How to Sell Shopify Gift Cards in Local Currencies

Overview

Shopify lets you create gift-card products in eligible local currencies, with the balance held in the currency you choose. Check the market catalogs, create the card with the right denominations and redemption settings, then publish it to the intended shoppers. Buying the card in its matching currency is separate from redeeming it elsewhere, so test those two actions independently.

Contents

• How do local-currency Shopify gift cards work?
• Step 1 - Check market and catalog currency eligibility
• Step 2 - Create the gift card and choose redemption settings
• Step 3 - Publish the gift card to the right catalog
• Step 4 - Test purchase, partial redemption and remaining balance
• What should you know before changing gift-card currency settings?

How do local-currency Shopify gift cards work?

A local storefront price does not tell you the currency of the gift card’s balance. Decide what the recipient should receive before configuring the product: a balance tied to your store currency, or a value held in a specific local currency.

Separate the card’s balance currency from its displayed price

For example, a USD-based store can offer a EUR gift card whose balance stays in euros. That differs from selling a store-currency card at a converted EUR price. Shopify’s local-currency gift-card release confirms this distinction. Name the currency clearly so a recipient understands the value they hold.

Distinguish purchase currency from cross-currency redemption

A local-currency card is purchased in its own currency. Cross-currency redemption controls where the issued card can be used afterward; it does not make that product purchasable in every checkout currency. Treat “can buy” and “can redeem” as separate requirements in your launch checklist.

Step 1 - Check market and catalog currency eligibility

Start with the catalog setup, especially if the currency selector is missing the currency you need. A country appearing in a market selector is not enough to establish gift-card eligibility.

Check the markets and catalogs required for the currency

Open Markets > Catalogs and review Shopify’s gift-card catalog requirements:

• Assign a catalog to every market without a parent market.
• Have at least one active market catalog using the intended gift-card currency.
• Keep a market’s catalogs in one currency.
• Match each catalog’s currency and pricing setup to the markets where it is published.

This walkthrough focuses on retail markets. B2B stores should check the dedicated eligibility guidance, including the restriction on global B2B markets, before applying the same plan.

Investigate a currency missing from the gift-card selector

Include draft markets and catalogs in the review. An incomplete draft configuration can prevent the currency from being offered. A company-location catalog or an app catalog does not supply the same eligibility as a market catalog.

Record which market and catalog should make the currency available, then inspect their assignments. If the configuration appears correct but creation is still unavailable, give Shopify Support those details. Avoid changing the whole store’s currency merely to make a selector option appear.

Step 2 - Create the gift card and choose redemption settings

Create a dedicated gift-card product after deciding the balance currency and whether recipients should be able to spend it elsewhere. This keeps the product’s promise aligned with its settings.

Choose the balance currency and denominations

1. Open Products > Gift cards.
2. Click Add a gift card product.
3. Enter a clear title and description.
4. Choose the intended Currency.
5. Review the denomination amounts rather than assuming the defaults suit the market.
6. Choose the redemption setting, then click Save gift card product.

Use Shopify’s gift-card product setup guide for the native creation flow. A EUR 50 denomination should be described as a euro value, not simply “50” with a currency symbol borrowed from the current storefront.

Decide whether to allow redemption in other currencies

Leave cross-currency redemption off if recipients should use the card only at checkout in its issued currency. Enable it when the offer should allow other checkout currencies, and explain that conversion happens at redemption using the applicable current rate.

Choose deliberately before saving. Product creation and redemption permissions belong in the merchant brief, rather than being left for support staff to infer from a card design.

Step 3 - Publish the gift card to the right catalog

Saving the product is not the end of publishing. Check both product availability and the intended catalog, then inspect the storefront as a shopper in that market.

Publish to the matching-currency catalog and verify denomination prices

Local-currency gift-card products are not published to catalogs by default. Shopify creates fixed denomination prices in matching-currency catalogs, but you still need to publish the product appropriately. Review the relevant sales-channel availability as well.

The store-currency base price for a local card is set to zero while catalog prices supply its local denomination prices. That is not an instruction to advertise a free gift card. Check the actual amount displayed and charged in the eligible market.

Check what shoppers see when their checkout currency does not match

When a shopper uses a different currency, the local card can show a zero price and the purchase is blocked. Correct the product’s exposure and catalog setup; enabling cross-currency redemption does not remove this purchase restriction.

Use a clear currency label on the product page. If you offer multiple currency-specific products, make the intended audience obvious rather than relying on the card artwork alone.

Step 4 - Test purchase, partial redemption and remaining balance

Write the expected results before testing. The following scenarios are a launch checklist, not a report of a completed purchase in your store.

Compare buying a EUR card with redeeming it in another currency

• Matching-currency purchase: in a EUR checkout, the EUR card shows the advertised denomination and can follow the normal purchase flow.
• Wrong-currency purchase: the same local card is not sold as an unrestricted USD card.
• EUR redemption: a valid issued card can be used against an eligible order in EUR.
• Other-currency redemption: the outcome follows the setting chosen when the product was created.

Include the issuance stage in an authorized test: Shopify creates the purchased gift card after the gift-card product order is fulfilled. Do not confuse the product order confirmation with a usable issued code.

Check the remaining balance and the effect of later currency changes

Use a simple same-currency example: a €50 balance with €20 applied should leave €30. Check the remaining balance through the gift-card page, following Shopify’s redemption and balance guidance. Keep any real gift-card codes out of screenshots and support notes.

Before changing store or market currencies, review outstanding cards. An existing card can remain Active in admin yet become unusable when its currency is no longer offered at checkout. A currency change needs its own card-compatibility check.

What should you know before changing gift-card currency settings?

Can you change the currency or cross-currency redemption setting after creation?

For a gift-card product, select its issuance currency and cross-currency redemption setting when creating it. Shopify’s developer guidance on product settings states that these fields cannot be changed afterward. Updating catalog prices or denomination amounts is a different operation; it does not redefine an already issued balance.

What happens to gift cards already issued in the store currency?

Existing issued cards retain their original currency and balance. Creating a local-currency product does not convert older store-currency cards. Keep those cards in your testing plan, especially before changing the currencies offered at checkout, and make support explanations match the actual card the customer holds.