Editing Gift card (section)

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{{short description|Prepaid-stored-value money card}}
{{Globalize|article|USA|2name=the United States|date=January 2013}}
{{Use dmy dates|date=July 2019}}
[[File:OSH gift card.jpg|thumb|Gift card for a U.S hardware store]]

A '''gift card''', also known as a '''gift certificate''' in North America, or '''gift voucher''' or '''gift token''' in the UK,<ref>{{Cite web|url=http://dictionary.cambridge.org/dictionary/british/gift-token|title=GIFT TOKEN|website=Cambridge English Dictionary|access-date=21 November 2018|archive-date=16 September 2014|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20140916000953/http://dictionary.cambridge.org/dictionary/british/gift-token|url-status=live}}</ref> is a prepaid [[stored-value card|stored-value money card]], usually issued by a [[retailer]] or [[bank]], to be used as an alternative to cash for purchases within a particular store or related businesses. Gift cards are also given out by employers or organizations as rewards or gifts. They may also be distributed by retailers and marketers as part of a promotion strategy, to entice the recipient to come in or return to the store, and at times such cards are called '''cash cards'''. Gift cards are generally redeemable only for purchases at the relevant retail premises and cannot be cashed out, and in some situations may be subject to an expiry date or fees. [[American Express]], [[MasterCard]], and [[Visa Inc.|Visa]] offer generic gift cards which need not be redeemed at particular stores, and which are widely used for '''cashback''' marketing strategies. A feature of these cards is that they are generally anonymous and are disposed of when the stored value on a card is exhausted.

From the purchaser's point of view, a gift card is a [[gift]], given in place of an object which the recipient may not need, when the giving of cash as a present may be regarded as socially inappropriate. In the [[United States]], gift cards are highly popular, ranking in 2006 as the second-most given gift by consumers, the most-wanted gift by women, and the third-most wanted by males.<ref>{{Cite journal|last=HORNE|first=DANIEL R.|date=2007|title=Gift Cards: Disclosure One Step Removed|url=https://www.jstor.org/stable/23860062|journal=The Journal of Consumer Affairs|volume=41|issue=2|pages=341–350|doi=10.1111/j.1745-6606.2007.00084.x|jstor=23860062|issn=0022-0078|access-date=15 April 2021|archive-date=8 October 2020|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20201008074238/https://www.jstor.org/stable/23860062|url-status=live|url-access=subscription}}</ref> Gift cards have become increasingly popular as they relieve the donor of selecting a specific gift.<ref name=consumer>{{cite web|website=consumeraffairs.com|url=http://www.consumeraffairs.com/news04/2006/02/gift_cards_congress.html |title=Congress Considers New Gift Card Rules |author=Hood, James R. |date=20 February 2006 |url-status=deviated |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20120308094912/http://www.consumeraffairs.com/news04/2006/02/gift_cards_congress.html |archive-date=8 March 2012 |access-date=16 June 2008}}</ref> In 2012, nearly 50% of all US consumers claimed to have purchased a gift card as a present during the holiday season.<ref name=giftcard>{{cite web | url=http://www.giftcardlab.com/reports/2012-holiday-spending-report | title=2012 Holiday Gift Card Spending Report | date=26 November 2012 | website=giftcardlab.com | access-date=12 January 2013 | archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20131203041627/http://www.giftcardlab.com/reports/2012-holiday-spending-report | archive-date=3 December 2013 | url-status=dead }}</ref> In Canada, $1.8 billion was spent on gift cards, and in the UK it is estimated to have reached £3 billion in 2009,<ref>{{Cite web|title=Gift Cards and Financial Reporting|url=http://archives.cpajournal.com/2007/1107/essentials/p28.htm|access-date=2021-04-15|website=archives.cpajournal.com|archive-date=15 April 2021|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210415175035/http://archives.cpajournal.com/2007/1107/essentials/p28.htm|url-status=live}}</ref> whereas in the United States about US$80 billion was paid for gift cards in 2006.<ref>{{cite news|url= http://www.cbc.ca/news/yourview/2007/12/cash_not_gift_cards_the_best_p.html |archive-url= https://web.archive.org/web/20080524051343/http://www.cbc.ca/news/yourview/2007/12/cash_not_gift_cards_the_best_p.html |url-status= dead |archive-date= 24 May 2008 |title= Cash, not gift cards, the best present: consumers' association|work= CBS News|date= 24 December 2007}}</ref><ref
name=lewis>{{cite web | url=http://www.consumeraffairs.com/news04/2006/12/gift_card_giveaways.html | archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20080916232357/http://www.consumeraffairs.com/news04/2006/12/gift_card_giveaways.html | url-status=dead | archive-date=16 September 2008 | author=Lewis, Truman | title=Gift Cards an $8 Billion Gift to Retailers|website=consumeraffairs.com | date=20 December 2006|access-date= 16 June 2008}}</ref> The recipient of a gift card can use it at their discretion within the restrictions set by the issue, for example as to validity period and businesses that accept a particular card.

Gift card sales are not limited to banks or retailers; such other companies as [[airlines]], [[cruise ship]]s, [[hotel]]s, [[Barber|barber shop]]s, [[train]] companies, [[theme park]]s, [[restaurant]]s and other type of companies may offer gift cards as well.