What Is a Business Gift Card?

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A business gift card is a prepaid card that a company can load with a specific amount of money. Companies can give these cards to business partners, employees, or customers, who can then use the gift card to buy goods or services at retailers or merchants accepting that type of card. A business gift card can be either a physical or digital card.

What Can a Business Gift Card Be Used For?

Businesses can give preloaded gift cards as incentives or rewards, or to thank customers. The company can decide the value of the card before giving it to the recipient. Once you activate the card, it is ready for use immediately. The recipient can use it to pay for their choice of goods or services from participating merchants.

What Can a Business Gift Card Not Be Used For?

There are several things that a recipient cannot do with a business gift card:

  • Withdraw cash at an ATM.
  • Pay for subscriptions or recurring charges and bills.
  • Pay for orders worth more than the card’s balance, unless the merchant can offer “split tender.” 
  • Make reservations.
  • Pay a deposit for a hotel or car rental.
  • Exchange gift cards for money (unless required by the law).
  • Transfer the balance on the card.
  • Use it for illegal activity. 

What Form Can a Business Gift Card Take?

These days, business gift cards can come in both physical and digital forms. Traditionally, business gift cards came in a credit card-style format. A customer could use it in brick-and-mortar stores to pay for goods, just like a regular credit card. 

Today, though, digital business gift cards are becoming increasingly popular. More people shop online these days, so a digital gift card is more convenient. This type of gift card doesn’t have a physical form. Instead, it comes with just a card number that clients store in a digital wallet. The recipient can access their card number whenever they want to use it. They can then pay for the goods and services that they wish to buy using that number.

Can a Digital Business Gift Card Only Be Used Online?

Digital business gift cards allow the recipient to shop conveniently online. However, thanks to the prevalence of smartphones, clients can use gift cards for shopping in physical stores, too. 

Your customers can add some digital business cards to Google Pay, Apple Pay, or Samsung Pay on the recipient’s device. Once the client adds the digital gift card to a virtual wallet, the gift card can pay for goods and services in person. Since most retailers accept these payment options today, this opens up a wide range of purchasing opportunities for card recipients.

Which Currencies Are Business Gift Cards Available In?

Business gift cards are usually available in a range of popular currencies. The U.S. dollar, Canadian dollar, British pound, and euro are common currencies for business gift cards. There are many other options as well, including Japanese yen, Swedish krona, and Polish zloty. When the business purchases the gift cards, they make payment in their currency. The gift card company can convert the amount into the issuing currency. 

Are There Different Types of Business Gift Cards?

Business gift cards come in an array of options. Virtual Visa cards and virtual Mastercards are two popular options. These give recipients a lot of flexibility when it comes to spending their gift. Most other business gift cards are retailer-specific. For example, businesses can purchase Amazon, Apple, or Google Play gift cards for use with those individual online retailers. 

It’s also possible to buy business gift cards for specific physical retailers. Gift cards for restaurants and cinemas, as an example, can be used in-store instead of online. The recipient only needs to give the retailer their digital code to pay for their purchase. 

Clients can use some business gift cards either online or in stores. Walmart, Macy’s, Target, and Pottery Barn are all excellent examples of merchant gift cards. 

What Kinds of Goods and Services Can Business Gift Cards Pay For?

Customers or employees can use business gift cards to pay for a wide range of goods and services. Virtual Mastercard and Visa cards can pay for any item from a retailer that accepts those cards. Other gift cards are valid in only one specific store or several under the same corporate umbrella. 

Business gift cards are available to pay for everything from food and drink to cinema tickets and travel. Companies can choose the best options to suit their own needs when making their purchase.

Are you ready to choose the right business gift cards for your company to give to partners, employees, and customers? Then discover BHN Rewards’ impressive selection. With so many options to pick from, we’re sure you’ll find just what you’re looking for.

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