Shopify gift cards work on every Shopify plan. You can sell them as a gift card product, or create one in your admin at no cost to the customer, for example as a reward or a refund. When an order with a gift card product is fulfilled, the customer gets an email with a unique code to use at checkout. By default, Shopify gift cards never expire. If you sell in Australia or New Zealand, keep it that way or set at least 3 years: Australian gift cards sold since 1 November 2019 must last at least 3 years, and New Zealand brought in the same 3-year minimum for gift cards sold from 16 March 2026. Both countries also want the expiry shown clearly. Below are the setup steps, the expiry setting, the rules in plain English, and replies for the gift card questions that land in your DMs before Christmas.
Updated 7 November 2026
To create one, go to Products, then Gift cards, then Create gift card. Enter the value, add the customer, set an expiry date only if you need one, then click Save and Send gift card. Customers can't type their own amount on your online store, so for a custom amount Shopify suggests sending a draft order invoice and creating the card once it's paid.
| Gift card product | Gift card you create in the admin | |
|---|---|---|
| Who pays | The customer buys it | Nobody: it's free to the person who gets it |
| When the card is made | When the order is fulfilled | When you save it and click Send gift card |
| Highest value | US$10,000 or equivalent per amount | US$2,000 or equivalent (Shopify Support can review a change) |
| Good for | Gifts, Christmas, birthdays | Rewards, promotions, refunds and store credit, or a custom amount paid by draft order invoice |
Shopify gift cards don't expire by default, because in some countries it's illegal for them to. If you switch expiry on, Shopify's starting value is five years. For Australian and NZ customers, leave it on 'never expire' or choose 3 years or more. Never pick days or months.
A summary of what the ACCC and New Zealand's Commerce Commission say, checked 6 November 2026. It isn't legal advice: if a card or promotion doesn't fit neatly, read the regulator's page or ask a lawyer.
| Australia | New Zealand | |
|---|---|---|
| Applies to cards sold | On or after 1 November 2019 | On or after 16 March 2026 (older cards keep their dates) |
| Minimum life | 3 years from the day it was supplied or bought | 3 years from the date it was sold |
| Showing the expiry | Must be prominent. If shown as a period, show the issue date too. No expiry? The card must say so | Must be prominent: the date, the month and year, the sale date plus how long it lasts, or 'no expiry date' |
| Fees after purchase | Not allowed: activation, account-keeping, balance enquiry and inactivity fees | The Commission asks businesses to be upfront about any activation fee |
| Shorter expiry | Breaks the rules, and penalties apply | The shorter term is void: the card lasts 3 years from sale |
| Main exceptions | Reloadable cards, free promotional cards, cards sold at a genuine discount, loyalty and staff reward cards, second-hand cards | Cards given for returned goods, loyalty cards (unless bought with points), cards for a one-off event, charity fundraising cards, phone, transport and power cards |
| Regulator | ACCC | Commerce Commission (up to $1,000 per infringement notice; companies up to $30,000 per offence) |
Hi [Name]! Sorry about that. Our digital gift cards are emailed to the address on the order as soon as it's processed, so please check your spam or promotions folder. Still nothing? Reply here with the email you used and we'll sort it out today.
Happy to check, [Name]! Could you send the last four characters of your gift card code, or the email it was sent to? Please don't send the full code: it works like cash.
Our gift cards never expire 🎁 You can buy one here: [link]. (Or: 'Our gift cards last 3 years from the date of purchase.')
Our Christmas shipping cut-off has passed, so new orders may arrive after 25 December. Our digital gift cards arrive by email straight away: [link] 🎄
In December, a gift card turns 'it won't arrive in time' into a sale, and 'where's my gift card?' becomes a common DM. Paperflower puts every comment, DM and email in one list, puts buying questions first and, on Standard, drafts each reply from your policies and the customer's Shopify order. It never puts private order details in public: for a comment, it drafts a short public reply for you to post yourself and moves the details to DMs. See our guides to Australia Post's Christmas dates, NZ Post's Christmas dates and order confirmation emails.
Most tools treat comments as noise. Paperflower reads every one, spots buying questions like “do you ship to NZ?” and makes sure they get answered before the customer moves on.
Every conversation gets a score so the people ready to buy come first. You see who to reply to now, and who can wait.
Order status, shipping and product details are pulled in automatically, so drafts are right the first time and private order details never go out in public.
AI drafts are on and auto-send is off by default. Complaints are escalated to you. Refunds and cancellations always need a human.
Paperflower starts free with 100 customer interactions a month, no card needed: every message in one list, and you write the replies. AI sorting, reply drafts and spam hiding come with Standard, which is A$47 a month for 3,000 customer interactions, with a 7-day free trial. Human replies are always free. See all plans.
Local time zones, local shipping questions, and support from people who know the market.
Not by default. Shopify gift cards are set to never expire. You can set an expiry in Settings, then Payments, then Gift card expiration; if you do, Shopify starts at five years. In Australia and New Zealand, any expiry must be at least 3 years.
At least 3 years from the day it was bought, for gift cards sold on or after 1 November 2019, with some exceptions such as reloadable cards, free promotional cards and cards sold at a genuine discount. The expiry must be shown prominently, or the card must say it has no expiry date.
From 16 March 2026, gift cards sold to consumers must last at least 3 years from the date of sale and show the expiry prominently. A shorter expiry is void, so the card lasts 3 years anyway. Cards sold before 16 March 2026 keep their original dates.
As the store, find the card in Products, then Gift cards, in your Shopify admin (you'll see the last four characters of each code). Customers who added the card to Apple Wallet can see the balance there, and the code applies its value at checkout.
No. A Shopify gift card can only be used at the store that issued it.
Shopify only creates a gift card when the order contains a gift card product. A regular product named 'gift card' doesn't create one. Create a gift card in Products, then Gift cards, for the amount and send it to the customer.
Not unless you turn that on. By default it drafts a reply and you approve it. You can switch on auto-send for simple, safe questions once you trust the drafts.
Instagram, Facebook and TikTok comments and DMs, support email through Gmail or Google Workspace, and Shopify for order details.
Yes. The Free plan is the basics: 100 customer interactions a month in one list, no card needed, and you write each reply. Standard adds AI sorting, reply drafts and spam hiding, and comes with a 7-day free trial. You can cancel any time. Compare plans.
Connect Instagram, Facebook, email and Shopify in a few minutes. On Standard, AI sorts every message and drafts every reply, you stay in control, and nothing is sent without your say-so unless you switch that on. Free puts every message in one list for you to answer.