Gift cards and e-gifts: can the customer withdraw?

The gift card is a case people think is simple but is not. Many retailers assume that a gift card "cannot be refunded": that is a commercial rule they set for themselves, not a rule of law. Sold at a distance to a private individual, a gift card is subject to the same principles as the rest of your catalogue. Here is what you need to plan for.

The principle: a distance sale like any other

Buying a gift card on your site means concluding a distance contract. As such, the buyer benefits in principle from the 14-day period provided for by the right of withdrawal (harmonised across the EU by Directive 2011/83/EU), and therefore from the withdrawal button required across the 27 EU member states since 19 June 2026 (Directive (EU) 2023/2673). The gift card is not listed among the exceptions to the right of withdrawal (Directive 2011/83/EU, art. 16).

The physical card / e-gift nuance

The medium changes the way you reason:

• Physical gift card (sent by post): it is a good. The 14-day period runs from receipt. Withdrawal is possible, provided the card has not been used.
• Digital gift card / e-gift (a code sent by email straight away): here, some retailers want to invoke the exception for digital content performed immediately. This is legally debatable, because a gift card is closer to a means of payment than to digital content that has been consumed. Do not bet on it without precautions.

The case of the already-used card

If the recipient has already spent all or part of the card during the period, the withdrawal can no longer cover the value consumed: the contract has begun to be performed through the purchase made with the card. The unused part, however, remains covered in principle. This is one more reason to track precisely the date of purchase, the date of activation and any use.

What this means for your site

In practice:

1. Do not assume that a gift card escapes withdrawal: by default, it is subject to it.
2. Keep the compliant button active; it covers these sales too.
3. For immediately performed e-gifts, if you want to disapply withdrawal, obtain a clean and provable express waiver.
4. Timestamp the purchase, the activation and the use: that is what will let you settle a dispute.

The mechanism of the express waiver, its three conditions and, above all, how to prove it: the detail for immediately performed products.

The safety rule

Faced with an uncertain case, the doctrine is consistent: exceptions to the right of withdrawal are to be interpreted strictly. When in doubt, assume that the sale is covered, keep the button accessible and the evidence archived. That is precisely the foundation that BackToMe lays down and proves on your behalf.

You start with a free 7-day trial (€0 today, cancellable in one click): the button appears on your site at full legal value, with acknowledgement of receipt and timestamped archiving. For the general framework, see the right of withdrawal page and the exceptions to the right of withdrawal.