How it works
What happens when you buy
For buyers, for recipients, and for the cafés themselves.
For the buyer
Choose a café, set an amount between $10 and $500, and decide when it should arrive. You pay face value. No service charge, activation fee or processing surcharge is added on top, and what you pay is what the recipient gets.
The card arrives as an email with a card number and a printable version attached. You can schedule it up to a year ahead, which is what most people use around December and the end of the school year.
For the recipient
They give the card number at the counter, on a phone or printed. The balance draws down as it is used and the remainder stays on the card. Nothing expires and nothing is deducted for inactivity.
Cards work on drinks, food, whole beans, brewing gear and classes — which matters more here than you might expect, because a bag of single-origin beans or a home-brewing class is exactly the sort of thing people want to spend a card on. Third-party delivery orders and private-hire deposits are the usual exclusions.
For the café
Partners are paid at the point of purchase, not at redemption. That is the whole pitch: a café carrying its own gift cards is holding an interest-free liability until someone walks in. We settle up front and hold the funds against issued cards on our side.
If a partner closes, outstanding balances are refunded to whoever bought them. That is only possible because the money is held rather than booked as revenue.
At a glance
- Amounts
- $10 to $500
- Expiry
- None
- Buyer fees
- None
- Dormancy fees
- None
- Delivery
- Email or print at home
- Scheduling
- Up to 12 months ahead
- Valid on
- Drinks, food, beans, brewing gear, classes
- Excluded
- Third-party delivery, private-hire deposits
- Redeemable
- At the issuing café only
Questions
How is the card delivered?
By email, to whoever you nominate, at the time you choose. Send it now or schedule it up to a year ahead. There is a printable version if you would rather hand it over.
Does it expire?
No. Funds do not expire and there are no dormancy, inactivity or maintenance fees at any point. Federal law sets a floor here and we sit well above it.
Can it be used at any café on the site?
No. Each card is issued for one specific café and redeemable only there. That is deliberate — the café is paid for your card and knows exactly what it is honouring.
Can it be used on beans, gear or classes?
Yes at every café on this list, including whole-bean coffee, brewing gear and classes. Third-party delivery orders and private-hire deposits are excluded; anything else is noted on the page for that café.
What if the café closes?
Outstanding balances for a closed partner are refunded to the original purchaser. We hold funds against issued cards rather than booking them as revenue, which is what makes that possible.
Can I check the balance?
Yes. Use the card number and PIN provided with your gift card on the balance page.