Giftly Review

Giving someone a gift card for a special occasion is about the easiest gift to give. Especially for people that are hard to shop for. Giftly is an app that takes the idea of a gift card, adds some personal touches and makes the entire process easier without even needing to involve a merchant.

Giftly.com has apparently been around for some time but has now released their gift card service to the iPhone. The app itself is very good looking and easy to use. Giftly did a great job at bringing their web service to life in iOS. Here’s how it works. The user chooses what type of gift card, or “Giftly” they would like to give. The app presents several different icons for a good number of types of places like restaurants and even individual items like cupcakes. Photos on the user's phone can also be uploaded to the gift card layout. The user can then choose the color of the Giftly, the amount and even a specific place for the receiver to go to redeem the gift. Once the Giftly is made, it can be sent to the receiver via email, text or Facebook. The receiver will then open the Giftly in their own Giftly account to redeem it.

Now for a few more details on what actually happens during this process. Both the giver and the receiver will need accounts with Giftly with registered credit cards in order for this process to work. When the receiver opens the Giftly to redeem it, they will actually need to pay for the gift up front at the store. Once the Giftly is marked as redeemed within the app or website, funds from the giver’s account will transfer to reimburse the receiver. This is how the process completely avoids the need for cooperation from the merchant. Simply put, Giftly is a reimbursement service that transfers funds from one person to another.

I think this service is a very unique and clever idea. It is perfect for sending little gifts to that special someone. The best part about Giftly is that it’s a free-to-use service. The app is free and Giftlys don't cost anything to make or send. However, a nominal fee is charged to the giver with each transaction. This is how Giftly is able to run this service and pay for processing fees. That aside, I think the service is very useful and I’m sure many will find the app to be fun to use for all of life’s little occasions.