Gift cards without the plastic
A gift pass carries the balance in the wallet, ready to redeem at the till and impossible to leave in a drawer. Issue it online in seconds, and keep the balance on the pass correct after every redemption and top-up.
Card•••• 4832Card•••• 4832What the pass does
Delivered instantly
Gift passes are issued from your e-commerce checkout, at the till or from the portal, and delivered as a link the recipient adds in one tap. No printing, no stock and no shipping.
Redeemed at the till
At redemption the pass identifies with an NFC tap on a reader that supports Apple VAS and Google Smart Tap, or with a QR or barcode scan on the scanner you already run. A gift pass is not a payment instrument and is not read by tapping any payment terminal: the code resolves to the gift account in your system, which approves and settles the redemption, so that gift platform and its till integration have to be in place.
A balance that is never stale
Every redemption and top-up is pushed to the pass, so the balance the customer sees is the balance they have. A change message on the lock screen can confirm what was spent or added.
Full visibility
The portal shows issued, installed and redeemed passes, and expiry rules archive spent or lapsed passes automatically. Design updates reach every live gift pass without reissuing.
The life of a gift pass
From the record it is created out of to the day it retires itself, with nobody having to think about it in between.
Created at purchase
The pass is created at e-commerce checkout, at the till or from the portal, carrying the balance held in your gift account system.
Delivered as a link
The recipient gets a link by email or SMS and adds the pass in one tap. Nothing to print, no stock to hold, nothing to post.
Redeemed at the till
The pass identifies with an NFC tap or a code scan on hardware that supports it. Your gift account system approves the amount and settles it through the same till integration it uses for a plastic card.
Balance corrected
Every redemption and top-up is pushed to the pass, so the number on the phone is the number in your ledger.
What every field is doing
The pass shown here is one example. A wallet pass has room for a handful of fields, and the template decides which of them carries what, so treat this as a starting point rather than a rule.
Card•••• 4832Example layout
Your brand
A gift pass is often the first thing a new customer holds from you, so the artwork is doing more work here than on any other pass type.
Card number
Masked on the pass face, so a balance is not readable over a shoulder on the bus.
Balance
The one number the holder opens the pass for, pushed after every redemption and top-up.
As of
A timestamp beside the balance. It tells the holder the number is live rather than remembered.
Where it works
One line of scope: which stores, online or in person, reloadable or single use.
Tap or scan
Gift passes usually carry the code your till already reads. NFC does the same job wherever the reader supports it, and a pass can carry both.
What it replaces
The wallet pass is not a nicer version of the old artifact. It is the same job, done by something that can be updated after it is handed over.
- Printed, stocked, shipped and displayed
- A balance nobody knows without asking
- In a drawer, months after it was given
- Mailed, when it is a present bought online
- Issued at checkout and delivered as a link
- A balance that updates the moment it is spent
- In the wallet, and surfaced near the store
- Sent by email or SMS, arriving in seconds
Who runs this pass
The same pass type, shaped by what happens at the counter.
Retail and e-commerce
Sell a gift pass online at 23:00 and it is in the recipient's wallet before midnight, redeemable at the same till as everything else.
Restaurants and hospitality
A gift pass sold at the table or on the website is in the recipient's wallet the same evening, and the balance is right the next time they sit down.
Shopping centers
One pass redeemable across tenants, with each redemption pushed back to the pass so the holder always knows what is left.
The pass is also the channel
Engage, Stell's messaging module, sends through the pass the customer already carries. No app install, no rented inbox.
Balances that get remembered
A campaign or an inactive-days automation in Engage reminds the holder they still have money to spend, on the lock screen, through the pass itself.
Segments from tags and attributes
Build an audience from the tags and attributes carried on the contact, and see the estimated reach before a campaign sends.
Expiry that is not a surprise
Where an expiry applies, a message can say so ahead of time, and the frequency cap keeps a reminder from becoming a nuisance.
Gift cards, answered
- How does a recipient get a wallet gift card?
- They receive a link, by email, SMS or on screen, and add the pass to Apple Wallet or Google Wallet in one tap.
- How is a gift pass redeemed in store?
- By NFC tap on a reader that supports Apple VAS or Google Smart Tap, or by scanning the QR code or barcode on any scanner. Either route resolves to the gift account in your system of record, which approves and settles the redemption, so your existing gift-card platform and its till integration do the same work they do today.
- Does the balance on the pass update after a purchase?
- Yes. The new balance is pushed to the pass in seconds, and can appear as a lock-screen notification.
- Can a wallet gift card be topped up?
- Yes, where your gift account system supports reloading. The new balance is pushed to the same pass, so the recipient does not need a second one.
- Can a gift pass be sent to someone else as a present?
- Yes. The add link can be delivered to the recipient directly, so the person who bought it never has to hand over a physical card.
- What happens to the pass when the balance reaches zero?
- The pass shows the zero balance and can expire and archive itself, or stay in the wallet ready for a top-up, depending on the rules you set.
A number for your program.
Tell us what you issue and where it is scanned. A specialist replies with a quote, what it covers, and the integration work we take on.
- Apple Wallet and Google Wallet included
- NFC and QR/barcode identification, both first-class
- Terminal and loyalty-platform integration done by us
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