Gift Cards | Expiry & Compliance
Gift cards are regulated in most places — what to know about expiry dates and consumer law before you set the rules.
A gift card is a promise to honour stored value, so most jurisdictions have rules about it. Orbit gives you the controls; the policy choices — and their legality — are yours.
Expiry dates
The Expiration field on a card is optional — leave it empty and the card never expires. Before setting one, know your market:
UK — consumer-protection guidance expects fairness; very short expiry windows draw complaints and chargebacks. Many UK retailers set 12–24 months or none.
EU — member states vary; some restrict expiry outright.
US — federal law requires at least 5 years on most gift cards.
When in doubt, no expiry is always compliant and is the friendliest policy.
Other rules worth knowing
Breakage — unspent balances eventually become “breakage” revenue; your accountant should know your gift-card liability, not just your sales.
Refunds to cards — refunding a card-bought order usually returns value to the card, not cash; local law decides.
Lost cards — your deactivation + reissue flow (see Gift Cards | Redeeming & Balance Checks) is your duty-of-care story.
Tips
This article is orientation, not legal advice — a five-minute check with your accountant beats a policy you regret.
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