Gift Cards for Businesses 2026: The Complete Guide

A gift card is prepaid credit that one person buys from you and gives to someone else. That person comes in and spends the credit. You get the money today, you get the customer later. Very often a brand new customer, because according to Capital One Shopping research, up to 72 percent of gift card receivers visit the business for the first time. With the VEXiON cards platform you sell gift cards three ways: online with card payment, in person at the counter, or as physical printed gift vouchers with your own design. The card lives in Apple Wallet or Google Wallet and there is no app to install.

In short

• Three sales channels in one platform: online, in person, and physical vouchers
• Online payment by card, Apple Pay, or Google Pay, delivered to the phone in seconds
• Money goes straight to your account through Stripe, we never hold it
• Physical vouchers: upload your design, we generate a print-ready PDF with QR codes (you pick the material)
• One gift card balance works across all your locations
• In VEXiON cards data, 75.8 percent of receivers redeem the card

The full flow in three steps: the customer enters an amount and their details, pays through Stripe, and the gift card lands in Apple Wallet or Google Wallet in seconds.

What is a digital gift card and why do you want one?

A digital gift card is prepaid credit at your business. A customer buys it online or at the counter, gives it to someone else, and the receiver adds it to Apple Wallet or Google Wallet. No app. No waiting for the post.

In practice it brings you three things at once. Cash today, because the buyer pays now. A new customer later, because the receiver usually comes in for the first time. And lasting free advertising, because the card lives in the phone and your logo and name show up every time the wallet opens. Digital cards are also a fast-growing market: in the UK in the first half of 2024 they overtook plastic for the first time, with 17.1 percent growth.

Key takeaway

• Prepaid credit bought today, redeemed later
• The card lives in the phone, no app
• Brings cash now, new customers, and free advertising

What are the three ways to sell gift cards?

With VEXiON cards you pick how you sell. You can use one channel or all three at once.

1. Online with card payment. The customer buys online and pays by card, Apple Pay, or Google Pay. The card arrives in seconds.
2. In person at the counter. The customer fills a short form and pays in person at the counter. Good for businesses where people prefer to pay on the spot.
3. Physical printed gift vouchers. You upload your design and we generate a print-ready PDF with unique QR codes. A classic physical gift the customer takes home. In the admin dashboard they appear under the section Physical gift cards.

Each channel is described step by step below.

Key takeaway

• Three channels in one platform
• Use one or all three at the same time
• Online, counter, and physical voucher

How does the online gift card sale work?

This is the newest part. Until now the customer could only order a card online and had to pay in person. Now they pay straight away over the internet, any time, from anywhere.

Step 1: The customer picks an amount and enters their details on your branded page.

Step by step

1. The customer opens your gift card link. They find it on your website, on socials, or through a QR code in your shop.
2. They see your own page with your logo and colors. They pick an amount. If you offer a bonus, they see it right away.
3. They type in their name and email and pick whether to keep the card or send it to someone.
4. They pick the online payment. A secure Stripe page opens.
5. They pay by card, Apple Pay, or Google Pay. Money goes straight to your account, we never hold it.
6. The card is created at once. The buyer gets an email with a nice PDF gift card.
7. If it is a gift, the receiver gets a text message and an email with a link and adds the card to the wallet.

Key takeaway

• The customer pays online any time and from anywhere
• Money goes straight to you through Stripe, we never hold it
• The card is ready and delivered in seconds

What do you need before turning on online payments?

Before your first online sale, VEXiON cards walks you through a short Stripe registration. It usually takes 2 to 5 minutes, and most of your company data is already pre-filled from public registers. You just confirm it and add a few basics:

• entity type (sole trader or limited company)
• IBAN of the account where Stripe will send your gift card revenue
• details of the person opening the account

For most cases no documents are needed. Stripe checks the data against public registers automatically.

Our team will gladly help you with the setup. Just write or call and we walk you through it. After the registration, gift card revenue lands directly in your account on every sale.

Key takeaway

• A short one-off setup through Stripe's secure form
• Most data is pre-filled for you
• Our team gladly helps you with the registration

How does the in person sale at the counter work?

Some customers prefer to pay on the spot. That works too and your staff handle it in a few steps.

Step by step

1. The customer scans a registration QR code in your shop or opens your link and fills a short form.
2. They get a temporary "cashier" QR code with a short validity to show staff.
3. Staff scans that temporary QR. What happens next depends on your POS:
   • With a POS integration (Dotykačka, Storyous), the order and the amount due appear directly in the POS. Staff confirms the payment.
   • Without a POS integration, or on a POS that does not yet support gift cards, staff scans the QR through the VEXiON cards web scanner on a phone or tablet and creates the card manually.
4. The customer pays any way you accept.
5. The card is created. The receiver gets the card the same way as in the online sale, through SMS, email, and the wallet.

Key takeaway

• Works with a POS integration and without one
• Without integration you use the VEXiON cards web scanner
• The receiver gets the card just as fast as with online payment

How do physical gift vouchers work?

If you want a classic physical gift on the counter and in the window, VEXiON cards prepares vouchers for print. You handle no codes or spreadsheets and you pick the material yourself. Paper, cardstock, recycled materials, whatever fits your brand.

Step by step

1. In the admin dashboard (section Physical gift cards), pick a card and upload your design as a PDF. The front, optionally the back too.
2. Place the QR code on the design wherever you want, set its size and colors.
3. Pick the batch size, up to 200 vouchers at once. The amount can be fixed, or set at the point of sale.
4. VEXiON cards generates a print-ready PDF with your design and unique QR codes. Vouchers are created in the system as inactive.
5. Download the PDF and print the vouchers. You pick the material, our platform has no opinion on it.
6. Vouchers stay off until they are sold. Even sitting on the counter, they cannot pay anything.
7. At the sale, staff scans the voucher, enters the amount, the customer pays, and the voucher activates with that balance.
8. The receiver can register the voucher with a name and email and add it to the wallet to see the balance. They pay with it like any other gift card.

You upload your design, we add unique QR codes and prepare the PDF for print.

Key takeaway

• You upload the design, we prepare a print-ready PDF with QR codes
• You pick the print material yourself, no plastic if you don't want to
• The voucher stays off until sold, so it is safe

Can the customer switch between online and in person?

Yes, as many times as they want. They can start online, go back and pick payment in person, then switch back to online. A clean fresh payment page always opens, so they never see an old, dead payment. Your till never ends up with a second, useless customer record.

Key takeaway

• The customer freely switches between online and in person
• Switching does not break anything
• No duplicate records in your till

How is the gift card delivered to the receiver?

After the payment the buyer picks what happens next.

Keep it for me. The card stays with the buyer. Good for people who want prepaid credit at your shop for themselves or family.

Send it to someone. The buyer adds the name, phone, and email of the receiver and a short note. We send the card to the receiver through SMS and email and they add it to Apple Wallet or Google Wallet. The buyer also gets a PDF they can print if they want to hand the gift over in person.

In VEXiON cards data, 76 percent of receivers click the SMS link and 75.8 percent redeem the card. That is well above the industry average for e-vouchers, which typically sits around 60 percent. A portion of the value is also never spent and goes straight to your profit: statistics put the unspent share at 10 to 19 percent of card value.

The receiver gets a text message and email and saves the card to the wallet or prints the PDF.

Key takeaway

• The buyer keeps the card or sends it on
• The receiver gets SMS, email, and the card in the wallet
• In VEXiON cards data, 75.8 percent of receivers redeem the card

How is the gift card redeemed at the counter?

The customer shows the gift card from Apple Wallet or Google Wallet, staff scans the QR code and the amount is deducted from the balance.

The principle is always the same: staff scans the QR code of the card or physical voucher and the amount is deducted from its balance. How that looks at your business depends on the POS.

• Dotykačka. The gift card works through the Dotykačka Customer Account. After scanning, staff adds a payment from the customer account and the amount is deducted from the card.
• Storyous. After scanning the QR, Storyous applies the prepaid credit directly to the open bill. No extra steps for staff.
• Without a POS integration or on a different POS. Staff scans the QR through the VEXiON cards web scanner (open it in a browser on a phone or tablet) and taps Deduct. They enter the amount and confirm. The balance updates immediately.

If the balance does not cover the full bill, the customer pays the rest in cash or by card. The new balance shows on the phone in seconds and is the same across all your locations.

Key takeaway

• Universal principle: scan the QR and deduct the amount
• With a POS integration it runs automatically
• Without integration you use the VEXiON cards web scanner

How does the bonus system work?

The bonus is optional. When the customer buys a larger amount, you can credit the receiver more than the buyer paid. For example a 100 euro card with a 10 percent bonus puts 110 euros on the card.

A bonus works as a gentle nudge. The buyer feels generous, the receiver sees a higher number on the card, and you get a bigger sale. You pay the bonus from the higher margin you earn on the larger purchase. In practice, 10 to 20 percent on the higher amounts works best. The default presets in the system are 10, 25, 50, and 100 euros and bonus is not turned on by default. You add it yourself on the preset where it makes sense.

Key takeaway

• The bonus is optional, off by default
• On higher amounts 10 to 20 percent works well
• The bigger sale covers the cost of the bonus

What amounts work best?

Looking at how customers actually buy gift cards across hospitality, cafés, and salons, there is a fairly stable sweet spot of €20 to €30. That is the amount someone mentally registers as "a nice gift" without having to think too hard. Next come €50 for "a more generous gift" (Christmas, birthdays) and €100 and above for corporate buyers who order in bulk for staff and clients.

A practical default in the dashboard looks like this:

• Entry amounts: €10 and €20 (last-minute gift, a small thank-you)
• Sweet spot: €25 and €30 (the typical gift card purchase)
• More generous: €50 (holiday gift)
• Corporate: €100 (rewards for staff and clients)

If you are not sure, start with these and check the dashboard after a few weeks to see which ones your customers go for. Adjust from there.

Key takeaway

• The gift sweet spot is €20 to €30
• €50 works well for more generous buyers
• Add one higher amount for corporate clients

Online versus counter versus physical voucher

And a digital card versus an unmanaged paper voucher:

Key takeaway

• Online is open 24 hours a day
• Physical vouchers shine on the counter and in the window
• Digital removes cost and the risk of being lost

Does one card work across all my locations?

Yes. The card balance is held as a single record on our side, and every location and POS integration reads it in real time. The customer pays at any of your locations and the balance is the same everywhere. If they walk into a different location, the card works just as fast. Read more about the connection to the POS in the Dotykačka integration.

Key takeaway

• One balance applies across all locations
• It updates the moment a transaction is recorded
• Works the same in any of your locations

When do you sell the most gift cards?

Christmas (November and December). The golden season. Up to 45 percent of annual gift card sales happen here. According to the US National Retail Federation, in 2025 gift cards were the second most popular holiday gift, with 43 percent of shoppers planning to buy at least one. Campaign tip: give an experience, not a thing, with a 10 percent bonus.

Valentine's (February). Romantic dinners, cafés, wellness for two.

Mother's Day and Father's Day (May and June). A classic, when kids hunt for a gift for the parents.

Graduations (June). Young people get cards from family.

Corporate season (December and quarter ends). Companies buy cards for staff as rewards.

Key takeaway

• Christmas is by far the strongest period
• Valentine's and Mother's Day are strong moments
• Companies buy in bulk at year and quarter ends

Why is it actually worth offering them?

Gift cards bring your business money and new customers from two sides at once.

Cash today

The customer pays €100 today, the receiver comes in two months later. You have the money now for operations, stock, salaries, or marketing.

New customers who would not have come

Your regular buys a card for a friend and the friend comes in for the first time. Recall the figure from the intro: up to 72 percent of receivers visit the business for the first time and 40 percent of them become regulars.

Higher spend per visit

People paying with a gift card do not stay strictly within the card balance. A study shows they spend about 38 percent more than the value on the card on average. A €100 card brings in around €138 in sales.

Predictable revenue

You know how many cards you sold in December and you know they will be spent over the next months. Planning stock, staff, and marketing gets easier.

Free advertising

Every card in a wallet is a small business card. The receiver sees your logo and name, shows it to friends, shares it. Word of mouth that costs nothing.

Corporate buyers

Companies buy cards for staff as rewards or holiday gifts. One company buys 50 cards at once, which is 50 possible new customers in a single order.

Valuable data

The dashboard shows which amounts are popular, when people buy, and how fast they spend. You shape your offer and marketing around it.

Key takeaway

• Cash today, a new customer later
• 72 percent of receivers are new customers
• People spend 38 percent more than the value on the card

What kinds of businesses fit gift cards?

Gift cards fit almost any business. A few examples.

Cafes and bakeries. A gift for a morning coffee and a pastry. See loyalty and gift cards for cafés.

Restaurants and fast food. A gift for dinner or lunch, and companies buying for staff.

Salons, hair studios, and wellness. A gift for a haircut, a massage, or a stay.

Fitness, car washes, and small shops. A gift for entries or a purchase.

Online shops. Online selling fits here naturally.

Hotels and pharmacies. Even here, a gift card works as a nice and practical gift.

How to use gift cards creatively (not just for sales)?

A gift card is not only about selling for money. Many businesses use VEXiON cards as a tool for customer relationships, marketing, and internal motivation. Here are the use cases we see work best.

Social media contest or giveaway

This is one of the most popular plays. Run a contest on Instagram, Facebook, or TikTok ("Tag a friend, share this post, and win a €50 gift card for our shop"). You send the winner the gift card straight from the dashboard to their phone. You get engagement, reach, new followers, and most of all a new visit to your business.

Link in bio and on your website for online sales

Add the link to your branded gift card page into your Instagram bio, into your Facebook About section, onto your website, and into the menu on your Google Profile. While you sleep, someone in a different city buys a gift card for a friend and you have the money in your account by morning. A QR code on the counter catches the walk-ins.

A thank-you or goodwill gesture to a regular

A regular has a birthday, you send them a €10 gift card straight to their phone as a thank-you. You do it straight from the VEXiON cards dashboard. They get an SMS with a link and add the card to the wallet in seconds. Small cost, big impression.

Service recovery after a hiccup

The coffee came out wrong, the food was late, something broke. Instead of a sterile "we're sorry", you send the guest a gift card for their next coffee or lunch. You turn a negative experience into a reason to come back.

Employee reward

Employee of the month, a birthday, an anniversary. You send them a gift card for your own business or for a partner café. For them, it is a concrete and immediate reward, for you it is a clean and motivating perk.

Charity or local event

A school raffle, supporting a sports club, a charity drive. You donate a gift card, the organization raffles it or auctions it off. Your name appears on the poster and in the post, and the winner eventually shows up at your door.

Key takeaway

• A gift card is more than a sale, it is a PR and marketing tool
• Send it straight from the dashboard as a thank-you, recovery, or contest prize
• Link in bio on socials sells for you 24/7 without your involvement

How do I start selling gift cards with VEXiON cards?

Setup is doable on your own and needs no technical skills.

1. Log into VEXiON cards and open the gift cards section.
2. Set amounts, an optional bonus, and the validity.
3. If you want online sales, complete the short Stripe registration (2 to 5 minutes). After that, money lands in your account on every sale. Our team gladly helps with it.
4. If you want physical vouchers, upload the design and generate a batch.
5. Add the link to your website and socials, and the QR code to your shop.
6. Track sales, delivery, and popular amounts in the dashboard.

Key takeaway

• You can launch on your own in a few minutes
• Online and physical vouchers can be turned on as needed
• Promoting the card actively is the key to success

Frequently asked questions

Does the customer have to pay online?

No. They can pay online by card, Apple Pay, or Google Pay, or in person at the counter. They pick, and they can change their mind during the purchase.

Where does the money from a sale go?

Straight to your Stripe account. VEXiON cards is only a technical bridge, money never sits with us. See the pricing page for details.

How fast does the receiver get the card?

In seconds after payment. They get a text message and an email with a link and add the card to Apple Wallet or Google Wallet.

What are physical gift vouchers and how do you make them?

You upload your design as a PDF, place a QR code on it, and pick the batch size (up to 200 per batch). VEXiON cards generates a print-ready PDF where every voucher has a unique QR code. You pick the print material. The voucher stays off until it is sold.

What if the receiver has no smartphone?

The buyer also gets a PDF they can print. The receiver shows the QR code on paper and staff scan it.

Does the card work across all my locations?

Yes. The balance is a single record and every location reads it in real time. Read more in the Dotykačka integration.

Can I set a bonus?

Yes, optionally on one or more amounts. The bonus is not on by default. You add it yourself on the preset where it makes sense.

How long is a gift card valid?

The default is 12 months. You can set the validity yourself, for example 6, 12, or 24 months.

How much does it cost?

Gift cards are part of the VEXiON cards subscription. See the pricing page for the current pricing.

Is it GDPR compliant?

Yes. VEXiON cards meets GDPR requirements and data is stored in the EU.

Start selling gift cards today

You can set this up on your own. If you want help or a demo, reach out. The first consultation is free. We will gladly show you a demo and help you set up online sales and physical vouchers.

📧 jakub@vexioncards.one

📱 +421 948 777 489