Use Your Square Gift Cards
Square Gift Cards
Bring in new business with digital and physical gift cards you can sell in person and online.
Before you’re ready to sell or accept gift cards, make sure you’ve downloaded the most recent version of the Square app on your mobile device.
Set Gift Card Default Amounts
By default, the Square Point of Sale app will display $10, $15, $20, $25, and $50 default amounts to be loaded onto a gift card. If you’d like to set your own default amounts and disable the option to load custom amounts, follow these steps:
Go to Payments > Gift Cards on your online Square Dashboard.
Click Settings.
Enter your preferred default amounts > click Save.
Toggle Allow Custom Gift Card Amounts to Off to disable this option in the Square app.
Sell Your Gift Cards
To load and issue a gift card:
From the checkout screen, tap Library > Gift Cards or scan the gift card barcode with a barcode scanner.
Swipe the gift card, take a photo of the gift card QR code with your device’s camera, or manually enter the 16-digit gift card number.
Select a default load value or enter a custom load amount if you turned on that option.
If you swipe the gift card or scan the gift card QR code or barcode, the amount will automatically load. If you manually enter the gift card number, tap Load.
To add additional items to the sale, tap the arrow to return to your item library or tap the keypad icon.
Tap Charge to complete the sale.
Note: Loading and redeeming gift card balances via QR code or a barcode scanner is only available on iOS devices at this time.
Important Tips for Loading and Selling Your Gift Cards
A gift card is activated once the sale is complete.
Only plastic gift cards ordered through eCard Systems can be loaded, sold, or accepted from the Square Point of Sale app or Square Online.
Checking a gift card balance is the same process as loading a gift card.
You can reload a gift card at any time – before or when the balance reaches $0. You can also clear a card’s balance and reuse it for another customer.
Buyers can reload physical gift cards and digital eGift cards themselves from your online eGift card order site or check balance site. A link to your eGift card order site is sent to them from your business when they purchase a gift card. To reload their gift cards and eGift cards online, buyers just need the gift card number, gift card PIN (if applicable), and a payment card to add a balance to their gift card.
You can allow customers to add gift cards to their Apple Wallet through the gift card settings from online Square Dashboard.
The maximum value for a single gift card is $2,000. You may not issue more than $10,000 in gift cards to any single person in any one day.
You can apply a discount to a gift card sale to issue promotional gift cards to your customers. Learn how to create discounts.
When refunding a gift card payment, be sure to also clear the balance of the physical gift card from the app. If the gift card is not present during the refund, you can locate the gift card’s transaction history from your online Square Dashboard to clear its balance. Clearing the balance will deactivate and void the gift card. You’re then able to re-use the card for a future customer or recycle it if you’d no longer like to keep it.
Accept Your Gift Cards
To accept gift cards with the Square app, go to Checkout > add the items your customer wishes to purchase from your library or enter a custom amount. Tap Charge, then
Accept Physical Square Gift Cards
Take a photo of the gift card QR code or barcode with your device’s camera.
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Scan the gift card barcode with a barcode scanner.
If scanning a gift card QR code, please ensure to enable your device’s camera. You can also scan the QR code with a compatible barcode scanner. Redeeming gift card balances via QR code or a barcode scanner is only available on iOS devices at this time.
If you're using Square Stand (1st generation), swipe the gift card through your magstripe reader.
Accept Square eGift Cards
Tap Gift Card and enter the gift card information when your customer is ready to pay.
If you've Enabled Apple Wallet integration for eGift cards, tap the customer's Apple device.
If there are insufficient funds on the gift card, you can use Split Tender to complete the sale or cancel the payment (by pressing the x in the top left-hand corner) and accept a different method of payment entirely.
Note: After a sale, any remaining gift card balance will display on the receipt screen and on your customer’s receipt.
Add Gift Card on File
Go to Customers on your online Square Dashboard.
Create Customer or select an existing customer from your directory > tap ••• to Add Card in the Card on File section.
Select Add Gift Card > enter the 16-digit gift card number and customer email.
Click Confirm.
Redeem Gift Card via Square Online
Customers can also use your gift cards to place orders through Square Online. During checkout, your customers will have the option to enter the gift card code (located on the back of the card). If the amount on the gift card doesn’t cover the total, your customer can pay the remainder with their credit or debit card.
Note: Gift Cards can be redeemed through Square Online and through third-party eCommerce integrations that use Square as a payment processor. If you are experiencing issues with accepting your customer’s gift card through a third-party integration (like GoDaddy), please contact their support team to troubleshoot further.
Square gift cards cannot currently be redeemed on Square Payment Links.
You are able to use your customer’s gift card to pay for their invoice if you have your customer’s gift card on file and the balance covers the invoice total.
Check a Gift Card Balance via Square Point of Sale
To check the balance of a gift card on the Square Point of Sale app:
From the checkout screen, tap Library > Gift Cards or scan the gift card barcode with a barcode scanner.
Swipe the gift card, take a photo of the gift card QR code with your device’s camera, or manually enter the 16-digit gift card number.
The gift card balance will display next to the last four digits of the gift card number.
You can then leave the screen or load an additional amount on this gift card, or tap Clear Balance to remove the remaining balance from the gift card.
Note: Checking gift card balances via QR code or a barcode scanner is only available on iOS devices at this time.
Check a Gift Card Balance Online
You can create a link from your online Square Dashboard and add it to your website. From there, customers can scan the QR code found on the back of their card or manually enter their 16-digit gift card number and four-digit PIN.
Customers can also check their balance directly by scanning the QR code printed on the back of their gift card with their smartphone camera.
If a customer's gift card does not have a 4-digit PIN printed on the back, they can select My gift card does not have a PIN to continue checking their balance.
If a customer's gift card has a 4-digit PIN but the check balance feature does not work, they will receive a message to contact the Square seller to check their balance.
Customers can also check gift card balances and manage all of their gift cards from their Square profile.
View a Gift Card’s Transaction History
There are three options to view the transaction history of a gift card:
Transactions Report
From your online Square Dashboard, click Reporting > Transactions.
Select any transaction completed with the gift card in question or you can search by the last 4 digits of the gift card.
Click the Gift Card link in the pop-up receipt to view the payment history.
To view the receipts for each gift card transaction, click the receipt link on the left side of the popup window.
Gift Cards Overview Report
From your online Square Dashboard, go to Gift Cards.
From the Overview page, search by gift card number. Click the gift card to view the details. Scroll down to view the gift card activity history.
To view the receipts, click the link in the Receipt column.
Gift Cards Summary Report
From your online Square Dashboard, go to Reports.
Select Gift Cards.
Use the date and location selector to view the Gift Cards Summary Report and Inter-Location Payables & Receivables.
Click Export to receive a downloadable report.
View Gift Card Transfer History
From your Square Dashboard, click Reporting > Transactions > Gift Cards.
Select any transaction completed with the gift card in question or you can search by the last four digits of the gift card.
Click the gift card and scroll down to view the transfer history.