Do gift cards expire in Canada?

Most provinces prohibit expiry dates on standard prepaid gift cards. Always follow your provincial rules; your provider can configure cards to comply.

How quickly does a gift card program pay for itself?

Usually fast. With typical spend uplift and breakage, even a few gift card sales per week exceed a modest monthly program fee.

Gift Cards & Loyalty

Gift Cards 101: How a $35/Month Program Pays for Itself

A gift card program is one of the rare tools that pays for itself almost immediately. Here's the math.

Armour Payments Editorial Team•September 11, 2026•1 min read•Reviewed by Armour Payments Product Team

The short answer

A gift card program gives you upfront cash, brings new customers as recipients, lifts average spend (people spend beyond the card value), and benefits from breakage when cards go partly unredeemed. For a low monthly fee, it typically pays for itself fast.

How gift cards make money

Four forces work in your favour: upfront cash from the sale, new customers when recipients visit, uplift because people spend more than the card holds, and breakage from cards never fully redeemed. Together they more than cover a modest monthly program fee.

The acquisition angle

Every gift card is a referral with money attached. The recipient is often someone who has never visited you, and they arrive predisposed to buy. That's customer acquisition you get paid for, not the other way around.

Running the numbers

Even a handful of gift card sales a week, with typical uplift and breakage, comfortably exceeds a $35/month program cost. The break-even is low, and everything above it's profit and new customers. See the breakage effect.