   a gift card is a restricted monetary equivalent or scrip that is issued by retailers or banks to be used as an alternative to a non-monetary gift. highly popular, they rank as the second-most given gift by consumers in the united states (2006) and the most-wanted gift by women, and the third-most wanted by males. accessed 06-16-2008 gift cards have become increasingly popular as they relieve the donor of selecting a specific gift. accessed 06-16-2008 in 2012, nearly 50% of all us consumers claimed to have purchased a gift card as a present during the holiday season. accessed 12-01-2013 in canada, $1.8 billion were spent on gift cards and in the uk, it is estimated to reach 3 billion (gbp) for 2009 whereas in the united states, about $80 billion were paid for gift cards in 2006.cash, not gift cards, the best present: consumers' association. cbs news. december 24, 2007accessed 06-16-2008 the recipient of the gift card can use it at his or her discretion within the restrictions set by the issuing agency. ==history==  the first giftcard using a payments infrastructure was introduced by blockbuster entertainment in the fall of 1994 in ft. lauderdale, florida. in the beginning, the blockbuster giftcard was to replace gift certificates that were being counterfeited with recently introduced color copiers and color printers. it was this over redemption of giftcards that launched the search for an alternative. the first giftcard transactions were processed by what was then, nabanco of sunrise, florida. nabanco was the developer of the first platform for the processing of giftcards using exist
Debit_cards Exonumia Giving Payment_systems Personal_finance Retail_financial_services