You must have heard or seen people talk about buying or using gift cards, and you may wonder what they use them for.
Gift cards or gift vouchers are one of the biggest inventions of financial technology today. Before the invention and adoption of point of sales (POS) for store transactions, cash payments have been the primary payment method.
You will agree that cash payments are highly flawed and always expose people to significant risks like loss of cash, robbery, theft, and the inconvenience of carrying money around.
This day, people can move around with a considerable amount of money stored in a digital or plastic card called a gift card.
The use of gift cards is beneficial to both business owners and customers. If not, we wouldn’t record this massive adoption of gift cards worldwide.
Unlike most famous opinions, which suggest that gift vouchers are meant for making store transactions, there are many other things gift cards are used for.
In this article, we will discuss the meaning of gift cards extensively, what gift cards are used for, and the benefits of using gift cards.
What Are Gift Cards?
Gift cards are vouchers preloaded with a certain amount of money or credits that can be used to make store purchases. When the gift certificate is redeemed in the store, the monetary value can be used to purchase any item.
There are two major gift cards: a physical gift voucher and a virtual gift voucher(e-codes).
Both physical and virtual gift cards are the same and have the same value; the only difference is their format.
The physical gift card is often delivered to a user’s mailbox, while the virtual gift voucher is sent to his email.
You can choose from many gift cards today if you want to purchase a gift card. Some of the most popular gift cards in the world are Amazon cards, iTunes cards, Steam wallet cards, Sephora cards, Google Play cards, and many others.
Gift cards are issued in different monetary denominations so everyone can afford one.
The primary monetary denominations you can get a gift card are $5, $10, $25, $50, $100, $200, and $500. However, you can get customized gift cards for any design and amount you want.
What Are Gift Cards Used For?
Remember that gift cards represent money stored in a voucher that can be used to make every transaction in a store.
When you think of what gift cards can be used for, you will have to think of what money can be used to do. However, we can’t be wrong to say that gift vouchers offer more value than cash. Here are some of the uses of gift cards.
1. Purchase Store Goods And Services
The primary use of gift certificates is to make store purchases of goods and services when the card is redeemed in the store.
Many businesses have created gift cards to aid customers in making seamless transactions in their stores.
2. Use As a Gift Item
Gift cards can be the best gift you can ever imagine giving to a loved one, a friend, or an employee.
Since gift cards represent a specific monetary value that can be redeemed in a store to purchase goods and services, it is best to give out gift cards as gifts.
Looking for the perfect gift item to give someone can be stressful and rigorous. You may not know their desire at such time; hence, giving them a gift item will allow them to make that choice while saving themselves the stress too.
3. Trade Gift Card For Cash or Cryptocurrency
Do you know you can convert gift cards for cash or cryptocurrency when you no longer need them?
Gift cards are digital assets whose value depends on market demand and supply, like other assets.
This means that the rate of gift cards is never fixed. It fluctuates with time.
You can sell gift cards for cash or trade them for cryptocurrency when you no longer need them.
You can also trade gift cards you purchased at a low rate for cash or crypto when the rates are pretty high.
Benefits Of Using Gift Cards
There are many benefits of using gift cards for you as a user and for the business or store where the gift vouchers are used. We will discuss some of the benefits of gift certificates in general.
1. Convenience
Gift certificates offer users an exceptional convenience over cash payments or bank cards. Paying for your items with gift cards makes you comfortable knowing that your payment is secure and verifiable by the store.
2. Budgeting
Gift cards can help to trim down your spending if you are an impulse buyer.
The credit on your gift card is limited to a certain amount; when exhausted, your spending power is also finished.
Buying a gift card for the amount you want to spend will be in your best interest.
3. Increase Sales Revenue
Gift cards help businesses increase sales revenue. This is because people buy gift vouchers for their loved ones and families to enable them to redeem the gift card at the store. More people buy gift vouchers. The more sales revenue will bring to the store.
4. Create Brand Awareness
When a business issues gift cards to its customers, the brand’s logo and information are on the card. The more use of these gift cards, the more the business awareness grows. This, in turn, increases traffic to the business.
Frequently Asked Questions (FAQs)
What Is Gift Card Used For In Nigeria?
It is common knowledge that gift card is a good alternative to cash because of its real-time value. Therefore, you can use a gift card to purchase products at its official store. There are local and international gift cards in Nigeria.
For the local cards, there are Jumia gift cards, Shoprite gift cards, etc. There are iTunes gift cards, Amazon gift cards, etc., for international gift cards.
You can shop at the store that issues these gift cards. For instance, an iTunes gift card can enable you to make your iTunes music subscription in Nigeria.
In addition, gift card trading is one of the best ways to make money online in Nigeria. Therefore, you can buy and sell gift cards to make a profit for yourself.
Can Gift Cards Be Used As Money?
Gift cards are prepaid cards that function like your ATM card. This enables you to pay for products or services at stores that support the card. Therefore these cards be used in place of money because they are digital assets with true value.
For instance, you can use a Jumia gift card instead of money to shop at the Jumia store.
Moreover, you can give people gift cards as a gift to loved ones, enabling them to shop for themselves, as gift cards are better than regular gifts.
Gift cards allow the recipient to use the card with preferred options – whether to shop with the card or sell the gift card for cash.
Conclusion
Gift cards have a great digital asset of great value. They come with a range of opportunities of making shopping convenient. and digital trading seamless. This is because you can use your gift card to buy cryptocurrency and vice versa.
However, it is important to know the different types of gift cards and their peculiarities to decide on the best gift card for you.
