The finance space has witnessed a lot of innovation in the past few decades. As the evolution of technology has become routine, the finance world has adopted more advanced methods of operation.
About three decades ago, the use of ATMs was not widespread and people went through the rigorous process of standing in bank queues for withdrawals. This was never convenient for both banks or customers because they had a larger customer base to attend to and the customers had to deal with the crowd in the banking halls.
The massive adoption of ATMs in banks and the use of debit cards have eliminated this problem. Furthermore, the risks involved in carrying cash such as robbery and theft, have also been reduced to a significant level.
The convenience of making a cashless transaction can not be overemphasized and this innovation further transcended to gift cards.
Gift cards are almost the same as bank debit cards but the difference is that they are not linked to a bank account.
However, gift cards are issued by business brands to enable customers to make cashless transactions in their stores without the intervention of any third party(banks).
Apart from making in-store purchases, gift cards serve as a gift for seasonal greetings which the recipient can later redeem for any gift item in the store.
Gift cards are sold by retailers and business brands and they can be purchased via various means such as wire transfer, debit and credit cards, cash and even cryptocurrency.
In this article, we will discuss the meaning of gift cards, the benefits of gift cards and how to buy gift cards with cryptocurrency.
What Is A Gift Card?
A gift card is a gift voucher preloaded with some amount of money which can be used to make in-store purchases of goods and services.
Gift cards are synonymous with bank cards but gift cards are not issued by banks. They are sold by business brands to their customers to enable them to make purchases with them and also to provide them with an avenue to gift their loved ones from the store.
People who are not certain of the perfect item for their partners or family members can buy a gift card for them in place of a gift item. The gift card will offer them a pool of choices to make regarding their perfect gift when they finally decide to redeem it in the store.
Gift cards can be either open-looped or closed-looped.
An open-looped gift card can be used in any store where the gift card brand is recognised and accepted. A very good example of this type of gift card is Visa gift card, American Express gift card.
A closed-looped gift card is only confined to the brand which issued the gift card. They can never be used in another store which is not the issuing store. Examples are Steam gift card, Amazon gift card, Sephora gift card, Footlocker gift card etc.
There are two forms in which all gift cards are issued; physical form or virtual form. Both forms of gift cards offer the same value when redeemed in the store but it is quite easy to buy digital cards than the physical counterparts because the digital cards are sent to a buyer’s email within a few minutes while it takes some time for the physical card to be delivered to the buyer if it wasn’t purchased on a physical store.
Finally, gift cards can be customized according to a buyer’s choice which includes thoughtful messages and amounts.
Where To Buy Gift Cards In Nigeria
In case you’re looking for where to buy gift cards, you can buy gift cards in most retail shops, supermarkets and official websites.
The most reliable place to buy gift cards online is on the brand’s official website.
However, you can walk into any store that sells gift cards and make purchases using cash, debit/credit cards, or wire transfer.
You can also pay for your gift cards online using these payment methods including cryptocurrency. Yes, you can convert your crypto (Bitcoin) to a gift card on a good platform like Paxful. How can you do this without stressing yourself so much? Read on!
How To Buy Gift Card With Cryptocurrency On Paxful
Paxful is a peer-to-peer (P2P) platform which means that both buyers and sellers of digital assets convene to and exchange their digital assets.
To buy a gift card with Bitcoin on Paxful, you will sell your Bitcoin to other peers on the platform who will buy with their available gift card in return.
You can simply do this on the Paxful page for Bitcoin to Gift Card trading.
All you need to do is to input the required information and get your gift card to the registered address.
Benefits Of Gift Cards
There are many benefits accustomed with the use of gift cards and we will discuss them.
1. Increase Brand Awareness:
The primary motive behind many business brands issuing gift cards to their customers is awareness. As people buy these gift cards to gift their loved ones, with the brand logo in full display, the brand is further being advertised to them. However, after redeeming the card in the store, there’s a high chance of them patronizing the brand.
2. Boost Sales:
Another advantage of a gift card is that it boosts the sales of the issuing company as more people redeem their gift cards in the store.
3. Safety:
Gift cards are very safe to use just like debit and credit cards, they can be frozen in the event of theft or loss without losing the money in them, unlike cash which can be stolen without a trace.
4. Perfect Gift:
Gift cards offer the perfect choice for gift items as it gives recipients the power to make their choices and choose the gift most suitable for them.
5. Budgeting:
Given that the amount of money in gift cards is limited, people can easily control their spending, unlike cash spending. Also, since the locations of gift cards. ding is restricted, it gives room for budgeting.
Conclusion
Gift cards offer a lot of benefits to businesses and individuals alike and this is evident in the global adoption of gift cards as a medium of payment in many stores.
They are also a perfect gift item, especially when there’s no idea of a perfect gift item. It gives people the power to choose their gift items by themselves.
Gift cards are sold in every corner of the world, especially online and one can buy any gift card of choice with cryptocurrency.
