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Gift cards not redeemed

When gift cards are not redeemed after 5 years. What happens to the balance of the gift card. Example: guest purchased gift card in December of 2014  and does not use the card now December 2019. Dashboard says no outstanding gift card for 2014 yr as it had dropped off system and now showing outstanding for 2015.  Does that gift card still work or is the balance now back to zero since it’s been 5 years from purchasing. Or is the gift card still good at face value if it happens to be redeemed in the future or is it no longer valid since 5 yr old and now is void? Iowa law is gift card valid for 5 yr. 

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To my knowledge, Square runs off the more-generic no expiration policy that many other states have, so the system does not automatically disable cards after a set amount of time. 

In theory, you could clear the balances of those cards yourself, one by one, by going to Gift Cards from the pull down menu, selecting the card in question, scrolling to the bottom of the activity, and selecting Clear Balance. 

But unless your cards specifically have the expiration date written on them, I think it would be a bad customer service practice to do that, and also might not be legal if the wording isn’t there — again, double check the law. Where I am, the funds never expire by state law, so I have cards languishing in the system for years. I have the funds from those in a savings account, earning interest, forgotten but useful. 

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Hey @Rejuve and @staycatbrew!

 

Yes, that's correct. They do not expire. You're more than welcome to clear balances and reuse Square Gift Cards.

 

Let me know if you have any questions about this. 

️ Isabelle | she/her
Seller Community & Super Seller Program Manager | Square, Inc.
Learn about the Super Seller program!
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