed from the card
A receipt prints to indicate the remaining balance
If the purchase depletes the full balance of the gift card, an alternate payment method such as a credit card may be required for the remaining transaction balance
The customer receives their card back, or, if the balance is used in full, the employee may dispose of or recycle the card
A shopper visits your online store and adds a gift card to their cart, either selecting a value or inputting a custom value
They pay for their cart as usual
If they bought a digital egift card, an email with the code will be sent immediately
If they bought a physical gift card, you’ll ship it to them the way you’d ship any other order
Using either the digital code or the numbers associated with the physical gift card (either on the card or on the accompany receipt), the shopper pays for their next purchase online by selecting gift card at checkout
A gift card program allows customers to buy cards that carry a small balance to be used in your business, usually at a later date. Similar in size and appearance to a credit card or debit card, gift cards are typically made of recyclable PVC plastic and can be loaded using a POS system with gift card capabilities.
In the grand scheme of commerce, the gift card concept is relatively new. While gift certificates have had a long history in retail shops and restaurants, cards themselves are only several decades old. The original gift cards, introduced in the 1980s, were thin pieces of plastic that could be used to track purchases and redemptions.
The appeal of this type of loyalty program began to gain momentum in the 90’s, replacing previous gift certificate systems, as stores quickly realized that these loyalty cards not only enabled the tracking of sales, but they provided free revenue from the volume of cards that went unredeemed and customers who spent over the value of their cards.
Gift card programs are popular with shoppers. According to Yahoo Finance, the global gift card market is expected to be worth a staggering $2.6 trillion by 2030. That’s a compound annual growth rate of 12.3% over the period they analyzed, from 2022-2030.
With so many other ways to drive business, from successful marketing campaigns to loyalty and discount programs, you might be wondering how a gift card program would benefit your business.
Yes—for two reasons.
First, someone using a gift card isn’t getting something from your shop for free. The item was prepaid, and now they’re cashing in. Businesses don’t lose money by honoring gift cards.
Second, and most important, 65% of gift card users spend more than the face value of the card. Gift cards are a way to get shoppers in the door, at which point they’re likely to want more.
Gift cards help with customer acquisition. They’re a way to introduce new customers to your business and to reinforce loyal customers.
If a shopper has never visited you before, a gift card provides them a reason to. Once they’re in the store, you have the chance to make sure they come back again and again. And, with well-designed gift cards, featured on the front and/or back will be your brand—so you’ll reinforce your business’s identity every time they see your card.
Even if a gift card recipient isn’t a new customer, getting a gift card can help remind them of why they like your business and give them an excuse to visit sooner rather than later.
Offering gift cards to your customers can help you:
Increase sales and generate cash flow, regardless of whether cards are redeemed
Bring in new business, especially when given as actual gifts
Promote impulse buys, as shoppers are more comfortable investing in additional goods or services when part of the purchase is covered
Improve brand awareness, as most gift cards are branded with logos and business colors
Offer real-time tracking, simplifying reporting and management
Possess superior security measures to reduce fraud and minimize duplicate usage
Offer speedy transactions with immediate benefits to the user
Track sales trends and monitor outstanding activity
Offer an easy promotional gift you can use to entice loyal customers to keep shopping
Affordable and practical for you and your customers, gift cards can provide plenty of opportunity for your business. With so many advantages, the better question is: why not gift cards?
Starting a gift card program is relatively simple and affordable. Most retailers, especially modern operations utilizing high-tech POS systems and other customer loyalty programs, will have few issues in setting up gift cards for their business.
Despite this, launching a gift card program will require some minor preparation and considerations.
Most modern POS systems offer gift card integrations that provide comprehensive tracking such as redemption totals by location or the sales history of a gift card. To ensure maximal functionality, search for programs that come with:
Transaction reports
Redemption detail reports
Outstanding balance reports
Some gift card business vendors will offer access to cards, but others will require you to purchase plastic gift cards from a third-party vendor. If you need to purchase your own cards, be sure to select cards that allow custom designs for branding purposes. Buy cards in an adequate quantity to ensure access for all guests who may want one.
You can also offer digital sales. In this case, you don’t need to sell physical cards. Instead, you issue numbers or barcodes—digital codes—that can be used online or from a smartphone. This is most effective for companies that operate primarily in the ecommerce space, but some companies are beginning to phase out physical gift cards entirely in wake of consumer concerns about plastic gift cards.
All gift card programs run a little differently, but all must comply with local and national laws. For example, federal law in the United States prohibits gift cards from expiring for at least five years from the time of purchase. Similarly, inactivity fees can’t be charged in the US unless the card has been unused for at least one year. Note that state laws that provide more protection override the federal laws—for example, gift cards can’t expire at all in California.
In Canada, most gift cards legally cannot expire at all, though some provinces allow expiration if they’re promotional gift cards (given out as part of a promotion or loyalty program reward instead of purchased), prepaid credit cards or for a specific service, like a haircut. Inactivity fees are not allowed at all either, unless the gift card is actually a prepaid Visa or MasterCard.
Before implementing anything like purchase limits, usage periods or any other stipulations, be sure to review all regulations thoroughly. If your business is a franchise, go over all company policies on revenue treatment and reporting before moving forward.
You should also be aware of your liabilities when certain gift cards are not redeemed. Unfortunately, not every gift card sold will be used, and if those gift cards are closed loop—more on that later—then you’re responsible for legally moving the money involved to a default owner. Regulations vary by jurisdiction, so ask your accountant what you need to be recording.
If you’ve never used a gift card program before, your employees will need to understand the ins and outs to avoid improper use or challenges when working with customers. Be sure all employees know how to run cards, sell and load cards, as well as advertise them to customers.
If you don’t know who’s buying your gift cards or in what quantities, how can you know that your program is working? Rather than looking the other way and assuming everything is going according to plan, spend plenty of time going over the statistics involved with use, like sales versus redemption and total gross sales over specified time periods.
Gift card programs range from small, straightforward operations through your bank to multifaceted offerings from high-tech POS systems. How you choose to proceed is up to you, but be sure you consider all necessary functions before making a decision.
In general, gift card programs come in two distinct forms: closed loop and open loop.
This table offers a handy breakdown of the two.
Aspect Closed loop gift cards Open loop gift cardsUsability
Restricted for use only at your business, branded with your logo.
Can be used anywhere like prepaid credit cards.
Tracking
Transaction tracking is possible through integrated gift card programs and POS reporting tools.
No tracking capability for businesses, making it difficult to assess the performance of gift card programs.
Expiry & Fees
Long expiry time or no expiration (Canada), with no fees for use.
Legally distinct from gift cards, subject to expiration, activation, and inactivity fees, making them costlier to use.
Customization
Options include merchant bank cards issued by payment processors or gift card vendor cards from dedicated gift card service vendors. Limited design options with merchant bank cards.
Offers customization options for designs with gift card vendor cards, although compatibility with POS systems needs to be ensured.
Customer Benefits
Long-term usability with no fees, ensuring a pleasant experience for customers.
Flexible usage but subject to potential fees, expiration, and lack of tracking may discourage repeat usage or hinder customer experience.
A closed loop gift card for your business is exactly that: for your business. These are cards that can only be spent with you, branded with your logo. Because they’re a distinct payment method unique to your store, you can track their use as long as you have an integrated gift card program.
With integrated cards, you can measure many aspects of your gift card program using your POS system’s reporting tools, rather than those of a separate tool. Reports can be broken out by just about any set of criteria, including employee ID, terminal number, date, transaction amount and type. This helps you to keep track of your program every step of the way.
Closed loop gift cards benefit customers by having a long expiry time (US) or no expiration at all (Canada), and having no fees for use.
There are a few subtypes of closed-loop gift cards:
these are closed-loop cards issued by your payment processor or merchant bank, if they have that option. They’re sure to work with your payment system, but many have limited options for design and processing options.
these are closed-loop cards issued by a dedicated gift card service vendor. They offer you a lot of customization options for designs, but may not work with your POS—make sure the vendor you pick has a connection with your system.
An open loop gift card can be used anywhere, because they’re actually prepaid credit cards.
While these cards give customers the most flexibility, they’re not enough for businesses to rely on instead of closed loop cards. You have no way of tracking their use, which means you can’t see how well your gift cards are performing. And you have no guarantee customers will come back to you to use the balance of their card.
Open loop gift cards have downsides for customers as well. As they’re legally distinct from gift cards, they’re allowed to expire. They have activation and inactivity fees, which makes them costlier to use than closed loop cards.
Once you’ve picked your gift card program, it’s time to ensure implementation goes smoothly. There are right ways and wrong ways to proceed with gift cards, so take time to consider all aspects of preparation and use.
Employees need to know everything about your gift cards, including how you plan to advertise them.
In many cases, your employees will be the most valuable marketing option you have in your arsenal, sharing the perks of your program to everyone they encounter. If you operate a restaurant, have your employees memorize a pitch to give when they mention dessert before bringing the bill—or advertise your gift cards with the bill as customers are paying. If you run a retail store, urge employees to mention gift cards before closing a sale. When advertising becomes part of your process, selling cards will become the new normal.
You’re not investing in gift cards for your business just to have them around. To ensure optimal results, it’s important to set goals that you can use to track performance. For example:
How much revenue do you want to generate?
How many customers should buy gift cards?
What ratio of purchases to redemptions would you like to accomplish?
Customers like to know the ins and outs of their gift cards. Instead of handing over a card, encourage them to get involved.
When possible, allow customers to access cards online, check balances and make online purchases. This expands your cards from a one-dimensional in-store program to an alternative method of engagement.
Gift cards are a great way to drive revenue and bring customers back to your store, but they don’t always sell themselves. Some businesses are content with limited sales, but if you want to build a successful gift card program, a little creative thinking and additional marketing may be required.
While there’s no need to use every method under the sun, changing up your promotions and advertising techniques to account for gift cards can increase sales.
How will your customers know to buy your gift cards if you aren’t making them aware of their availability? Advertising online is an excellent way to market. It offers significant potential in exchange for a small investment, gives you plenty of opportunities to target your key demographic and helps you spread the news in a sharable manner.
If at all possible, make gift card purchases available online as well. When you incorporate a purchase link into your marketing, you’re far more likely to benefit from impulse buys.
In fact, you can even optimize your website to boost gift card sales. Ensure that gift cards are prominently displayed on your homepage and accessible through a dedicated tab or section. Use high-quality images and clear, enticing descriptions.
Consider implementing a user-friendly interface where customers can choose different denominations and styles. Additionally, make sure the purchase process is straightforward, with options for customers to buy digital or physical cards and personalize them for the recipient.
For instance, Lightspeed customer Melissa Joy Manning has dedicated a section of their website to purchasing gift cards. It’s seamlessly integrated into the website, making it easy for customers to purchase a gift card as an add-on.
It’s often a lot harder to say no to someone in person than it is over the phone, email, or text. As such, marketing in-person can trigger the results you’re seeking.
Whenever you or your employees check out customers, be sure they mention your gift cards. In addition, set up signs in your store, like banners out front or displays on the checkout counter.
If you want to see sales rise, you should never allow a customer to have an interaction with your business without making your gift card program known (within reason, of course).
Talking to customers in person, sharing on social media and putting banner ads on your website are all great ways to spread the word. Another great way to grab attention is to display physical gift cards by your registers and announce the program in your email newsletter. No matter how you choose to advertise, make sure everyone you encounter knows about the program.
It may seem like overkill to make your gift card presence unequivocally known, but you never know who’s going to make a purchase. To be successful, it’s crucial to let no stone go unturned.
Despite the importance of your employees pushing the gift card program, you may run into resistance. Not everyone is a natural salesperson, and some team members won’t necessarily enjoy the prospect of attempting to make a secondary sale.
To inspire all your employees, consider implementing an employee competition. Offer the employee who sells the most gift cards a small perk, like a cash bonus, a better shift, free vacation days or some other benefit that will be in high demand. Alternatively, consider offering a financial incentive, like a percentage of sales as a bonus, to get everyone involved.
Customers love getting things for free, so give them something to be excited about. When you advertise gift cards, add a little extra motivation with a free giveaway or gift.
Instead of just promoting gift cards, let customers know they can get a little something extra if they make a card purchase of a certain amount. You don’t have to give away anything particularly valuable—a small trinket will work well. Alternatively, you can use this opportunity to move inventory that you’re having trouble selling.
Price is a primary driver for building customer loyalty, ranking above the quality of products or service among a majority of consumers. A discount can help you stay competitive, positioning your company ahead of the rest.
When selling gift cards, sweeten the deal with a promo code for a discount on anything in your store or on your menu. For example, you can provide a 20% promotional code to everyone who buys your gift cards during your pre-specified introductory period.
Gift cards, as the name implies, are most commonly purchased as gifts. By advertising around key holidays, you’re more likely to catch shoppers primed to buy. Promote gift cards heavily around Christmas, Hanukkah, Valentine’s Day and other events that center on gift-giving.
To get customers to buy, consider adding something to sweeten the pot, like a $5 promo card for anyone who chooses to purchase a gift card during the holiday season.
A cool-looking card is far more likely to sell than one with an average look and feel. Instead of scrimping on design and sticking with a name in plain text, use your skills to put together something worth buying.
When you have a pretty package to show off, your sales will reflect it. Gift card suppliers like Plastic Printers enable you to print fashionable custom gift cards no matter what your graphic design skills are.
Customizable gift cards offer a personal touch. Provide options online for customers to add personal messages, choose unique designs, or even upload their images for a bespoke card. This approach not only enhances the customer experience, but also the perceived value of the gift card. Make sure that the customization process is user-friendly and that the final product maintains high-quality aesthetics and functionality.
If applicable to your business, work with complementary businesses to create cross-promotional gift cards. This strategy can expand your reach and provide added value to customers. For instance, a bookstore and coffee shop could collaborate, offering gift cards redeemable at both locations. Such partnerships not only boost sales but also foster community connections and enhance brand visibility.
A gift card program can offer significant benefits to your business, but only if it’s performing as expected. Measuring success largely depends on the results you wish to see, like revenue increases, profit growth, repeat business or any other metrics you identified before implementation.
Assumptions have no place in business, and that includes your gift card program. Track all metrics related to usage, such as:
the number of gift cards sold.
the number of gift cards used.
the cost of printing and designing
(or outsourcing)
your cards.
the cost put into marketing your cards, be it through ads or printed materials.
Before starting your gift card program, you likely had goals in mind regarding anticipated overall performance. As such, only proper comparative analysis will ensure you are hitting your targets efficiently.
Rather than eyeballing results, take time to keep data organized in tables, charts and graphs. Monitor performance over time, and watch for month-to-month changes. Honing in on the specifics will allow you to identify shortcomings and come up with plans to correct them.
As with other metrics in your business, like revenue, cost of sales and overhead costs, gift card performance should be a part of your regular reporting—be that weekly, monthly or quarterly. Periodic check-ins likely aren’t enough. Instead, incorporate gift card usage and results into all of your financial management practices.
As your business changes, so will your goals for your gift card program, especially if your overall corporate goals are based on growth. Periodically, whether quarterly, biannually or annually, review your progress versus original targets and reevaluate your objectives as necessary. This may mean scaling back if your initial expectations were too aggressive, or stretching goals to accommodate higher performance.
Gift cards can have a significant impact on your business’s financial reporting. It’s important to record gift card sales accurately, recognizing revenue when cards are redeemed. Unredeemed gift cards (“breakage”) could potentially have financial implications, since they’re subject to varying accounting and legal requirements. Stay informed about the regulations in your jurisdiction and keep meticulous records to ensure compliance and accurate financial reporting.
Once your gift card program is up and running, you can fine-tune it to amplify its success.
Customer feedback is invaluable for refining your gift card program. Conduct surveys or provide feedback forms at point of sale and online. Ask customers about their purchase experience, their experience using the cards, and any suggestions they have for improvement. Analyze this data to understand customer preferences and trends, which can guide your future gift card offerings and marketing strategies.
As sustainability becomes increasingly important, consider eco-friendly practices for your gift cards. Opt for biodegradable or recycled materials for physical cards. Promote digital gift cards as a green alternative, reducing the need for physical production and shipping. Educate your customers about the environmental benefits of these choices and consider partnering with environmental initiatives to offset the impact of your gift card program.
Like any other aspect of your business, security measures are vital to protect you and your customers from fraud related to gift cards. Implement robust encryption methods for digital cards and secure coding for physical ones. Run a verification program to authenticate transactions and monitor unusual purchase patterns. It’s also important to educate your staff and customers about safe handling and usage of gift cards. Regularly update your security measures to stay ahead of potential threats.
Research emerging trends in gift card technology to keep your program innovative and appealing. Technologies (blockchain, for instance) could revolutionize gift card security and transparency. Augmented reality and virtual reality tools could provide new and exciting ways for customers to engage with digital gift cards. Also, consider integrating AI to personalize gift card recommendations based on customer behavior, which can improve the user experience and increase sales.
One thing merchants who sell closed loop gift cards should keep in mind is that from an accounting perspective, gift cards are recorded as a liability to the merchant, not a sale. In other words, using a closed loop gift card to purchase a closed loop gift card is a revenue recognition concern for small business owners and in our opinion should be avoided.
Once you set up gift card processing for your business, you can accept any tender type approved by your processor, like Lightspeed Payments, to purchase gift cards, including cash, credit card or NFC-payments like Apple Pay.
Most gift card suppliers allow you to upload your artwork or personalize gift cards with templated designs via a web page or online portal, similar to how many business owners order custom business cards online. Once you design your gift cards, you can contact your supplier to place an order or submit the request via their online store.
So you’ve got your gift card designs ready—now you need to enable gift cards so you can make their codes.
You’ll need to enable gift cards in your POS system so you can make gift cards. Check out your POS backend for a toggle, and make sure to pay attention to any prompts to map gift cards in your accounting software.
You’ll need barcodes for gift cards—we recommend code 128 barcodes, with 6 to 16 alphanumeric characters, non-sequential (to cut down on fraud). You should be able to purchase gift cards with barcodes from your gift card supplier.
Once you set up your gift card program, you can sell gift cards the same way you would any other item at the register. POS systems like Lightspeed will prompt you to swipe the gift card through your credit card reader to activate it and complete the sale.
No, you don’t pay credit card processing fees on closed loop gift cards when customers use them to pay. Your gift card program supplier may charge their own fees, however, and you’ll pay a fee if a customer buys a gift card with a credit card.
Open loop gift cards are actually prepaid credit cards, and will have processing fees.
A gift card program has plenty of potential for your small business, offering a new way to drive revenue without cutting down on profits.
From expanding purchase options to attracting new customers, a robust gift card program has the potential to take your business to the next level. With these tips and tricks for design, development, implementation and management, it’s possible to see positive results in the momentum of your company.Of course, good looking gift cards are just the beginning—if you want a POS system that lets you sell gift cards easily and track usage, you might just need Lightspeed. We put you in charge of your gift cards, and your inventory, loyalty program, reports and more.
Watch a demo to find out.
A gift card program is a system that enables businesses to sell and redeem gift cards for goods or services.
Gift card technology utilizes magnetic stripes, barcodes, or electronic chips to store value and track transactions.
Merchants profit from gift card sales, as well as third-party retailers and financial institutions.
Some gift cards have no purchase fees, but activation fees may apply.
Gift card activation is the process of loading value onto a card for use.
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