Many businesses are moving away from the archaic paper gift certificate in lieu of a gift card. With the help of a customizable gift card system, businesses can develop a colorful, eye-catching card for customers to purchase for friends and family.

Much like a gift certificate, a gift card allows a customer to pay for a certain amount of merchandise up front. In turn, gift card recipients can use the card value to buy whatever they want in the store.

Simply put, a gift certificate isn’t as effective as a gift card. First, there is no manual administration involved in a gift card. A customer simply selects the card they want to present as a gift, determines the dollar amount they want on the card, and the merchant activates it by swiping it through a credit card terminal. Also, tracking gift cards is far easier than tracking gift certificates. The entire process is automatically tracked by computer and you can develop custom reports detailing everything from the number of cards activated to customer purchasing habits.

Another reason the concept of a paper gift certificate appears outdated is the gift card offers enhanced security. Gift cards only have value when the merchant activates it at the point of sale. This makes it easy to track transactions made with gift cards, and also prevents thieves from activating stolen cards or creating authentic-looking counterfeits. Someone can try to mimic the card’s design, but the magnetic strip or bar code includes information that can’t be duplicated.

Ready to replace your gift certificate program with a gift card system? Let BuyerZone help. Submit a free request for gift card system quotes, and let our exclusive network of suppliers compete for your business.