Your cards
Physical vs digital
Every card in your ReloadCard wallet is backed by the same balance, whether you hold it as a physical NFC card or a digital pass. Tap or scan to use.
Lost or stolen card
Your balance is safe. It lives in your ReloadCard account, not on the card itself. Sign in and your cards are still there — you can keep using the digital version, and order a replacement physical card from the store if you want one.
How long do gift cards last? {#expiry}
Expiry is set per jurisdiction. ReloadCard enforces every rule below at the ledger level — a card sold in a no-expiry state cannot be expired by the merchant or by us.
United States
The federal CARD Act sets a 5-year floor from the date of last load (15 U.S.C. §1693l-1). Many states override that with stricter rules.
- No expiry (the card cannot legally expire): California, Connecticut, Florida, Illinois, Kansas, Maine, Minnesota, Montana, New Hampshire, New Jersey, New York, Oregon, Rhode Island, Vermont, Washington.
- Massachusetts — 7 years from issue.
- Maryland — 4 years from issue, no fees.
- New Mexico — 5 years from issue (60 months).
- All other states — 5 years from last load (federal CARD Act).
Topping up a card rolls the expiry forward to at least 5 years from the load date (the "last-activity" rule).
Canada
Federal baseline is 5 years, but ten provinces prohibit expiry on purchased gift cards entirely. No expiry in: Ontario, British Columbia, Quebec, Alberta, Manitoba, Saskatchewan, Nova Scotia, New Brunswick, Newfoundland and Labrador, and Prince Edward Island. The territories (Yukon, Northwest Territories, Nunavut) follow the 5-year federal baseline.
United Kingdom
Minimum 3 years from issue (UKGCVA industry-standard).
European Union and Europe
Per-country statutory minimums:
- Germany — 3 years (BGB §195).
- Netherlands — 2 years.
- France — 1 year.
- Belgium — 1 year.
- Italy — 5 years.
- Spain — 5 years.
- Ireland — 5 years (Consumer Protection (Gift Vouchers) Act 2019).
- Portugal — 5 years.
- Austria — 3 years.
- Switzerland — 5 years.
- Sweden, Norway, Denmark, Finland, Poland, Czechia — 3 years.
- Greece — 5 years.
Asia-Pacific and rest of world
- Australia — 3 years from issue (federal ACL).
- New Zealand — 3 years from issue, extended on top-up.
- Japan — 1 year.
- Korea — 5 years.
- India — 3 years.
- Mexico — 1 year.
- Brazil — 5 years.
No dormancy, inactivity, or service fees
ReloadCard does not charge dormancy, inactivity, service, or maintenance fees on gift card balances — at any point. The federal CARD Act prohibits these within the first 12 months of issue; we extend the protection indefinitely.
Using a card online
Open the card, tap "Reveal code", enter the code at the store's online checkout. If the store is on Shopify, the card applies directly from the checkout extension.
Using a card in-store
Show the QR code at the counter — the cashier scans it with Shopify POS. Or tap your phone to the NFC reader.