If you are a merchant who issues and accepts giftcards you know abut the various challenges with that type of processing. I worked developing software for a company that does prepaid card processing for well over ten years. And I noticed several common experiences with any client implementing such a system.
Prepaid electronic gift cards are generally more complex than standard credit or debit cards. Those other instruments have very fixed sets of features. Whereas, gift cards have more flexibility. Gift card functionality is also continuing to expand.
The first thing I saw was that the merchants that started off simple tended to be more successful over time. A gift card is not the same as a credit card or debit. They are better used in different ways. Walmart and Starbucks for example encourage their card holders to continue to add value to cards over time. However, neither of these started off in this direction. It came with time. Merchants had to gain some experience with the instrument to really see that this would work. My advice then is to implement a gift card program in its simplest form then enhance it later. Otherwise you risk creating programs that will not catch with card holders and ultimately be a waste of resources. It isn’t widely known but USPS had a prepaid card. Think about that. Would you buy a card, pay for it in advance so you could buy stamps later? Why not just buy the stamps? Not surprising, they dropped the program.
Get prepared for the process by getting a list of all stores or locations into a common format. Double check it to make sure that it is accurate. This information has to be accurate. This will reduce delays.
Start early in the year. I have seen many retailers decide in July or August that they want a gift card program in time for that year’s Christmas, Holiday season. This is possible but delays can cause the deadline to be missed. Plan to launch in August for the latest. That allows time to deal with any anomalies if they arise.
Many gift card programs have elaborately designed cards. These are great. I like to collect them myself. Getting this done is a scheduling nightmare at times. If you are pressed for time, find ways to get your art approved quickly. Make sure someone who is meticulous is looking at the art. Having to redo cards can be expensive.