As ideal as gift cards seem, they are pretty useless if you don’t shop at the specific store. That is when learning how to transfer money from gift card to PayPal can come in handy.
Many people choose to gift pre-loaded cards to their loved ones on special occasions so they can purchase items of their choice. Cool idea, right?
However, the trouble is when you receive a gift card for a store were you can’t find any item of your interest.
Instead of letting the money go to waste, you can easily transfer money to another online app, such as PayPal, and use the funds elsewhere.
In this article, we will discuss how to transfer money from different types of gift cards to PayPal. Moreover, we will also let you know how you can send the balance to your bank account and then use the money wherever you need!
Let’s go.
How To Transfer Money From Gift Card to PayPal Balance?
It is quite easy to exchange gift card balance for funds on Paypal. This comes in handy when you get a card that you don’t need or can’t find anything of interest at the related store.
You are not just going to let the money go to waste, right?
You can convert it to usable cash by by transferring the funds to PayPal balance via CardCash.
- Check for a stable and speedy internet connection. Then open the web browser and type in www.CardCash.com.
- Provide card issuer’s name along with the amount present in your gift card.
- Tap on Get Offer.
- Wait for the message to pop up that states the amount of balance you can send from the gift card to PayPal.
- You are free to reject or accept this offer. If you wish to proceed, tap on Continue.
- Now provide your gift card number and secret PIN.
- Tap on Connect with PayPal.
- Now login in your PayPal account via web service or mobile app.
- Provide the required information in all the necessary fields.
- Tap on Get My PayPal Balance.
This will complete the transaction between gift card merchant and your PayPal account. Typically, the funds will reach you in a day.
How To Share Money On Visa/Mastercard Gift Card to PayPal?
PayPal also accepts transfer from Visa or Mastercard gift cards. These are versatile and quite different from store-specific cards like the ones you can buy from eBay, Amazon, or Walmart.
Needless to say, the process of transferring money is a bit different as well. Here’s how it works.
- Open your PayPal account and tap on Profile button.
- Click on Add or Edit Bank Account. You are here to link your bank account with PayPal account.
- Now provide all the necessary information such as your account number.
- Your bank will link with PayPal. You can check by first making a micro-transaction.
- Now get in touch with customer support service at the bank or visit their nearby branch.
- Inform bank teller that you wish to transfer the funds on your Visa gift card balance to bank account. Wait for the said amount to be sent over.
- Open PayPal account again and tap on Add Funds.
- Then click on Add Funds From The Bank Account.
- Fill in the amount that you wish to transfer. Tap on Continue.
Using bank account as mediator is a common way to exchange funds between different apps. The process is safe, quick, and easy to manage.
How To Add Money From Amazon Gift Card to PayPal Account?
Before you begin to transfer money from Amazon gift card to PayPal, you need to link these two together. After that, the card can support all sorts of transactions. Let’s take a look at how that works.
- Open your PayPal account by providing the login credentials.
- Tap on Wallet. The option will be visible at the top of the page.
- Then click on Link a credit/debit card.
- Choose Debit Card and enter its card number, expiration date, address, CVV, and other data if required.
- Click Continue.
This will complete the process. Now you can easily send funds from Amazon gift card to PayPal whenever you want.
Is It Possible To Transfer eBay Gift Card Balance to PayPal?
eBay gift card is another popular choice that users stick to. However, next time you plan on gifting it to your loved ones, keep in mind that it is not possible to send money from eBay card to PayPal.
- This means the eBay card can only be used to show at eBay.
Although it is a great pick for someone who is interested in majority of the items for sale there but if you want to keep the horizons open, it is better to go with other gift cards that allow the balance to be shared to PayPal or other payment apps.
How To Send Gift Card Balance To a Linked Bank Account?
You can also send the gift card balance to your bank account and use the cash to shop anywhere you like. However, you will need a third-party app to complete this task. In our case, we recommend using Square.
- Reload your gift card or activate the pre-loaded card by calling at the number provided.
- Sign-in your Square account.
- Open Square Settings and choose to connect your bank to the app by providing the account number and other relevant information.
- Then enter gift card details on the Square App. Alternatively, you can use the Square card reader as well*.
- Wait for Square to accept your card.
- The amount that you had entered will be deducted from the gift card and deposited in your bank account within 24 hours.
*Card reader carries additional charges. You will pay 2.75% for each entry in contrast to manual fee that costs 3.5%+$0.15.
Funds can be instantly sent from Gift card to bank account whereas transfer to certain apps such as Venmo or PayPal may take up to 3 business days.
In contrast, it is not possible to transfer money from gift cards to debit cards. You may think that the transfer should work simply like sending money from one debit card to another but, unfortunately, that is not the case.
Attention! Need case in exchange for your gift card? Take the plastic to a nearby Exchange Kiosk to get money in return.
For The Newbies: What Is a Gift Card?
It traces back to 1994!
The founder of Neiman Marcus Group was the first one to offer gift cards to his clients.
He did not plan to advertise them but the strategy of using such cards to increase customer loyalty really worked and many other companies followed the lead soon afterwards.
Gift cards are now widely available at many stores and you can even purchase the cards online with your checking account.
What got gift cards so famous? Well, for the brands, they tend to deliver many benefits. Gift cards help to create brand awareness, and improve cash flow. Not to forget that they are definitely attractive to customers!
Note! Large stores like Amazon even use gift cards to gather information about the sale of different commodities. Purchases through cards highlight customer’s shopping trends so stores can figure out which items they need in larger amount.
Open-Loop vs Closed-Loop Gift Cards
There are two types of gift card.
- Open-loop.
- Closed-loop.
Typically, banks or credit unions provide open-loop gift cards. This means you can use the card to pay different merchants and at different stores.
On the other hand, card given out by specific store such as eBay is known as closed-loop gift card. You can not use it anywhere else.
Consequently, some cards are reloadable while others can only be used once. When such cards expire, you can not top up more money.
Gift cards come in all shapes and sizes. You can buy plastic cards for your loved ones or even send them a virtual one via mobile phone or email.
Attention! Virtual Visa gift cards are accepted worldwide.
Then the recipient can purchase items via gift card on social apps and online stores instead of getting in long queues at stores.
Gift Cards Payments and Use
Similar to reliable credit cards, gift cards also have a specific number printed on them. However, this does not typically link to an account. You can still secure your virtual card through a PIN.
Reloadable gift cards carry actual money that you have topped up. You can use these to purchase items online or transfer money using the routing and account number.
Cards with one-time payments only can be used at specific stores. Once they are exhausted, you might as well throw the useless plastic away.
If you are new to shopping via gift cards, here’s how the process works.
- Get your gift card from a retail store or use the one you got from a family member or a friend.
- Add the required items to cart in-store or online.
- Hand over the gift card at the payment counter and wait for the merchant to run it through the electronic system.
Card readers utilize serial numbers, barcodes, and magnetic strip to deduct the amount from the card. If it was a reloadable card, you can top up the amount later, otherwise you need to keep a check on the remaining balance.
Card issuers store the relevant information and value of the card in their database. Other data is also encrypted and secured so scammers can not make a copy and dodge new buyers.
Wrap Up
Gift cards are quite handy when you don’t want to be carrying around cash. It makes them even more convenient if you can learn to share the funds to other apps such as PayPal and use the money at any store of your liking.
Once the card is linked to PayPal, it will rid you of the limitation to only buy items from the card is accepted. Isn’t that amazing?
Hopefully, the article has addressed everything you wanted to know about gift card balance transfers to PayPal and bank account. If we have left anything out, feel free to let us know in the comment section below. Eager to hear about your reviews!
Frequently Asked Questions About How To Transfer Money From Gift Card To PayPal
Can I transfer money to PayPal using gift card?
Yes. You can add gift card as method of payment on PayPal but it does depend on which card you are using. For example, Amazon and Visa cards can be used to send the balance to PayPal account but eBay does not support this type of transaction.
How can I send funds from Visa gift card to a linked bank account?
Method 1:
You will need a third-party app to complete this task. In our case, we recommend using Square. Sign-in your Square account. Open Square Settings and choose to connect your bank to the app by providing the account number and other relevant information.
Then enter gift card details on the Square App. Alternatively, you can use the Square card reader as well. Wait for Square to accept your card. The amount that you had entered will be deducted from the gift card and deposited in your bank account within 24 hours.
Method 2:
You can also simply withdraw cash from the gift card at Kiosk and deposit the funds into your bank account.
Is it possible to change the balance you have on a gift card to cash?
You can visit the gift card exchange kiosk to trade your card for cash. You can find such trade points at various grocery stores. However, the kiosk will offer you a deal and not the exact amount of balance you have on the card. You can choose to accept or turn down the deal.
Can I send the money I have on eBay gift card to PayPal?
It is not possible to send money from eBay card to PayPal. This means the eBay card can only be used to show at eBay.
