Gift cards include prepaid or stored value cards that are designed to be purchased by one consumer (purchaser) and presented as a gift to a second consumer (recipient). The terms and conditions of gift cards can vary.
Two categories of gift cards are retail gift cards and bank-issued gift cards:
A retail gift card is typically offered by a major retail, entertainment, food-service, or other company to be used at establishments owned and operated by that company.
A bank-issued gift card is typically issued by a bank and carries the logo of a payment card network such as Visa, MasterCard, or American Express. These cards can be used at establishments and businesses that accept cards that access those networks.