Definition
Digital gift card
What is a digital gift card?
A digital gift card is a gift card delivered electronically — by email or link — instead of as a physical plastic card. It is redeemed using a code or QR rather than a card swipe.
Digital gift cards behave exactly like physical ones — a stored balance the recipient spends down over time — but they remove the cost and friction of plastic: no printing, no stock to hold, no postage, and nothing to lose in a drawer. The buyer purchases online and the card is delivered instantly, or scheduled for a future date.
That scheduling matters for the use case that drives most gift-card sales: presents. A customer can buy on a Tuesday, add a personal message, and have the card arrive in the recipient's inbox on their birthday morning. There is no shipping deadline to miss.
On Zillo, every gift card is digital. Delivery is by email with a unique code and a scannable QR; redemption happens when staff scan that QR from the mobile app or enter the code, so no extra card-reader hardware is required. Balances, partial spends, and expiry are all tracked in software, and you can refund a card — Zillo's fee is refunded with it.
The alternative, a physical gift card, still suits walk-in retail where customers want something tangible to hand over. For online and email-first selling, a digital gift card is faster to issue and cheaper to run.
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