eGift cards "on file"

[pfs-rwc]

I just want to make sure I understand clearly what happens when I sell an eGift card at the POS.

• The eGift card gets emailed to the designated recipient.
• The eGift card does *not* get automatically linked to any customer record.
• The only way to link the eGift card to a specific customer is to manually link it to their customer record by storing it as a "card on file," a process which requires that I enter the unique 16-digit eGift card #.
• But neither the Square for Retail app nor the dashboard allow me to view that 16-digit eGift card #, even if I dig up the card purchase transaction record.
• I have to ask the eGift card recipient/customer to call up the email and relay that 16-digit # to me.
• Or, I can do a "resend" of the gift card from the dashboard to myself. And then pull that 16-digit # from that email and manually link it to a customer record as a "card on file".
• If I do this second option, then when I look at that specific card in the Gift Cards section of the Dashboard, the "recipient" is now populated with my own email, and not the real/original/intended recipient.
• And if I do this second option, there's no way to track who the real/original/intended recipient of the card is unless I keep a note of it somewhere else.
• Unless I resend the eGift card a second time, back to the real/original/intended recipient, in which case that "Recipient" field is repopulated once again with the email of that real/original/intended recipient.

Do I have this right? Does this seem a little wonky to anyone else? Thank you.

[ODBSG]

For my square register, when I recently tried to sell an e-gift card through the register dialog, it worked fine, sold the $20 e-gift card.  However.. when the person came in to charge against it, giving me the e-mail address used when it was purchased I was unable to look it up as it was not saved in 'cards on file'.  

Now I'm pretty sure this worked just fine when folks purchased an e-gift card via the URL link dialog on my website, that purchase got into cards on file, but WHY is it NOT linked to cards on file when done through the Square Register?  Am I missing something?  This pretty much negates the sale as folks never bring in a print out with a long random number to enter every time they want to buy a candy bar.  Help!?!?!

Thanks!

[JustinC]

@ODBSG - when an egift card is sold through the Square Register, the recipient still has to "claim" it through the email they receive (as @ryanwanner pointed out). In the email, they'll see an option to add themselves to your customer directory. Next time they make a purchase,  you'll see their egift card saved as a card on file. 

I hope this makes sense. If you need more guidance, contact our Support Center so they can give you a hand. squ.re/contact 

[DaoDeJing]

Unfortunately, few gift card recipients think it wise to create an entry for themselves in the directory of a business they may have never visited before. That option seems like something nearly all card recipients would avoid.

What happens if the recipient email address is already associated with a customer in our directory? Would that egift code be associated with that customer automatically?

Also, it doesn't appear that egift code emails are providing any sort of interactivity for the recipient to accept the code like you say. All they're receiving is a flat email message containing a code and my business contact info.

[Hairazor]

I am having an issue trying to locate e gift card numbers. It saves under “card on file” but when I choose that, I get the message as seen in pic, and I’m already paying a fee when purchased, so why when it’s used as well? That’s not right. Trying to sort thru app and dashboard to find card number is too time consuming and unprofessional to me. I’m considering no longer selling them because if I’m being double charged, why would I? 

[AshleyK]

Hi @Hairazor so sorry for the confusion here. You are only charged fees when gift cards are loaded with a credit card. You are not charged fees at all when the gift cards are redeemed. 

Also, you can export all of your existing Square Gift Card information to a spreadsheet from your online Square Dashboard.

To export your Gift Card information:

1. Navigate to the Reports tab of your online Square Dashboard and select Gift Cards.
2. Select the Export button in the upper right hand corner and choose Gift Card Numbers CSV.
3. A CSV file will automatically download onto your computer. Keep in mind that this file will contain full gift card numbers and their corresponding balances so you will want to handle this information sensitively.

[Hairazor]

I’m not sure why this is so complicated. I have no way of knowing during transaction, if I’m being charged an additional amount. This is very important to me because I’m a hairdresser during Covid & trying to stay afloat! And it’s a major inconvenience to have to go to a spreadsheet when I have a client waiting to check out and I’m trying to flip thru multiple screens, to a spread sheet, look for client, copy the number, go back to check out page, paste it and IT SAYS it’s charging me. Then I get to tackle that issue. Never mind. I’ll stick with paper and a credit card because that I CAN be assured I’m not paying additional fees, and wasting time I need to sanitize my salon for next client. I appreciate the effort and answers. When you look at all of this, it’s really a pain. I have my hands full as is. I thought this would help me, but in the end, it’s a headache. 

[whitesteven911]

i never sent any egift cards

[Joe]

Hi there, @whitesteven911 - thanks for reaching out and joining us here on the Seller Community! Welcome!

Would you mind clarifying? Are you having issues with eGift cards? - or rather, are you looking for information on their use?

I will keep an eye out for your response!

[Hairazor]

Hey Joe,

Thanks for responding. I’m not sure why this is so complicated. I have no way of knowing during transaction, if I’m being charged an additional amount. This is very important to me because a hairdresser during Covid & trying to stay afloat! One response says I’m not charged fees when client utilizes e-gift card, but it clearly states in previous post that I am.

It’s  a major inconvenience to have to go to a spreadsheet when I have a client waiting to check out and I’m trying to flip thru multiple screens, to a spread sheet, look for client, copy the number, go back to check out page, paste it and IT SAYS it’s charging me. Then I get to tackle that issue.

Never mind. I’ll stick with paper and a credit card because that I CAN be assured I’m not paying additional fees, and wasting time I need to sanitize my salon for next client. I appreciate the effort and answers. When you look at all of this, it’s really a pain. I have my hands full as is. I thought this would help me, but in the end, it’s an expensive headache. 

[Around]

One reason the e-gift card is not automatically applied to the customer account of the email is the case where they are going to send it to someone else as a gift but they don't have email addresses memorized.

The email picture can be sent on other messaging apps, the number can be just sent, etc.

If there is the ability to immediately link the e-gift card to the number/email account, then hopefully that is a toggle option to preserve the "gifting" of it.

[presleetands]

was this ever corrected? I am looking to begin offering gift cards, but i am not able to "accept" the gift card for it to assign to the customer name. I have the same issue as the screenshots above and have tried using both an email that IS on file and an email that is NOT on file. neither gives the option to move the card on file without exporting card numbers, which I will not be doing. 

[bethmassage78]

It never did seem to get resolved. I tried so many ways to get it to work, I finally gave up and quit offering digital GC.... to bad, it's a great option for people!