Can a customer pay a Shopify draft order with a gift card?

Why can’t I add a gift card to a draft order in the Shopify admin?

None of the admin’s payment options takes a gift card. A draft with payment terms in a local currency other than your store’s is narrower still: it can’t be invoiced, only charged by card or marked as paid. Gift cards are redeemed elsewhere: by the customer at checkout, or by staff in Shopify POS.

Merchants have asked Shopify for this since 2019, including phone and mail-order teams.

How does the customer use their gift card on a draft order?

Send them the draft. The invoice link lets the customer enter billing details, choose a shipping method and pay on your store’s checkout. Shopify’s redeem help says customers enter the gift card code at checkout, codes aren’t case sensitive, and if the card doesn’t cover the total the customer is asked for another payment method, which can be another gift card.

For example, staff at a deli taking a January hamper order by phone hear “I’ve got a gift card from Christmas.” They build the draft, copy its link and text it, and the customer finishes the payment on their own phone.

1. From your Shopify admin, go to Orders > Drafts and open the draft.
2. Click Share, then Copy link. Or click Send invoice to email it.
3. Send the link by email or by text.
4. The customer opens the link and pays at checkout.

In the Shopify app, tap the draft’s menu icon, then Share > Copy link.

Before you send it:

• Leave prices locked. Product prices is on by default when you send or share; on the draft itself, prices stay unlocked until you choose Lock product pricing. For sale prices, see discounts on phone orders.
• Add an email address or phone number. Shopify needs one before the draft is completed; see drafts without an email address.
• Don’t mark the draft Paid before the customer’s payment arrives. If it fails, see payment errors on a payment link.

Can staff enter the customer’s gift card code for them?

Yes, in Shopify POS. Over the phone, the customer reads the gift card code aloud and staff redeem it with the steps in the next section. If a card pays the rest, the customer reads those details too.

Typing a card into POS is manual card entry. Your payment provider and device must support it, and it counts as card-not-present; see card payments over the phone.

How do I split a gift card and a card payment at the counter in Shopify POS?

Redeem the gift card first, then take the rest as a second payment, or leave the order partially paid and collect the balance later. The receipt shows the gift card’s last four digits and its remaining balance, so the customer knows what’s left on the card.

1. Build the order in the Shopify POS cart.
2. Tap Checkout > Gift card > Enter manually or Scan > Redeem.
3. Tap Add payment for any balance, or Mark as partial where available (partial payments by plan), then Done.

If Gift card is missing, tap … > Settings > Checkout > Payments and turn on Gift cards.

Which payment routes accept a customer’s gift card?

Shopify POS checkout takes a gift card from staff, and a draft’s link sends the customer to your store’s checkout, covered above. Charging a card from the admin has no gift card option, and marking a draft as paid is only for money you’ve already received.

How do I sell a gift card to someone who calls the shop?

Ring it up in Shopify POS with Add gift card, or follow Shopify’s documented route for a custom amount: create a draft order for the amount and, once the customer pays the invoice, create a gift card for that value and send it. The caller can’t pay with another gift card; Shopify doesn’t allow it.

In Shopify POS. Tap Add gift card > Digital gift card, then a preset value or Custom gift card (enter the amount, tap Next). Tap Add, then Checkout. Gift card purchases in POS must be paid in full. A digital card can be emailed to the customer or printed from your receipt printer.

A draft, then an issued card. Create a draft for the custom amount and send the invoice. After it’s paid:

1. Go to Products > Gift cards and click Create gift card.
2. Set the Initial value to the amount paid, up to US$2,000.00 or the equivalent (Shopify Support can change this limit).
3. Choose the Customer who should receive the code, then click Save.
4. Click Send gift card, then Send email, or Send SMS if the customer has a phone number but no email address.

The online store. A caller can also buy your gift card product themselves; on the latest Dawn theme they can send it straight to the recipient with a message.

Who receives the gift card code: the buyer or the person it’s for?

A POS digital gift card goes to the customer on the sale, by email or printed. An admin-issued card goes to whoever is in its Customer field, so put the recipient there if the caller wants the code sent straight to them; an online purchase goes to the customer, or to a recipient if your theme supports it. To send it again, click Resend gift card on the card in the admin, or in POS open the customer’s gift cards and tap Email gift card or Text gift card.

What should I check before the customer redeems a gift card on a link?

Check four things: that the card comes from your store, that its currency suits the checkout, whether your store pays fees on gift card payments, and whether checkout will add shipping the customer didn’t expect.

• Same store. A gift card can be redeemed only at the store that issued it.
• Currency. Store-currency cards redeem in any currency, unless cross-currency redemption was turned off when the card was created; local-currency cards only when the checkout currency matches.
• Fees. Stores created on or after May 12, 2025 pay third-party transaction fees on the amount a customer pays by gift card.
• Shipping. See how to stop a payment link adding shipping.

How do I take a phone order without card numbers read aloud?

For phone orders built in the POS cart rather than the admin, there’s a way to take payment without anyone reading card details aloud. Pay Link, from Countermade (the Shopify POS apps from Invenire Studios), makes a payment link for the customer straight from that cart. It shows staff the total up front, with a note when checkout will add shipping.

The customer pays on Shopify’s own secure checkout, and staff never see or type card details. Staff can see whether the link has been paid. Pay Link takes full payment and needs Shopify POS Pro. Turn on local pickup at the store so the customer can choose pickup.

Next step

Open the draft, click Share and send the customer the link. Pay Link isn’t on the Shopify App Store yet. Get early access: we’ll email you when it’s ready to try.