# Gift Card activation and buyer\_payment\_instrument\_ids

**URL:** <https://developer.squareup.com/forums/t/gift-card-activation-and-buyer-payment-instrument-ids/10853>\
**Category:** Questions\
**Created:** [September 29, 2023, 4:59pm UTC](https://developer.squareup.com/forums/t/gift-card-activation-and-buyer-payment-instrument-ids/10853 "2023-09-29T16:59:25Z")\
**Posts on this page:** 6\
**Page:** 1

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**Author:** ![silaslangley](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/b5ac83/32.png) [@silaslangley](https://developer.squareup.com/forums/u/silaslangley)\
**Post date:** [September 29, 2023, 4:59pm UTC](https://developer.squareup.com/forums/t/gift-card-activation-and-buyer-payment-instrument-ids/10853/1 "2023-09-29T16:59:25Z")

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I need some help with `buyer_payment_instrument_ids`. What should/can I use for `buyer_payment_instrument_ids` when activating a gift card using `createGiftCardActivity()`?

I’ve seen in a similar topic that one can use “cash” for a buyer\_payment\_instrument\_id. What does “cash” mean when used in this context? Also, are there other non-id string options for this field?

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**Author:** ![Bryan-Square](https://sea1.discourse-cdn.com/square/forums/user_avatar/developer.squareup.com/bryan-square/32/38_2.png) [@Bryan-Square](https://developer.squareup.com/forums/u/Bryan-Square)\
**Post date:** [September 29, 2023, 6:11pm UTC](https://developer.squareup.com/forums/t/gift-card-activation-and-buyer-payment-instrument-ids/10853/2 "2023-09-29T18:11:30Z")

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What is the buyer using to tender the gift card? Like how is the buyer of the gift card paying for the card? Is it through a payment from some other processor or is the gift card being preloaded and they’re getting the card for free? 🙂

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<div class="post-metadata">

**Author:** ![silaslangley](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/b5ac83/32.png) [@silaslangley](https://developer.squareup.com/forums/u/silaslangley)\
**Post date:** [September 29, 2023, 6:51pm UTC](https://developer.squareup.com/forums/t/gift-card-activation-and-buyer-payment-instrument-ids/10853/3 "2023-09-29T18:51:31Z")

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They get the gift card for free. It’s pre-loaded.

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**Author:** ![Bryan-Square](https://sea1.discourse-cdn.com/square/forums/user_avatar/developer.squareup.com/bryan-square/32/38_2.png) [@Bryan-Square](https://developer.squareup.com/forums/u/Bryan-Square)\
**Post date:** [September 29, 2023, 7:08pm UTC](https://developer.squareup.com/forums/t/gift-card-activation-and-buyer-payment-instrument-ids/10853/4 "2023-09-29T19:08:35Z")

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Okay, great! You can use `pre-loaded` for the value if you’d like. 🙂

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<div class="post-metadata">

**Author:** ![silaslangley](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/b5ac83/32.png) [@silaslangley](https://developer.squareup.com/forums/u/silaslangley)\
**Post date:** [September 29, 2023, 7:13pm UTC](https://developer.squareup.com/forums/t/gift-card-activation-and-buyer-payment-instrument-ids/10853/5 "2023-09-29T19:13:09Z")

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Thank you!

Can you point me to somewhere in the docs that describes the options. E.g. “pre-loaded”, “cash”, etc.

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<div class="post-metadata">

**Author:** ![Bryan-Square](https://sea1.discourse-cdn.com/square/forums/user_avatar/developer.squareup.com/bryan-square/32/38_2.png) [@Bryan-Square](https://developer.squareup.com/forums/u/Bryan-Square)\
**Post date:** [September 29, 2023, 7:18pm UTC](https://developer.squareup.com/forums/t/gift-card-activation-and-buyer-payment-instrument-ids/10853/6 "2023-09-29T19:18:36Z")

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Yes, here is the [link to our documentation](https://developer.squareup.com/docs/gift-cards/walkthrough-1-without-orders-api). Also this is what I use:

```auto
{
    "gift_card_activity": {
      "location_id": "{{location_id}}",
      "type": "ACTIVATE",
      "activate_activity_details": {
        "amount_money": {
          "amount": 2500,
          "currency": "USD"
        },
        "buyer_payment_instrument_ids": [
          "pre-loaded"
        ]
      },
      "gift_card_gan": "{{gift_card_gan}}",
      "gift_card_id": "{{gift_card_id}}"
    },
    "idempotency_key": "{{$guid}}"
  }

```

🙂