We're announcing an upcoming change to how Gift Cards are managed on Cookaborough that will take effect from April 16th. 

What’s changing?

Gift Cards sold via your Cookaborough homepage will be issued by Cookaborough. While they will still be branded to your business and only redeemable with you, the funds from the initial sale will be held by Cookaborough until the card is used.

Once a customer redeems their Gift Card to place an order, the corresponding funds will be automatically transferred to your Stripe account.

Why we’re making this change?

As Cookaborough manages payments via the platform, we are required to ensure that customers receive the products and services they have paid for, including where Gift Cards are used. This means Cookaborough must be able to support customers with refunds or issue resolution where required.

Over the last few years, we’ve also seen a number of businesses cease operations with unfulfilled Gift Cards. In these instances, where the business is not in a position to issue refunds, Cookaborough has stepped in to cover the cost of gift card refunds at considerable expense.

By shifting issuance to the platform:

• Cookaborough holds responsibility for the Gift Card until it is redeemed
• This removes the financial liability from your business 
• It ensures customers can always be refunded or supported where required
• It allows Cookaborough to meet our payment and consumer obligations

Over the last few years we've seen a number of businesses cease operations with unfulfilled Gift Cards. In these instances, where the business is not in a position to issue refunds Cookaborough has stepped in to cover the cost of gift card refunds at considerable expense. 

What’s not changing?

You will continue to have the ability to create Gift Cards via your dashboard, these Gift Cards are issued free of fees and can be used for promotions, gifts and donations.

You have the ability to opt-out from selling gift cards via your home page, the control for this remains in your Settings > Gifting

Terms of Use update: 

The change to how gift cards are issued and processed is now reflected in our Terms of Use. We encourage you to take a moment to review the revised terms here.

What does this mean for you?

The customer experience remains exactly the same. The only difference you will see is that revenue from Gift Card sales will appear in your account at the point of order fulfilment rather than at the point of the initial voucher sale. 

You are no longer exposed to unredeemed Gift Card liability and Cookaborough will manage any customer refunds.

If you have any questions about these changes, please don’t hesitate to reach out via [email protected]

Best regards,

The Cookaborough Team