Clover gift card questions, answered

Getting started

Will this work with the Clover POS I already have?

Yes. Factor4's Gift Card and Loyalty apps install from the Clover App Market onto the terminals you already own, so there is no new hardware and no new merchant account. Our physical cards use a magnetic stripe every Clover terminal reads. The step-by-step guide to selling gift cards on Clover walks through the install and the first sale.

How long does setup take?

An e-gift-only program can be live in days, and physical cards run roughly two weeks from approved artwork to cards in hand. If you are moving from another provider, the timeline is five business days from the balance export — see how switching providers works.

What kinds of businesses use this?

Any Clover merchant can run a program, but the denominations, promotions and seasonal timing that work differ by trade. Start from gift cards by industry to see how the mechanics change for restaurants, salons, spas, wineries, breweries, golf courses, boutiques, coffee shops and liquor stores.

What support do I get after launch?

Three channels: sales@factor4gift.com for account questions, support@factor4gift.com for technical issues, and artwork@factor4gift.com for designs and reorders. Phone support at 484-471-3963 runs seven days a week. There is more on who you are dealing with on the Factor4 and Clover page.

Costs and fees

Is there a monthly fee?

Yes, a flat monthly platform fee that covers reporting, balance lookups and the Clover app, with no per-location surcharge and no annual minimum. The full pricing breakdown with real numbers shows the current figure and what a first month actually costs.

What is the minimum gift card order?

Fifty cards, which is a small amount of card stock to start a program and includes custom artwork. Most merchants order more once they see how cards sell, and reorders use the same per-card price. Quantities and per-card pricing are laid out on the gift card pricing page.

Am I locked into a contract?

No. Factor4 bills month to month with no termination fee, which is not true of every provider in this market — two of the four in our four-app comparison require 24- or 36-month terms with early-cancellation charges.

Are there hidden fees?

Ask any provider in writing about dormancy, reload, paper statement, cancellation and balance-export fees. Factor4 charges none of the five. The cost page lists what the rest of the industry typically charges for each.

What happens to unredeemed balances?

They stay on your books as deferred revenue and stay redeemable — a card sold for $50 three years ago is still worth $50 at the register, because there is no dormancy or inactivity fee. How to account for that sits in the guide to gift card liability and breakage.

Physical cards and design

How much does custom card design cost?

Nothing. Artwork setup, the front-and-back digital proof and revisions until you approve are included in the card price, where competitors commonly charge for art setup and per revision round. Those comparisons are on the pricing page.

Can I keep my current card design?

Yes. Existing printed cards keep working, and on a reorder we can match your current artwork or redesign it. Nothing about the design affects a balance transfer, as covered in switching gift card providers.

What does a reorder cost?

The same per-card price as your first run, with no repeat art fee, because your approved artwork is already on file. Volume pricing per quantity is on the cost page.

E-gift cards

Do I need a website to sell e-gift cards?

No. Your storefront is a hosted page with its own link, so you can sell from a Google Business Profile button, an Instagram bio, an email or a QR code on the counter. See how Clover e-gift cards work for the full setup.

Can an e-gift card be redeemed online instead of in person?

By default a code is redeemed at your Clover register, the same as a plastic card. If you sell through an online ordering platform and want codes to work there, raise it on the quote call — what is possible depends on that platform. Details are on the e-gift card page.

Do e-gift cards expire?

Expiration and dormancy rules are set by federal and state law and vary by state, and Factor4 charges no dormancy or inactivity fee. Tell us where you operate and we will walk through your state's rules; the e-gift card page explains how that affects your program.

How fast is e-gift setup?

E-gift is software, so it moves faster than printing — a storefront typically goes up within days of approved artwork. The e-gift card page lists what we need from you to get there.

Loyalty

Can customers use loyalty without downloading an app?

Yes. The default identifier is a phone number typed at the register, so enrollment takes about five seconds and nobody installs anything. A physical loyalty card works instead if you prefer something tangible — see the Clover loyalty program page.

Can I run loyalty without gift cards?

Yes, loyalty stands on its own. Most merchants run both because the two share one customer record and one platform, which lets a reward be issued as e-gift value and spent like any other tender. The loyalty page compares this with Clover Perks.

Can I migrate points from another loyalty program?

Often, yes — it depends on what your current provider will export. Bring a sample export or a screenshot of your customer list to the quote call and we will tell you what moves and what starts fresh, as described on the loyalty program page.

What does a loyalty program cost?

Loyalty is quoted alongside your gift card program rather than sold at a fixed shelf price, because the setup depends on how you reward customers and how many sites you run. There is no design fee and no long-term contract; the pricing page covers the gift card side.

Multiple locations

Does one gift card work at all of my locations?

Yes. Every location on the program reads and writes the same balance, so a customer can buy at one store and redeem at another and two sites cannot both spend the same $50. That mechanism is explained on the multi-location and franchise page.

Is there an extra charge per location?

There is no per-location surcharge on the platform fee. Card stock is priced per card, so a larger group is quoted on volume rather than on how many addresses you operate — see group programs and the cost page.

We run separate programs per site. Can we consolidate?

That is a migration: existing balances move to Factor4 with card value intact, so regulars holding old cards from any of your sites are not turned away. The steps are in how to switch your Clover gift card provider.

How do we track liability across the group?

Unredeemed balances sit on your books as deferred revenue and stay redeemable at any of your registers, and your reporting is where the outstanding figure comes from. See gift card liability and breakage on Clover for how to pull and report that figure.

Switching providers

Will my old gift cards stop working?

No. Card numbers are data, not hardware, so once your balance file is imported every existing card resolves to the same remaining value at the register. The provider switching guide covers the import in detail.

How long does it take to switch?

Five business days from the day we receive your balance export: validation and mapping, the Clover app install and terminal test, a parallel run, then cutover. Each day is broken out on the switching page.

Does it cost anything to migrate balances?

No. Balance migration is included when you move your program to Factor4, and you only pay for new card stock if you choose to reprint. Reprint pricing is on the cost page.

What if I don't have a balance export?

We work from whatever you can get — a CSV, a PDF liability report, or a screen-by-screen export from your old back office — and can rebuild active balances from transaction history if your provider will not release anything. The migration walkthrough lists the fallbacks.

Is Factor4 the right app to switch to?

That depends on what you need on price, minimums, design fees, loyalty and migration. The comparison of the main Clover gift card apps puts the options side by side.

For cardholders

How do I check the balance on my gift card?

You can check it yourself through the merchant's balance lookup page, or ask staff to check it at the register. Both routes are covered in how to check a gift card balance on Clover.

The register says my card is not found. Why?

Usually a mis-keyed number, a worn magnetic stripe, or a card from a program that has since moved platforms. Staff can look the card up by number instead of swiping — the balance guide lists what to try first.

My card shows zero but I never used it.

The merchant can pull the card's transaction history and see every activation and redemption against it, which normally explains the balance. Ask them to check the report described in the balance lookup guide.

Can I get a refund on a gift card?

A gift card purchase is a prepayment rather than a sale of goods, so refunds follow the merchant's own policy, and an unspent e-gift code can often be voided or reissued. See how refunds work on e-gift cards.

Where can I buy a gift card if the shop is closed?

If the merchant sells e-gift cards, the storefront link works at any hour and the recipient gets the card by email or text within a minute. That is what Clover e-gift cards are for.