City of South Gate Shop SG Community Gift Card Program
Initial Merchant Contact Email/Letter
The City of South Gate is always
looking for innovative ways to support local businesses, especially as they
continue to recover from the financial impact of the COVID-19 pandemic. To help bring customers back to your
business, we’re excited to introduce the South Gate Shop SG Community
Gift Card Program! Consumers can purchase the Cards as gifts or for
self-use, and companies can use it for employee rewards, anniversary gifts,
customer appreciation, survey incentives, contests and anything they might have
used a gift card for – but the dollars
stay local and benefit our shops, restaurants and our Community.
People can purchase the Cards online
and then email, text or print them for use in your shops and restaurants. To
accept the Cards, you need to be able to process a key-entry (like a phone
order) Mastercard, and you are paid through your credit card bank in your
normal settlement, with your normal Mastercard CNP processing fee. The Cards only work at participating merchants–those
who choose to take advantage of this exciting program. Gift cards may be purchased in $25.00,
$50.00, and $100.00 amounts. To make the program more attractive to purchasers,
and to bring more customers and money to your business, the City of South Gate is sponsoring a “Buy One Get One” (BOGO)
program: for each gift card purchased, the City will provide another card of
the same value, up to a limit of two cards.
Market studies have shown offering a BOGO program increases
participation by as much as 36 percent. The
Gift Card program is funded by the American Rescue Plan Act (ARPA) and has been
very successful in many other communities, from small towns like Pleasantville,
CA to big cities like Nashville. The
City of Hercules in San Francisco’s north bay area started a gift card program
in early August 2022 and residents have already purchased more than $125,000 in
gift cards!
There is no cost to you to
participate in the program. To opt-in, you simply run a 10-cent charge (or
whatever is your minimum) on a prepaid Mastercard that Yiftee, our technology
partner, will send you by email (the “Activation Card”). This is your
authorization to participate and you are agreeing to Yiftee’s Merchant
Agreement found here:. https://yifteeutil.com/merchant-agreement We’ve
attached additional details about the program.
If you are
interested in being able to accept these Cards and the additional business they
bring to your store, all you need to do is
run the activation card when you
receive it via email from Yiftee. We are planning to launch the program on November
21, 2022, so please activate your card by November 18.
For questions or more information,
contact Tim Campbell at the City’s program partner, HDL Companies, via email at
Tcampbell@hdlcompanies or via phone (424) 228-8517, x. 1140.
E-Gift Card FAQs
Q: Is there a deadline to participate?
A: We are planning a launch on November 21, 2022 to introduce the community to our new Community eGift Card. Sign up before then so that you are a part of the launch program and get this incremental business.
Q: How to I sign up?
A: Tell the City you want to participate by responding to your invitation email from our card program partner Yiftee. Running the invitation’s Activation Card is your authorization to opt-in to the program which means you agree to the Yiftee Merchant Agreement here: https://yifteeutil.com/merchant-agreement
Q: What if I can’t process the Activation Card, which is a $0.10 credit card transaction?
A: No problem. Process the Activation Card for your minimum amount. It will be declined but Yiftee will get the information they need to add you to the program.
Q: What if I can’t key in a Mastercard?
A: This is very unusual. Ask your processor as this is a configuration and usually not a technical limitation. Some national chains like Walmart and McDonalds HQs do not allow their cashiers to key in the codes but the local businesses can do it.
Q: What if the purchase is for more than the Community eGift Card value?
A: Run the Community eGift Card for the remaining balance on the card, and ask the customer for a different form of payment to cover the rest of the transaction. Gift recipients can check balance on Yiftee.com or go to https://c.yiftee.com/check-gift-balance or use the link at the bottom of the printed gifts.
Q: What do I do if the eGift Card is ‘declined’?
A: The transaction is declined if you try to redeem more than the value of the card, or if any of the redemption information is mis-typed. Start the transaction over with the correct value and info. Go to https://c.yiftee.com/check-gift-balance to check the balance of a card or use the link at the bottom of printed gifts.
Q: Is tipping allowed on the Community eGift Card?
A: No, unless you pre-authorize the amount with the tip included, since this is a prepaid card.
Q: Does the eGift Card function as a ‘pre-paid’ credit card regarding automatic tipping hold-backs?
A: No. It can be redeemed for the full value. But there is no tipping allowed on the Community Card.
Q: Since the eGift Card is like a Mastercard, can it be redeemed anywhere?
A: No. They can only be redeemed at participating locations who have run their Activation Card.
Q: Is there a fee to purchase the eGift Card?
A: The gift sender pays $1.00 plus 5% of the gift value. The gift recipient gets 100% of the gift value. The store is paid the full value of the card, less their normal card-not-present (CNP) Mastercard fee.
Q: Can the eGift Card be used more than once?
A: Yes. They are multi-use and the current balance and expiration date are always reflected on the digital voucher. Recipients receive monthly reminders to redeem. You can check balance on Yiftee.com or https://c.yiftee.com/check-gift-balance or use the link at the bottom of printed gifts.
Q: Can I apply a refund to the eGift Card?
A: Yes. Refunds can be applied to a valid (unexpired) card just as you would to a credit card.
Q: Can I cancel my participation?
A: Yes. Anytime, by notifying your organizer. You will be removed from the marketing materials online and can no longer process the cards.
For more info, sign up for a demo here: https://yiftee.com/demo/
