What 'B2B' actually adds
A B2B gift card program is built around the buyer, not the recipient. The card itself is the same product the consumer can buy at the till; what changes is everything around it.
- Invoiced purchasing (no per-card card-on-file)
- Bulk and API issuance instead of point-of-sale transactions
- Per-program reporting (cost centre, campaign, country, currency)
- Audit trail per send (recipient, amount, send time, redemption time)
- Localized catalogues per market in one platform
- Often whitelabel redemption pages for brand consistency
What B2B does not change
The economics of the underlying card stay close to retail. The brand still sets face values, restrictions and expiry. The discount for buying at scale is usually small or zero — what you pay for is the rails, not a markdown.
Frequently asked questions
Is a B2B gift card cheaper than a retail one?
Usually no. Brands rarely give material wholesale discounts on gift cards. The B2B value is in workflow, reporting and tax fit, not unit price.
Can I deduct B2B gift card spend as a business expense?
Generally yes when the recipient relationship is documented and the local rules (Sachbezug, WKR, URSSAF, trivial benefits, IRS) are followed. See our country-specific tax guides.
Do I need a separate VAT treatment?
VAT on gift cards depends on whether the voucher is single-purpose or multi-purpose under EU rules (Directive 2016/1065). Multi-purpose vouchers are taxed at redemption, not issuance.