The Nature and Use of Gift Cards

Gift cards are a form of stored-value cards destined to pay for services and wares. Nonetheless, the key feature of them is that their money value is only bound to the card's ID and not to its holder's bank account, therefore they can be used in an anonymous way just as ready cash and freely given to anyone else.

Actually, there exist a few types of gift cards, eg:

retailer_gift_cards

Retailer Gift Cards, also called Closed Loop Cards, which are normally issued by huge on-line and chain stores and restaurants and accepted only when buying their goods or services. Such cards' accounting is carried out inside the retailer's financial system, and for this reason only the issuer itself can report the card's status and make transactions. Retailers sell these products directly in the stores, on their own or third-party web platforms dealing in gift cards. Since these payment instruments can only be redeemed for purchasing their issuers' goods and services, the merchants are keen on proliferating them and often agree to sell gift cards at a discount, as for example, a card of 100 USD nominal value may be found on sale for 95 USD. And even if at times the merchant charges commission fees, selling above face value, most of them tend to keeping the nominal price. When looking for a prepaid gift card, you should approach specialized on-line shops, such as giftcardmall.com, which is one of the biggest, offering more than 600 different cards, though accessible only for clients in the US.

There are also Virtual Retailer Gift Cards, usually called “eGift cards”, which are found on-line with their data sent via email.

universal_gift_cards

Universal Gift Cards are part of Open Loop or Network Cards. These are issued by banks or other card issuing companies and are almost equivalent to regular debit cards, while being a versatile means of payment. This is the case of prepaid bankcards (generally, Visa, American Express or Mastercard) which can be utilized for any transactions without the opportunity to be reloaded. They are not tied to the account of a particular person or an institution, therefore allow anonymity, requiring AVS (Address Verification System) and they are to be registered in any name including aliases and any existing address. Universal cards can be both physical and virtual (eGift), but there is no possibility to get them online, as their information either on paper or plastic media is sent by mail on an real billing address in the country of origin. This kind of product is easily found in many American grocery-stores and office supply stores, being mostly prepaid Visa or Mastercard cards issued by Metabank or U.S. Bank and charged a commission fee of $5.95 and more. In Canada and some Western Europe countries we may encounter stored-value cards also in big grocery-stores or shopping malls. In fact, this option seems to be the most lucrative, owing to a small commision charge and the lack of delivery. Moreover, when buying for cash, the future holder will enjoy a complete anonymity. Besides that, Universal Gift Cards may be acquired on such web-platforms as giftcardmall.com, giftcards.com and others. However, there arise some special requirements and restrictions like:

  • inability to make an anonymous purchase due to personal data specification

  • the necessity to be the resident of the country of issue and to possess a postal address there

  • an extra shipping fee is applied

ezzocard_virtual_prepaid_cards

Ezzocard Virtual Prepaid Cards, which are also a universal instrument of payment, with their unique and important features among other virtual gift cards:

  • you can buy them on our Internet site from wherever you are

  • your anonymity is preserved since impersonal transactions are accepted

  • you get your card immediately on the site and you are free to utilize it right away after registering in any name and any valid address

  • there is a special Bonus Program for our frequent clients making your Ezzocard experience even more advantageous

As far as each kind of gift cards has its benefits and drawbacks, we suggest that you should consider the following questions:

  • What is your purpose when you buy it?

  • How are you going to use it?

  • Which country are you situated and what opportunities for gift cards exist there?

  • Is it essential to stay anonymous?

When you get your answers, you will find your most worthwhile type of a gift card accodrding to the needs.

In conclusion, we would like to remind you that every universal gift card (including Ezzocard) is non-reloadable, and if there's no money left on it, the only way out is to buy a new one.