Can I have an expiration date on gift cards?

[Kelsimo]

Gift cards salon

[#2]

Hey @Zuzana great question! At this time, there is no expiration date for gift cards and the balance will remain active for as long as the account is still active. If you need to clear the balance on a gift card for any reason, you can do so from your online Square Dashboard but please check your state laws around gift cards and make sure you are in compliance with their expiration laws, if they have any, as some states require a certain amount of time before a Gift Card is considered expired. 

[Sean]

Appreciate the feedback! I've talked about this very subject with our product team in the past, so I'm happy to offer a bit more insight.

The US government does have certain restrictions around businesses placing expiration dates on gift cards, it's even more regulated by states. In some states, expiration dates on gift cards are not permitted at all. Since Square operates in all US states, we've adopted a policy that would allow us to be compliant with all US and state laws.

While I certainly understand where you are coming from, to be completely honest, this probably isn't something that will change. Having said that, I will definitely share your feedback with our product liaison team.

Thanks for the post! 

[Massage20172]

Since there is no expiration 

Can the value of the card decrease over time?

[peachey_keen08]

Trying to use gift cards as part of a membership deal. Is there a way to add an expiration date to the cards within the square system? Thank you!

[VanKalkerFarms]

there is not a way to add an expiration date.  By law gift cards can not have an expiration date of fewer than 5 years.  https://www.giftcards.com/gcgf/giftcards-expire

[Zuzana]

How do I set up exparation date on eGift cards

[AshleyK]

Hey @Zuzana great question! At this time, there is no expiration date for gift cards and the balance will remain active for as long as the account is still active. If you need to clear the balance on a gift card for any reason, you can do so from your online Square Dashboard but please check your state laws around gift cards and make sure you are in compliance with their expiration laws, if they have any, as some states require a certain amount of time before a Gift Card is considered expired. 

[Appierances]

How do we create an expiration for the gift card?

We set expiration to 1yr from issue date.

[Appierances]

The link you provided suggests it relates to gift cards that can be used anywhere.

The gift cards that we create are very limited to certain services. We have a 1yr expiration for our gift cards. That way we can ensure being able to still offer the service - we can't guarantee the exact service is available for 5yrs - often the products used for the service have changed or no longer available. 

[BillD]

It's my understanding that if you sold a gift card or certificate for a dollar amount, the card cannot expire. You've received revenue but have not yet performed a service or provided a product. The revenue exists as a liability on your books and can't really be counted as income until the card is redeemed. I don't know if after like five years, or some time period, your obligation can be retired. If you donate a gift card to a charity or the like, that can have an expiration date because you took no money in consideration. Check your state's website or your accountant should know.

[AshleyK]

Hey @BillD you are correct - there are a lot of limitations involved in allowing gift cards to expire after a certain time. As a result, we do not have a way to automatically clear a gift card balance after a certain amount of time. 

If you need to clear the balance on a gift card for any reason, you can do so from your online Square Dashboard but do check with your state and accountant to make sure you are expiring gift cards within their limitations. Thank you!