Gift Up!
Gift Up! is a bootstrapped UK-based SaaS platform that lets SMBs and software platforms sell digital and physical gift cards online with no monthly fees, charging a 3.49% per-transaction fee and serving 100,000+ businesses globally.
- Company typePrivate
- Founded2004
- HeadquartersCirencester, United Kingdom
- Headcount1–10
- GTM typeB2B
- OfferingSoftware
What Gift Up! does
Gift Up! is a cloud-based SaaS gift card platform operated by Koan Adventures Ltd, a privately held UK company founded in 2004 and headquartered in Cirencester. The platform enables businesses to sell fixed-value, custom-value, and product-as-gift-card vouchers online and in-store, with fully automated email delivery (including scheduled sends for special occasions), branded card design, and multi-currency support. Underlying technology is built on Microsoft Azure with EU and UK data centers plus US and APAC checkout nodes, and exposed through a REST API with HMAC-signed webhooks, a JavaScript checkout API, and native companion apps on iOS and Android for in-store validation, scanning, and partial redemption. The platform holds PCI DSS Level 4, GDPR, and SOC 2 Type 2 compliance, making it suitable for regulated SMB and mid-market customers.
The business model is purely transaction-based: merchants pay 3.49% per gift card sold (with a $0.50 minimum), and merchants can pre-purchase revenue bundles for effective rates as low as 1.90%. There are no setup or monthly fees, positioning Gift Up! against subscription-based competitors such as Square, Toast, and Clover. The primary go-to-market is product-led growth via a self-serve signup flow and a "5-minute install" checkout widget, complemented by pre-built integrations with Shopify, WooCommerce, BigCommerce, Wix, Squarespace, and Ecwid, a Partner Referral Program offering 10-20% revenue share, and an API-first white-label motion for software platforms using Stripe Connect. Three customer segments are served: SMBs (primary), multi-location businesses and franchises, and software platforms/agencies embedding gift card functionality into their own products.
The company reports serving 100,000+ businesses globally and operates with a team of 1-10 employees, reflecting an unusually capital-efficient structure for a 20-year-old commerce SaaS. Founder Lee Tracey leads the company, which has remained bootstrapped throughout its history with no disclosed external funding rounds, M&A activity, or institutional investors identified in the source material. Active operations are confirmed through Terms of Service updates in June 2025 and security documentation updates in October 2025.
Gift Up! firmographics
Firmographics- Name
- Gift Up!
- Legal name
- Koan Adventures Ltd
- Website
- https://giftup.com
- Company type
- Private
- Founded year
- 2004
- Operating status
- Operating
- Headcount range
- 1–10 employees
- Short description
- Gift Up! is a bootstrapped UK-based SaaS platform that lets SMBs and software platforms sell digital and physical gift cards online with no monthly fees, charging a 3.49% per-transaction fee and serving 100,000+ businesses globally.
- Ownership category
- akta.pro rank
Gift Up! industry classification
Industry- Product category
- Gift Card Management Software
- NAICS
- Computing Infrastructure Providers, Data Processing, Web Hosting, and Related Services (5182)
- SIC
- Services-Prepackaged Software (7372)
- akta.pro primary industry
- Gift Card Processing, Issuance Platforms & Aggregators (FSAMANAL)
- akta.pro secondary industry
- Closed-Loop Gift Cards (Single-Merchant) (FSAMANAB)
Keywords
Where Gift Up! is headquartered
LocationHeadquarters
- HQ city
- Cirencester
- HQ country
- United Kingdom
- HQ region
- Europe
Offices1 record
Markets served
Gift Up! business model
Business model- GTM type
- B2B
- Offering type
- Software
- Cost components
- Technology or R&D, Operations, Personnel, Infrastructure, Marketing or Sales
Revenue model
- Transaction Fees (Pay-as-you-go): 3.49% fee per gift card sold (subject to $0.50 USD minimum fee per gift card). Merchants get paid immediately for gift card sales; Gift Up invoices monthly for fees.
- Pre-paid Revenue Bundles: Pre-paid bundles allowing merchants to pay in advance for gift card sales. Bundle prices range from $34 for $1K revenue up to $3,795 for $200K revenue, offering effective rates from 3.40% down to 1.90% (vs 3.49% standard). Bundles expire 12 months from first use and are non-refundable.
- Complimentary Gift Card Fees: First 5 dashboard-issued gift cards per month free; additional complimentary cards charged at reduced 1.99% rate (subject to $0.50 minimum). Balance limit of $50 USD per free gift card.
- Ad-free Add-on: Optional add-on to remove Gift Up branding from checkout and emails for white-label purposes.
Pricing tiers
| Model | Billing | Price |
|---|---|---|
| Transaction based/ take rate | Monthly | Pay-as-you-go - 3.49% per gift card |
| Transaction based/ take rate | Pay-as-you-go | Pre-paid Bundles - Up to 45% savings |
| Transaction based/ take rate | Monthly | Complimentary Gift Cards - First 5 free |
Go-to-market motion2 records
Distribution channels6 records
Marketing channels6 records
Gift Up! product offering
Product offeringCore offering
Gift Up! provides a cloud-based SaaS platform that enables businesses to sell digital and physical gift cards online and in-store with no monthly or setup fees. The platform includes a drop-in checkout widget installable on any website in five minutes, a branded gift card designer, automated email delivery with phone wallet integration, multi-currency and multi-location support, and a REST API with webhooks for technical integrations and white-label use cases.
Product overview
Gift Up! is a single unified cloud-based gift card sales platform that operates on a no-monthly-fee model with a 3.49% transaction fee. The core platform enables businesses to sell fixed-value and custom-value digital/physical gift cards online via embedded checkout, with automated email delivery and customizable branded card designs. It integrates with WooCommerce, Ecwid, Stripe Connect, Zapier, and POS terminals. The product suite includes free companion mobile apps (iOS/Android) for in-store redemption, a REST API with webhook support for custom integrations, a Promotion Engine for discounts and BOGO offers, and a Partner Program for agencies and developers offering revenue sharing and agency-style billing. Pre-Paid Bundles provide volume discounts up to 45% off standard fees.
Differentiator
Problem solved
Functional benefit
Quantifiable outcome
- 10-15% non-redemption rate typically observed over 12-month period with gift card expiry
- +1 more outcomes
Companies that use Gift Up!
Customer profileNamed customers2 records
Segments3 records
Ideal customer profiles3 records
Gift Up! technology and API
TechnologyTechnology focussed Yes
API detail
- Has API
- Yes
- API docs
- API detail
Core technology
AI maturity
App detail
Integration5 records
Feature8 records
Gift Up! partnerships and signals
Strategic signalScale indicators3 records
Recent moves6 records
Expansion highlights5 records
Gift Up! competitors and assessment
Company assessmentMarket position
Competitive moat5 records
Key risks6 records
Key highlights7 records
Customer concentration
Gift Up! social profiles
Digital presenceGift Up! compliance and trust
Trust signalCompliance3 records
Gift Up! financial estimates
Financial estimateRevenue estimate
Valuation estimate
Gift Up! leadership team
Management profileNumber of profiles
Profiles1 record
Gift Up! funding detail
Funding detailFunding overview
Funding rounds
Investors
Funding detail is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →
Gift Up! M&A and investment
M&A and investmentM&A
Investments
M&A and investment is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →
Frequently asked questions about Gift Up!
What does Gift Up! do?
Gift Up! provides a cloud-based SaaS platform that enables businesses to sell digital and physical gift cards online and in-store with no monthly or setup fees. The platform includes a drop-in checkout widget installable on any website in five minutes, a branded gift card designer, automated email delivery with phone wallet integration, multi-currency and multi-location support, and a REST API with webhooks for technical integrations and white-label use cases.
Is Gift Up! a public or private company?
Gift Up! is a private company. It is classified as founder individual operated bootstrapped and is currently operating.
When was Gift Up! founded?
Gift Up! was founded in 2004. It employs 1 to 10 people.
Where is Gift Up! based?
Gift Up! is headquartered in Cirencester, United Kingdom, in the Europe region.
How does Gift Up! make money?
Four revenue lines are on record. Transaction Fees (Pay-as-you-go) is the primary driver. The others are pre-paid Revenue Bundles, complimentary Gift Card Fees and ad-free Add-on.
Does Gift Up! have an API?
Yes. Gift Up! offers a REST API that enables custom platform integrations, including webhook support for events (Order created, Gift card created, Gift card updated, Gift card redeemed). The API supports automatic provisioning of Gift Up! accounts on behalf of customers, checkout customization via a data-driven HTML API, and transaction export with filtering by date, event, and user. Partners can leverage the API to implement gift card capabilities behind the scenes, attach Stripe Connect payment accounts with optional application fees, and integrate with platforms for POS terminal gift card validation and redemption. Developer documentation is at developer.giftup.com.
What industry is Gift Up! in?
Gift Up!'s product category is Gift Card Management Software. Its primary akta.pro industry code is FSAMANAL, Gift Card Processing, Issuance Platforms & Aggregators, with a secondary code of FSAMANAB, Closed-Loop Gift Cards (Single-Merchant). Its NAICS code is 5182 and its SIC code is 7372.