Guide
How do digital gift cards work?
A digital gift card does the same job as a plastic one, without the plastic. It arrives by email or text in seconds, carries its own card number or code, and can live in your phone’s wallet. This guide explains how digital gift cards are bought, sent, spent and checked, and what to watch out for.
Last updated October 9, 2026. Facts about Apple Wallet and Google Wallet were checked against Apple’s and Google’s own documentation, linked in the sources.
The short answer
A digital gift card, often called an e-gift card or virtual gift card, is a stored amount of money that can be spent with a particular business. The buyer pays for it online or in store; the card is sent to the recipient by email or text; and the recipient spends it by showing its code at the register or entering its number at checkout. The business keeps track of how much is left.
Kinds of digital gift cards
- Store gift cards can be spent only with one business or brand, such as a café, a salon or a retailer. Most small-business gift cards are this kind.
- General-purpose gift cards carry a payment network’s brand and can be spent almost anywhere that network is accepted.
- Wallet gift cards are store gift cards saved in Apple Wallet or Google Wallet. Apple lists gift cards among its store card pass style, and Google Wallet has a gift card type.
How eGift cards are bought and sent
- The buyer chooses an amount and pays, often adding the recipient’s name, email address and a message.
- The business issues a card with its own number, code or both, and a starting balance.
- The card is delivered to the recipient by email or text, sometimes on a date the buyer picks, such as a birthday.
- The recipient keeps it in their inbox or adds it to their phone’s wallet with one tap.
How to use a digital gift card
In store
The recipient shows the card’s barcode or QR code to be scanned, or reads out the card number. The cashier takes the purchase amount off the balance. If the purchase costs more than the card holds, the difference is paid another way.
Online
At checkout, the recipient chooses to pay with a gift card and enters the card number and PIN, if the card has one.
Checking the balance
- On a wallet gift card, the balance can be shown on the card itself and updated after each purchase.
- On an email card, the email shows only the starting amount. Check the balance on the business’s website or ask at the register.
- On a receipt, many businesses print the remaining balance after each purchase.
Digital vs plastic gift cards
| Plastic gift card | Digital gift card | |
|---|---|---|
| Delivery | In person or by post | Email or text, in seconds |
| Last-minute gifts | Need a trip to the store | Can be sent instantly |
| Shows the balance | No | On a wallet card, yes |
| Easy to lose | Yes | Less so, especially in a phone wallet |
| Cost to the business | Printing and stock | None to issue |
| Feels like a present | Yes, in a card | Can include a personal message |
Staying safe with gift cards
- Never pay a debt or a bill with a gift card. Consumer protection agencies warn that requests to pay with gift cards, such as from someone claiming to be from the government, a utility or tech support, are a common scam.
- Buy from the business itself or a seller it lists, not from resale sites that offer a discount that looks too good.
- Treat the card number and PIN like cash. Anyone who has them can spend the balance.
- Check the terms for an expiry date and any fees. In the United States, federal rules generally prevent store gift cards from expiring in under five years and limit inactivity fees, and many states go further.
For businesses
Offering digital gift cards is mostly a question of three things: taking payment, issuing and delivering the card, and keeping track of the balance. Our guide to gift card software for small businesses walks through what to look for and how to set it up.
Frequently asked questions
What is an e-gift card?+
An e-gift card is a gift card delivered electronically, usually by email or text, instead of as a plastic card. It has a card number or code, and often a PIN, that you use to pay online or show in store.
How do I use a digital gift card in a store?+
Show the card’s barcode or QR code at the register to be scanned, or give the cashier the card number. If the card is in Apple Wallet or Google Wallet, open the wallet and tap the card to show its code.
How do I use a digital gift card online?+
At checkout, choose to pay with a gift card and enter the card number and PIN, if there is one. Any amount the card doesn’t cover is paid another way.
Can I add a digital gift card to Apple Wallet or Google Wallet?+
If the business offers an “Add to Apple Wallet” or “Add to Google Wallet” button, yes. Otherwise, keep the email or save the card number somewhere safe.
Do digital gift cards expire?+
It depends on the card and where you live. In the United States, federal rules generally stop store gift cards from expiring sooner than five years after they were issued or last loaded. Check the card’s terms for its own rules.
What if I lose the email with my gift card?+
Contact the business that issued it with the buyer’s name, email address or order number. Many can resend the card. A card saved in your phone’s wallet is harder to lose.
Sources
Apple’s newer developer pages load dynamically, so where a number comes from Apple it is taken from its Wallet Developer Guide and support pages. If Apple’s or Google’s current documentation differs, follow theirs.
- Apple: Wallet Developer Guide, Pass Design and Creation
- Google: Google Wallet gift cards
- CFPB: Regulation E, § 1005.20 Requirements for gift cards and gift certificates
More guides
- 10 customer reward program examplesTen types of customer reward programs and loyalty reward cards, from punch cards and points to tiers and paid memberships: how each works, what it suits and how to run it.
- Customer retention with wallet loyalty programsPractical customer retention strategies for small businesses, and how a loyalty card in Apple Wallet or Google Wallet helps bring customers back: rewards, reminders, timing and what to measure.
- Mobile wallet analytics: what you can measureWhat you can and can’t measure about Apple Wallet and Google Wallet passes - views, saves, removals, scans and campaign results - and how to use those numbers to improve a pass program.
- Club membership cards: going digitalHow sports clubs, social clubs, associations and fan clubs can replace plastic member cards with digital ones in Apple Wallet and Google Wallet: what to include, renewals, check-in and member perks.