June 30, 2025
Selling digital gift cards on your website? Then clear terms and conditions aren’t just nice to have — they’re essential.
Online buyers want to know exactly what they’re getting. If your terms are vague or missing, they’ll hesitate. And if things go wrong later, support tickets and disputes pile up fast.
Here’s what you should include in your online gift card terms, plus real examples you can copy and paste.
When a customer is buying a gift card online — often for someone else — they want to feel confident it’ll work.
Your terms remove the guesswork:
Clear policies reduce friction, boost trust, and cut down on customer service follow-ups.
Here’s a quick checklist of what to include — and how to say it.
Why: Most digital gift cards don’t expire, but if yours does (especially promotional ones), this needs to be obvious.
Example:
“Digital gift cards do not expire and have no inactivity fees.”
OR
“Promo gift cards must be redeemed within 90 days of issue.”
Why: If the card only works on your website — or certain products — say that upfront.
Example:
“This gift card is valid for purchases made online at [yourdomain.com]. It cannot be used in physical stores or on third-party marketplaces.”
Why: Online customers often ask, “What happens if I return something I bought with a gift card?”
Example:
“Returns for purchases made with gift cards will be credited back to the gift card.”
“Remaining balances can be applied to future purchases.”
Why: Since these are digital, the biggest risk is email issues or mistyped addresses.
Example:
“If you did not receive your digital gift card email, please contact support with your order number.”
“Digital cards are not refundable or replaceable once redeemed.”
Why: If you’re sending cards to specific recipients, they may need to match an email during checkout.
Example:
“This gift card is assigned to the recipient email address and may only be redeemed by that user.”
Why: Digital gift cards are easy targets for resale scams. Set the expectation early.
Example:
“Gift cards may not be resold or used for unauthorized promotional purposes. Suspicious activity may result in deactivation.”
You don’t need a wall of legal text. Just one clean line.
Example:
“Use of this digital gift card constitutes agreement to our Terms of Service. Terms are subject to change.”
Online gift card buyers should never have to dig.
Post your terms:
Clarity = conversions.
If you’re using Ncentiva to run your digital gift card program, adding clear, compliant terms is baked in.
With Ncentiva, you can:
When customers feel confident, they buy faster. Clear terms help get them there — and Ncentiva helps you set them up without the guesswork.
Want to simplify your online gift card program?