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“During 2020, we saw an acceleration in the use and adoption of QR codes by consumers,” said Richard Robertson, Managing Director epay UK, Ireland, and Nordics. “Our digital gifting solution fits perfectly with this trend and provides a great option when you can’t see a loved one to deliver the gift voucher in person.”

For years, epay has enabled its retailers to print a personal identification number (PIN) on a receipt when a consumer purchases a gift card. The recipient would then enter the PIN into the brand’s app or website as credit toward downloadable digital content such as games, movies or music.

This process is popular with retailers who do not have space in-store for a gift card unit, are unable to manage gift card stock or prefer to offer their consumers an endless list of gift card content through their card payment machine or EPOS till system.   

The new digital gifting solution builds on the previous PIN-based process by also printing a QR code on the receipt. When scanned by a smartphone, the QR code directs the gift card purchaser to www.digitalgiftcard.com where a few simple steps creates a personalised virtual gift card that is delivered via email with a customized theme (birthday, wedding, holiday, etc.) immediately or on a future scheduled date through epay’s Digital DropShip solution. The recipient can use the gift card upon delivery or save it to their mobile wallet for later use.

A recent study conducted by the UK Gift Card and Voucher Association (UKGCVA) showed that 47.1% of consumers now normally redeem their gift cards online and revealed a significant growth in consumers who redeem via their mobile device (GCVA State of the Nation 2021 Report). The study also showed millennials, in particular, are increasingly expecting seamless online and mobile capabilities, which epay’s new digital gifting solution supports perfectly.

Interested retailers should contact the epay UK team at SST@uk.epayworldwide.com for more information.