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The benefits of gift card APIs are reshaping how businesses reward and engage their audiences. By tapping into automated gift card solutions, companies can simplify the reward process and deliver bulk digital gift cards in a snap.

This matters because manual gift card distribution can be slow, error‑prone, and costly. Automating with an API not only cuts down on administrative headaches but also boosts security and customer satisfaction.

In this article, we’ll explore the benefits of gift card APIs and show you how they can speed up delivery, tighten up security, and save you money. You’ll get a sneak peek at real‑world case studies, learn the top integration methods, and discover why businesses of all sizes are jumping on board.

Benefits of using a gift card API to automate rewards

Leveraging a reliable gift card API can streamline and enhance your entire rewards process, ensuring optimal security and efficiency. 

Developers will use the API to build incentive delivery directly into you own software, app, or intranet. Once it's ready, your company can expect the following benefits. 

  • Enhanced customer experience. Your recipients will have an easy time redeeming their gift cards, whether you're rewarding customers for making a purchase or sending incentives to research participants. 
  • Increased security. Gift card APIs eliminate the guesswork, automating every step of the reward process while bolstering security through robust authentication and encryption measures. Safeguard recipient data with confidence.
  • Faster processing time. With APIs in place, businesses can issue gift cards to customers in a matter of seconds, instead of days or weeks it would normally take for more traditional methods.
  • Cost savings. By utilizing an API, businesses can cut down on the cost of manual processing and reduce the errors often associated with physical gift cards. This can result in significant cost savings for you in the long run (not to mention better gift card tracking). 
  • Increased visibility. By integrating an API into their platform, you can easily track and monitor gift card usage as well as measure the impact of promotions and sales initiatives. This in turn will give you greater insight into customer behavior, allowing them to improve their marketing efforts.
  • Seamless integration. APIs provide a convenient way to integrate gift cards into existing platforms, eliminating the need for you to manage separate systems or manually process physical gift card transactions. This helps reduce complexity and save time. At the same time, you'll build data integrity, allowing you to curate your rewards program exactly to your employees' or customers' needs. 

3 ways to use a gift card API

Like we've covered, you can leverage a gift card API to automate and streamline your rewards process, so you can deliver rewards via social media, email, or through your app.

To get started, your developer just needs to create a testbed account and start building. Don't worry—this isn't as complicated as it might sound! In fact, developers working with Giftbit's API can often get something up and off the ground in a matter of a few days or even a few hours. 

From there, you'll have a few ways to leverage your API in your incentive program

1. Customizable integrations 

Completely customize the triggers and actions t hat occur within your rewards program. For example, you can have the API tell Giftbit to send the reward directly to the recipient via a custom email using a custom email template

2. Embedded integrations

Embed reward redemption experience into your app. Users can browse gift cards, redeem loyalty rewards, and receive them seamlessly within your app. 

3. Giftbit links

Customize gift card delivery with Giftbit links. Call the API to send a gift card link via SMS, social media, email, digital wallet, or employee intranet. 

Gift links case study

Giftbit's RESTful Gift Card API and Giftbit link integrations have allowed numerous organizations to automate rewards while delivering an exceptional experience for users. One such organization is Drop, a free rewards program that boosted engagement and points redemption after adopting Giftbit's RESTful API

Drop was looking for a way to allow members to redeem their reward points for gift cards to popular brands like Lyft, Walmart, Target, and CVS. They also wanted to be able to add new brands to their inventory immediately when members requested them. 

With Giftbit API, Drop set up a streamlined rewards process catered to their members' wants and needs. They saw over 22,000 redemptions and increased their gift card catalog by 30% in the first year after integrating with Giftbit. 

To learn more about how to leverage all the benefits of gift card APIs, be sure to book some time with one our integration specialists. 

Giftbit
Post by Giftbit
October 12, 2023