Custom-GAN gift cards: POS redemption and load fees in Canada

Questions
1

Hello,

I’m the developer building the web platform for an esthetics salon in Quebec, Canada. The salon already uses the Square Point of Sale mobile app. Before launching gift cards, I’m evaluating the Gift Cards API so the same cards work on the salon’s website and at the counter. Sandbox testing raised two questions:

  1. POS redemption of custom GANs. I create digital cards with gan_source: OTHER and a 10-character alphanumeric GAN (e.g. ABCD2345XY). In sandbox, CreatePayment using the gift card ID succeeds, with card_brand: SQUARE_GIFT_CARD. Can such a card be redeemed in the Square POS mobile app by typing in the GAN? Must the GAN be numeric-only for POS entry or scanning? If not, would you recommend using Square-assigned GANs instead?
  2. Load fees for API-driven and complimentary loads. Does the 2.5% Canadian load fee apply to ACTIVATE/LOAD activities created via the API? Does it also apply when the purchase was paid in cash, or for complimentary cards? Complimentary cards are either activated with an internal reference in buyer_payment_instrument_ids and no real payment, or topped up with ADJUST_INCREMENT and reason COMPLIMENTARY. Is that pattern acceptable under Square’s terms?

Thanks,

3
  1. Generally, we would recommend using Square-assigned GANs. A few things to note when using custom GANs:
    • Custom alphanumeric GANs cannot be typed in the POS, but numeric GANs can.
    • Custom alphanumeric GANs can be scanned using an external barcode scanner, but not using Square hardware.
    • Custom GANs do not work directly with the Web Payments SDK; they are redeemable via the Gift Cards API + Payments API.
  2. The 2.5% load fee would apply to all load activities created via the API, but Square does not track or enforce this natively within the platform. The burden of compliance rests on the merchant responsible for the sale and management of these load activities, regardless of the method of payment.
4

Thank you for the detailed answer. To clarify point 2: when a load activity (ACTIVATE/LOAD) is created via the API, is the 2.5% load fee automatically deducted from the seller’s Square payouts, or is it billed or collected some other way? In other words, what does the seller concretely need to do to “comply” with this fee? Also, is activating a complimentary gift card with an internal reference in buyer_payment_instrument_ids (no actual payment) an acceptable practice?

5

Apologies - I was able to chase down a better answer for you regarding the load fee. The fee is automatically deducted from the seller’s payouts, so there is no need for the seller to manually account for the 2.5% load fee.

Regarding activating a complimentary gift card - applying an internal reference in the buyer_payment_instrument_ids field is the correct practice, but those load activities will still incur a load fee.

See documentation here: Payments Pricing with Square APIs and SDKs .