Standard Bank and Mastercard have launched an electronic gift card.
The advantages of an electronic gift card over a paper-based gift voucher are security and convenience. If the card falls into the wrong hands, the buyer can stop the card from being cashed in by alerting the centre where the card was bought. The recipient can spend part of the card value at one store and the remainder at another. The card can be used at any store that accepts Mastercard credit cards.
Nicholas Young, the director of Standard Bank card services, says the electronic card is currently available from Fourways Mall and East Rand Mall in Johannesburg, The Pavilion in Durban, and N1 City Mall and Blue Route Mall in Cape Town. By the end of November, the card will be available at Tygervalley in Cape Town, Westgate in Johannesburg and the Garden Route Centre in George, Young says.