Branded Currency: The ~$360 Billion Market Behind Digital Gift Cards

Almost $360 billion. That is where the digital gift card market stood in 2025. The boldest forecasts suggest the entire ecosystem could cross the $3 trillion threshold within a decade. Anyone who still thinks of gift cards as a last-resort present, or something we buy when we don't want to give cash, is missing out on one of the decade's quieter, yet high-impact fintech revolutions. From a professional standpoint, it is more accurate to refer to them as "branded currency" – assets situated at the intersection of embedded finance, user experience (UX), and decentralized technologies.

By 2025, the digital gift card market had undergone a fundamental transformation. Previous seasonality was replaced by continuous, technologically integrated usage. The data clearly indicates that these digital assets are no longer just holiday surprises, but integral parts of money flow that are successfully capturing territory from traditional payment solutions.

The sector’s maturity is supported by the numbers. In 2025, the market value reached $358.9 billion;  with a steady annual growth of 11.5%, it could approach $774.3 billion by 2032. If we examine it in a broader context – including corporate benefit systems and loyalty programs – the sector's turnover could exceed $581 billion this year, targeting the dream threshold of $3.8 trillion by 2034. The driving force is undoubtedly the global dominance of e-commerce and mobile wallets.

An exciting duality can be observed geographically as well. Although North America continues to dominate the market with a share of around 50%, the center of gravity for true innovation and growth is shifting toward Asia and developing countries. While superapps like WeChat in Asia integrate payments with gifting, in markets like Nigeria or Ghana, gift cards have undergone a functional shift: they practically operate as international currency, bypassing slow and expensive banking systems.

Financial Planning with Gift Cards

One of the most striking changes in the market is that people are increasingly buying gift cards for themselves, not just for others.  Due to economic difficulties and inflation, the role of the card has transformed. Instead of a kind gesture, it is often a smart financial hack. The numbers confirm this: today, one in three cards is purchased by the consumer for their own use, not as a gift.

A preloaded balance – whether for coffee runs or grocery shopping – puts a cap on overspending

Behind this awareness lies simple math. Everyone wants their money to be worth a little more. Consumers hunt for discounted cards, as acquiring them below face value means immediate savings on future purchases. Additionally, many prefer this solution because it helps them budget their money. A preloaded balance – whether for coffee runs or grocery shopping – puts a cap on overspending and helps stick to a monthly limit.

Since the gift card has become a tool for everyday saving, turnover is no longer limited to the Christmas rush. Sales are nicely distributed throughout the year, leaving retailers less exposed to the holiday season. This trend is here to stay. Surveys show that shoppers plan to use this method even more in the coming year to keep their expenses in check.

Embedded Finance and the Role of Middleware

The foundation of the 2025 market is embedded finance. This technology has allowed gift cards to evolve from static data into dynamic, software-driven financial instruments. The boundaries between marketing and payment have blurred. Modern application programming interfaces (APIs) ensure that different systems communicate with each other in real time.

The market is now moved by middleware providers – such as Tillo, WeGifts, or Blackhawk Network – that connect issuers with distributors. Old, cumbersome integrations have been replaced by standard APIs, allowing developers to build global systems quickly. The key is immediacy: there is no need to finance inventory, dynamic denominations support exact-amount settlements, and the system can instantly handle split-tender payments or even credit back unused balances.

This technology is conquering the corporate sector the fastest. Through platforms like Reachdesk or Sendoso, gifting is directly integrated into sales and HR processes, for example, via customer relationship management (CRM) systems (Salesforce, HubSpot). This invisible payment layer increases efficiency: sales reps can send incentives without leaving the software. Players in the financial sector have also recognized the opportunity. Mastercard, in collaboration with Uber, has developed real-time payout solutions, while neobanks like Revolut have integrated gift card marketplaces into their own apps, offering instant cashback to users.

From Crypto to Card

Parallel to this, the gift card has stepped up as the most important spending channel for cryptocurrencies. It has become at crucial "off-ramp" channel, enabling the conversion of crypto assets into real goods while bypassing the traditional banking system.

User attitudes have also changed significantly. Surveys show that 60% of consumers are open to gifting Bitcoin, especially among younger generations. However, trust is a critical factor: the majority of consumers prefer reliable, exclusively regulated providers.

Market players like Bitrefill now provide complex lifestyle services. Its eSIM integration allows travelers to instantly purchase global data connectivity for cryptocurrency. Its partnership with Mezo created a new financial model: users can spend Bitcoin-backed stablecoin (MUSD), enabling "Borrow-to-Spend." In practice, this means users finance their daily expenses via gift cards against their Bitcoin collateral on a stablecoin basis, so they don't have to sell their investment and they avoid immediate tax events.

Scalable Corporate Gifting

In the corporate sector, due to cumbersome logistics and Environmental, Social, and Governance (ESG) expectations, the era of physical gifts is coming to an end (goodbye, branded water bottles!). Their place has been taken by digital choice cards. Modern platforms like Toasty or PerkUp prioritize this concept, where the employee decides how to use the benefit.

Some gift card options from Toasty

The market has specialized according to needs. Large enterprises are dominated by systems like Sendoso, which possess deep CRM integration and AI-supported return on investment (ROI) measurement. International teams look for Reachdesk-type solutions due to transparent, cross-border operations, while tech companies build their own solutions on WeGift's infrastructure.

The key to global operation is technological localization. Advanced systems ensure relevance based on IP address: they automatically offer brands available in the user's location. Thus, a centrally determined reward value (e.g. $50) can be used immediately anywhere in the world.

The End of Manually Typed Codes

Copying long coupon codes, searching for promotional fields on the cart page, or fumbling for codes at the checkout counter is now increasingly considered unacceptable friction. A fundamental tenet of modern UX is that the system should know if the user is eligible for a discount without their active participation. The process does not require the user's attention, merely their approval.

For physical purchases, new protocols in near-field communication (NFC) technology make this possible. The Smart Tap function relies on parallel data exchange: when the shopper taps their phone to the terminal, the chip transmits not only the bank card's payment token but also the loyalty card identifier. The system pairs the shopper with their account and validates points with a single tap, without needing to open a separate app or scan a barcode;  two distinct, authenticated transactions take place in the background in a fraction of a second.

When the shopper taps their phone to the terminal, the chip transmits not only the bank card's payment token but also the loyalty card identifier

In e-commerce, Auto-Apply logic follows the same principle, but here the technical key is identity-based synchronization. Modern plugins (e.g. Cardivo and WooCommerce integrations) do not rely on browser cookies but on the logged-in user's unique ID. When the shopper enters the webshop, the system queries the current balance from the loyalty program database via an API call in the background. If the response is positive, the module automatically calculates and deducts the discount during the checkout process. The shopper doesn't need to know their coupon code; their eligibility is verified by their digital identity instead, and validation happens automatically.

Personalization and Gamification

Cards stored in digital wallets have also moved beyond the role of passive barcodes to become dynamic, live interfaces. While previously every shopper saw the same static card image, today, through the connection of generative AI and backend CRM systems, the card's content can change in real time based on user activity and preferences. A push message or an offer appearing on the card is thus not a generic ad, but a precise, personalized message to the shopper.

Gamification returns to this live environment, not as a self-serving game, but as a retention tool. Digital cards are now capable of visually displaying user progress: a dynamically changing "progress bar" or a level indicator icon gives immediate feedback on how close the next reward is. This visualization builds on the psychological need for completion – if we see the goal, we are more motivated to finish the process.

Gamification thus becomes an integral part of UX. The status of shopping streaks or community challenges updates directly on the phone screen, on the digital card. This transforms the user experience: transaction becomes interaction, and mere shopping becomes a collecting experience. The user opens the wallet not just to pay, but also to see where they stand in the process, keeping the brand present in their life on a daily basis.

Predictive Security and Regulatory Compliance

With the explosive growth in transaction numbers, the focus of security protection has shifted. Static, rule-based systems have been replaced by predictive, AI-driven analytics. In 2025, authentication is no longer based solely on passwords but on behavioral biometrics. The system monitors how the user interacts with the device (e.g. typing rhythm, scrolling speed). Mastercard's solution, for instance, uses generative AI to analyze complex transaction patterns in real time, filtering out anomalies before approval. This is complemented by DataDome's technology, which protects against bot attacks, ensuring that discounts built into the system are tapped by real users, not automated scripts.

Alongside technological protection, the tightening regulatory environment is also forcing a change in strategy. The crackdown on hidden costs ("junk fees") limits the previously widespread application of inactivity fees. This legal compulsion results in a fundamental business transformation: issuers can no longer base their profits on passive revenue from "breakage" (unredeemed, stuck funds). The foundation of the sustainable model has become actual usage and transaction density.

The gift card is, therefore, slowly ceasing to be a static product and is transforming into infrastructure. The card itself is just a technical token; the essence is the immediate and obstacle-free money movement taking place behind it. When branded money can move freely, without borders or technical barriers, between crypto wallets, banking systems, and loyalty programs, the market's true value is no longer determined by unused balances, but by the velocity of money and the depth of integration.