CardSwap offers Canadians a fast, easy and totally secure way to redeem unwanted gift cards for cash, buy gift cards at discount prices, and even donate gift cards to a charitable cause.

THE PROBLEM: CANADIANS ARE LOSING OVER $1 BILLION EACH YEAR

Canadians love giving and receiving gift cards. In fact, we spend around $6 billion on them each year. Gift cards are convenient, easy to send, and give recipients a chance to pick exactly what they want—in the perfect size and colour.

But there is a downside. Sometimes people receive cards they just can’t use: a steakhouse card for a vegetarian, or a coffee-shop card for someone who just gave up caffeine, for instance. Although they are given with the best intentions, sometimes a gift card just doesn’t fit the recipient’s lifestyle.

Consumer Reports magazine estimates one out of every four gift cards remains unused more than a year after it was received, and many are ultimately lost or discarded. On average, every Canadian household has over $300 in unused gift cards lying around gathering dust. All these wasted cards add up to a nationwide issue that’s bigger than you might think: $1 billion thrown away every year.

THE SOLUTION: BUY, SELL OR DONATE UNWANTED GIFT CARDS ONLINE

Sell. CardSwap is helping Canadians salvage those unused or partially used gift cards and turn them into cash—up to 90 per cent of the card value. That puts a few hundred million dollars back into the pockets of Canadian consumers!

Buy. Even better, CardSwap puts these recycled gift cards back into circulation, making them available for consumers to buy on the website at savings of up to 35 per cent. Now savvy shoppers can buy discounted gift cards and enjoy even better deals on regular-priced and sale merchandise at their favourite stores.

Donate. CardSwap is pleased to announce a wonderful new use for unwanted gift cards: donate them directly to your favourite charity. CardSwap has partnered with Canadian non-profit organizations including the Canadian Breast Cancer Foundation, Ontario Region and Covenant House Greater Toronto to allow consumers to donate gift cards and receive an official tax receipt for their donation.

Now Canadians can confidently buy, sell and donate gift cards online through a reputable company that verifies and validates each card and guarantees customer satisfaction.

HOW DOES IT WORK?

Selling a gift card
Enter the merchant name and gift card value on the CardSwap website to receive an instant cash offer for their card. The amount of the offer will be for up to 90 per cent of the card value, depending on the popularity of the merchant. If you don’t know how much money is left on the gift card, you can make a guess, and CardSwap will verify the amount with the merchant later. If you accept the offer, simply mail the card to CardSwap (using their prepaid shipping label) and within 48 hours of receiving it, CardSwap will validate the card and send you a cheque.

Buying a gift card Browse hundreds of popular Canadian merchants offering everything from shoes, apparel, travel and leisure, jewellery, restaurant meals, sporting goods, electronics and much more. When you find a merchant you want to shop with, you can purchase a gift card for up to 40 per cent off the dollar value of the card. You can also add favourite merchants to your Wishlist to receive an email notification when a gift card for this merchant becomes available. Your gift card is shipped to you free of charge, and usually arrives within a week.

Donating a gift card CardSwap currently supports gift card donations to five major Canadian charities, and we are adding new charities to the list regularly. Gift-card owners can enter card details on our website, and we will verify the card value and donate the proceeds to the charity of your choice: the Canadian Breast Cancer Foundation, Ontario Region; Covenant House Toronto; Gilda's Club Greater Toronto; The Redwood; or the Women's College Hospital Foundation.

THE CARDSWAP GUARANTEE

With full validation of all gift cards and a generous refund policy, we guarantee that our customers will be fairly treated and receive exactly what they paid for.

Validation All gift cards are validated with the merchant to confirm the full face value before being listed on the site. We guarantee that customers will never buy a gift card that does not work, or has inaccurate amount.

Refund Policy Our stringent gift-card verification system and secure transaction processes allow us to offer full refunds to unsatisfied buyers. Should a buyer ever find that the gift card they receive is materially different than the one purchased, they have three weeks from the date of purchase to notify CardSwap and request a refund.

HOW WAS CARDSWAP CONCEIVED?

Frances Ho, co-founder and COO, first conceived the idea for CardSwap when she tried—unsuccessfully—to get rid of her own stack of unused gift cards on Craigslist. After spending hours listing the cards, meeting with potential buyers, haggling over lowball offers and finding it nearly impossible to prove the dollar value of the cards, she decided there had to be a better way. She began developing a safe, secure, verified system where card owners could get a fair price for their unused cards, and where card buyers could purchase discounted cards with confidence.

Ms. Ho received her Bachelor in Business Administration from the Schulich School of Business.

ABOUT THE COMPANY

Founded in 2009 by Frances Ho and Zaheed Poptia, CardSwap is a rapidly growing startup based in Toronto, Canada. CardSwap is comprised of complementary tech and business savvy individuals with a proven track record of building successful companies. In a very short time, CardSwap has garnered a number of accolades:

• Winner of the Harvard Business School Alumni New Venture Contest for Canada and one of three finalists in the global competition
• Featured at the 2010 Ivey Entrepreneurship Forum
• One of 20 emerging Canadian companies selected for the C100 "48 hours in the Valley" event
• Featured on an episode of The Dragons' Den (September 2011)

CardSwap has also garnered extensive regional and national media coverage, including: CTV (national); CBC; Global (national); CityTV; BNN; the Globe and Mail; and the Toronto Star.

MEDIA INQUIRIES

All media inquiries should be directed to Frances Ho at (416)491-2233.

CardSwap's executive team is comprised of seasoned business builders with a proven track record of success.