Gift cards for restaurants
Restaurant gift cards that follow every province's rules
Across Canada, a gift card for a dollar amount may not expire, and in most provinces the buyer may not be charged a fee for it. Mosey sets no expiry in any province or territory, charges the buyer no booking fee outside Alberta, and shows the terms before they pay.
Free to list: your menu, replies and photos.
Why gift cards are a promise worth getting right
A card sold in December is money in your account before a single plate is served, and a debt you owe the holder for as long as the card exists. Provincial law is stricter than many owners expect: expiry dates and balance fees are banned in most provinces, and a card with the wrong terms is a complaint and sometimes an order to put it right.
No expiry, anywhere
Mosey sets no expiry on a gift card for a dollar amount in any province or territory. British Columbia, Alberta, Saskatchewan, Manitoba, Ontario, Quebec, New Brunswick, Nova Scotia, Prince Edward Island and Newfoundland and Labrador all ban an expiry on a dollar-value card, and the territories have no gift card law, so Mosey applies the same plain rule to all of them.
A card for one named dish or service is a different thing in provincial law, and a Mosey gift card is always a dollar amount. A free card, such as a reward, is a different product again.
No fee from the buyer, except in Alberta
British Columbia, Ontario, Quebec, Nova Scotia, Manitoba and Saskatchewan ban a fee charged to the buyer for the card itself. Alberta allows one at purchase. Mosey reads the province of your business before it works out any card, and charges the buyer no booking fee anywhere but Alberta.
A business with no province on file is treated as one where the fee is not allowed.
What the buyer is told
Every bought card shows its conditions before the buyer pays, on the card itself and in the email. If you wrote your own terms, those are shown. If you did not, Mosey shows a standard line: "No expiry on the amount paid. No fees are taken off the balance."
The card and the email also say how to check the balance at any time, in the Mosey app or by opening the link in the email.
How a card is used
The holder spends it at your business, and a redemption takes off exactly the amount spent. A card sent as a present is claimed by the person who receives it. A card works at your business only.
Where the rules differ
The expiry rule is the same across Canada. The buyer fee is the exception.
- Alberta
- The only province where a fee charged to the buyer for the card is allowed.
- Ontario
- A gift card cannot expire.
- Quebec, Saskatchewan and Manitoba
- Selling through Mosey is not available while their rules are worked out.
- The territories
- No gift card law, so Mosey applies no expiry and no buyer fee.
Rules change. Check any rule that matters to you with your accountant or adviser.
What Mosey is about
Affordable tools for food businesses
Tools priced for independents and small chains, not for the big groups.
A full suite, in one login
The tools a restaurant, café or bar needs sit together, so you are not paying for a stack of separate subscriptions.
You keep more of your revenue
Mosey is built so that more of every sale stays with the business that made it.
Free to list and claim
Your menu, your replies to guests and your photos cost nothing to put on Mosey.
No hidden fees
What Mosey charges is published, in full, so nothing arrives as a surprise on a statement.
Made for local food businesses
Mosey helps diners find independent food businesses by dish and mood, and lets people rate what they actually ate.
Questions owners ask
Can my gift cards expire?
No. Mosey sets no expiry on a dollar-amount card in any province or territory.
Can I charge the buyer a fee for the card?
Only in Alberta. Everywhere else in Canada, Mosey charges the buyer no booking fee on a gift card.
Does the buyer see the terms?
Yes. They are shown before the buyer pays, on the card and in the email, with how to check the balance.
Can I write my own terms?
Yes. Your own terms are shown instead of the standard line.
What if my business has no province on file?
Mosey treats it as one where a buyer fee is not allowed.
Is a free reward card the same as a paid one?
No. A free card is a separate product with its own rules.
How does a holder check the balance?
In the Mosey app, or by opening the link in the email that came with the card.
Is this legal advice?
No. Check the rule for your province with your adviser.
More for your business
Put your menu, your replies and your photos in front of diners
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Free to list: your menu, replies and photos.