Not having much luck searching for this!

[Guest]

Not having much luck searching for this. I have a client that wants recommendations for POS systems that can create and use physical gift cards (the magnetic strip rfid - not digital codes). They currently use quickbooks for their merchant vendor but don't have to. Any recommendations?

Printing them is easy - but what is the best hardware to make it work?

[Ben]

Good luck. Even the Visa and MasterCard gift cards you buy at the mall or online still have the magnetic strip on them. Even our grocery store's gift cards do too. Now that you mention it I don't even see the reasoning behind having a chip on a gift card. The chip is for personal security and quick payments. Personal security really doesn't matter with gift cards, and I'm willing to bet the chips themselves are cost-prohibitive.

If companies whose whole business model is selling pre-paid debit gift cards don't use them, and all the chain store gift cards (I'm pretty sure) don't use them, I'm willing to bet there's a reason.

Not the answer you're looking for, I know, but it sounds like one of those things that when you present the problems the client doesn't even care enough to listen to the whole explanation let alone continue to expend the effort on a solution.

[Chris]

Man I don't know. I worked with a few in my previous line of work and I wouldn't wish those on anyone

[John-Pierre]

Is the magnetic strip still a thing? I think they all have been replaced here with a precoded chip or barcode or QR code that, when scanned in the POS triggers an online transaction to lookup, add or reduce the balance (which is in an external online system, not on the card itself). Maybe an idea to have your customer ask around in their network what their competitors use?