The easy way to send digital employee rewards at scale

While many legacy reward vendors build mandatory expiration dates into their cards to profit off unclaimed funds (breakage), Giftbit offers non-expiring digital employee rewards at no extra cost. This ensures your recognition budget stays in your employees' hands indefinitely.

Many employee rewards platforms can integrate with Slack, Microsoft Teams, or the HR tools your team already uses. The bigger question is how much setup, admin work, and platform overhead comes with it.

Giftbit makes it easy to connect employee reward sending to your existing workflows using Zapier, API access, CSV upload, or reward links. That means teams can trigger digital gift cards and prepaid cards from the tools they already work in, without forcing employees into another app or adding a bulky HR platform just to send rewards.

For a remote team of 50 employees, flexible digital rewards usually work best because people can choose what feels useful to them. Popular options include bulk digital gift cards, prepaid cards, meal delivery credits, coffee rewards, wellness rewards, charitable donations, and milestone or recognition gifts.

For example, at Giftbit, we often enjoy remote team lunches where everyone orders food and joins a casual Zoom together. Digital rewards make moments like this easier to organize across locations, time zones, and employee preferences.

Employee gift card platforms typically manage international gift card options by offering different reward catalogs by country or region. Available brands, currencies, prepaid card options, and delivery methods can vary depending on where the recipient is located.

For international employee rewards, it’s worth asking each platform which countries and currencies they support, whether recipients can choose rewards that work locally, and whether there are extra fees for currency conversion or cross-border sending. Giftbit helps teams send digital rewards internationally with a global catalog, prepaid card options, free currency conversion, and delivery by email, SMS, or link.

Open-loop prepaid cards, like Visa or Mastercard®, can be used across many merchants both in-store and online. Retail-specific gift cards are tied to one brand, like Starbucks gift cards, which can only be used at Starbucks.

For employee rewards, the best choice often depends on the reward value and goal. Giftbit’s 2026 Incentives Trend Report found that rewards under $100 are often treated more like “fun money,” with recipients choosing treats like Amazon gift cards, Starbucks, or food delivery. At $100 and above, recipients tend to shift toward more practical and flexible options like Visa, Mastercard, Walmart, and other utility-focused brands.

That’s why many employee reward programs work best when recipients can choose exactly what they want for themselves, whatever the price point.

For remote teams, digital gift cards and prepaid cards are usually the fastest and simplest option for remote employees because they can be sent by email, SMS, link, CSV upload, Zapier, or API without collecting mailing addresses or waiting on delivery. That said, physical cards can be useful for higher-touch programs, employees who prefer a card they can hold, or audiences that may not regularly use email or digital wallets.

If you want to send physical prepaid cards, Giftbit can mail them directly to your recipients for an added per-card fee. USD Physical Visa cards typically cost $2.95–$4.95 per card (while digital delivery is free). Physical card fees vary by market, such as £1/card for GBP Mastercard and $2 AUD/card for AUD Visa. For bulk physical card shipping, plan ahead for fulfillment timelines, confirm recipient mailing details, and compare the added cost against faster digital delivery.

Yes. In many cases, employee gift cards, prepaid cards, and other cash-equivalent rewards may be considered taxable compensation. Tax treatment depends on your country, reward type, program structure, employee relationship, and internal payroll policies, so it’s important to confirm requirements with your finance, payroll, and/or tax advisor.

Giftbit helps teams send, track, and manage employee rewards, including reward values, delivery status, claims, and recipient activity. However, Giftbit is not a payroll or tax compliance platform. If your employee rewards program requires built-in tax collection, tax form collection, automated payroll reporting, or country-specific tax workflows, another platform may be a better fit.

For many teams, the right approach is to use Giftbit for simple, flexible reward sending, then handle any required tax reporting through your existing payroll, HRIS, or finance process.

Letting employees choose from a full reward catalog is usually the safest bet for gifts and rewards, especially for milestones, service awards, and ongoing recognition programs where personal preference matters. Giftbit’s 2026 Incentives Trend Report found that more and more companies are offering full catalog choice, and that employees are taking more time to browse and choose rewards they actually want.

That said, reward amount can still guide the type of gift card you offer:

Small wins and everyday thanks: For rewards under $20, simple “treat” cards work well. Think Amazon, Starbucks, coffee, lunch, or other small everyday perks.

Mid-sized recognition: For rewards between $21 and $100, recipients still tend to like flexible retail and food options. Amazon, Visa, DoorDash, Walmart, Uber Eats, and similar practical-but-enjoyable brands are strong choices depending on region and employee preferences.

Milestones, anniversaries, and major achievements: At $100 and above, recipients tend to shift toward more practical and flexible options. Visa, Mastercard, Walmart, Amazon, grocery, and other utility-forward cards often make sense for larger employee rewards.

Executive awards or major performance rewards: For rewards over $500, the report shows a shift toward luxury and travel-oriented choices. Open-loop prepaid cards, travel brands, premium retail, or a full catalog of options can help the reward feel substantial without forcing one specific choice.

As a general rule, use “treat” brands for smaller rewards, utility-forward or open-loop prepaid cards for larger rewards, and full catalog choice when you’re not sure what each employee will value most.

Yes, even $10 can work well for employee appreciation gestures, particularly for "spot recognition"—those small, frequent moments of gratitude like meeting a tight deadline or helping a teammate in a crunch. Because Giftbit offers face-value pricing with no hidden fees or subscription costs, every cent of your $10 goes directly to the employee. For larger milestones like work anniversaries or holidays, you might consider a higher value, but for consistent, culture-building appreciation, a $10 digital reward is a highly effective and scalable tool.