Migration
Switching gift card providers without breaking customer cards
Switching gift card providers means moving your outstanding card balances to a new platform so existing customer cards keep working. Factor4 performs the conversion by importing your liability file, mapping each active card number to a new stored value record, and running both systems in parallel until the cutover is verified.
What a liability file is
A liability file is the record of every outstanding gift card balance your current provider holds on your behalf, as of a cutoff timestamp. It lists each active card number with its remaining balance, activation date and last activity date. It is your business record, not the provider's — and it is the single artifact the entire migration depends on.
The fear that stops most merchants from switching is that customers holding old cards will be turned away. That is a real risk with a badly run conversion and a solvable one with a good process. The critical artifact is the liability report from your current provider: a file listing every active card number and its remaining balance as of a cutoff timestamp. Everything else follows from getting that file clean. Where possible, existing card numbers are preserved so plastic already in customers' wallets keeps working; where the prior provider's numbering cannot be reused, a lookup layer maps old numbers to new records so a swipe still resolves. Plan the cutover for your slowest day, not the week before Christmas.
Can existing card numbers be preserved?
Usually yes, and it matters more than anything else in the project: if numbers carry over, the plastic already in customers' wallets keeps working with no action from anyone. Where the prior provider's numbering cannot be reused, a lookup layer maps the old number to the new stored value record so a swipe still resolves at the register. Ask your current provider this question explicitly and get the answer in writing before you set a cutover date.
How balance conversion works
Conversion imports each row of the final liability file as a stored value record on the new platform. Issuance is frozen on the old system at a stated timestamp so the file is not a moving target; a moving target during import is the main cause of balance discrepancies. After import, a sample — highest balances, oldest cards, recently active ones — is checked card by card against the source file before the program goes live.
Typical timeline
Most migrations run three to four weeks end to end, and the pace is set by your contract's notice period rather than by the technical work.
- Week 1
Assessment and contract review
Read your current termination clause first: notice period, auto-renewal date and any early termination fee. In parallel, request the card-level liability report. Nothing else can be scheduled until you know both the notice window and the shape of the data.
- Week 1–2
Integration and import test
The new integration goes into a live terminal while the old provider is still running. A sample of the liability file is imported so number formats, balances and dates are validated before the real conversion.
- Week 2–3
Cutover
On a low-volume day, issuance stops on the old system at a stated timestamp, the final liability file is pulled and imported, and issuance resumes on Factor4. Both systems are reconciled before the register reopens on the new platform.
- Week 3–4
Verification and termination
Spot-check imported cards, brief staff, notify customers holding balances, archive the old provider's final reports — and only then send written termination notice.
What to request before you cancel
Once your account is closed, this data is usually gone — and you may need it for an audit or an unclaimed property filing years later. Request all of it while the account is still active.
- A card-level liability report in CSV: every active card number, remaining balance, activation date and last activity date.
- Confirmation in writing of whether your existing card numbers can be exported and reused.
- Full transaction history for the period your record-retention policy requires.
- Any escheatment or unclaimed-property filings the provider has made on your behalf.
- The exact notice period, auto-renewal date and termination method your contract requires.
- Written confirmation of what your final invoice covers, so you are not billed past cutover.
Full migration checklist
Work down this list in order. Every item exists because skipping it has cost someone a balance discrepancy, a duplicate invoice or a customer turned away at the counter.
- 1
Read your current contract's termination clause
Check the notice period, auto-renewal date and any early termination fee before you do anything else. Many gift card agreements auto-renew annually with a 30 to 90 day notice window; missing it costs you another year. Note whether the contract obligates the provider to hand over your card data.
- 2
Request a full liability report with card-level detail
You need every active card number, its remaining balance, activation date and last activity date — not just a summary total. Ask for it in CSV. If the provider only offers a PDF summary, escalate; card-level data is your business record, not theirs.
- 3
Reconcile the file against your own accounting
Compare the report's total outstanding balance to the deferred revenue liability on your books. Investigate any variance before conversion, because after cutover you will not be able to tell whether a discrepancy came from the old system or the new one.
- 4
Confirm whether existing card numbers can be preserved
This determines whether cards already in customers' hands keep working with no action. Ask explicitly. If numbers cannot be carried over, agree on the mapping approach and how a legacy swipe will resolve at the register.
- 5
Verify POS integration before the cutover date
Get the new integration installed and tested in a live terminal while the old provider is still running. Activate a test card, redeem part of it, check the balance and void the transaction. Do not schedule a cutover on the promise of an integration you have not seen work.
- 6
Set a cutover timestamp and freeze issuance
Pick a low-volume window. Stop issuing on the old system at a stated time, pull the final liability file at that timestamp, import it, then resume issuance on the new platform. A moving target during import is the main cause of balance discrepancies.
- 7
Run a parallel verification pass
Spot check a sample of imported cards — highest balances, oldest cards, recently active ones — by looking up each in the new system and confirming it matches the source file. Twenty checks catch most import errors.
- 8
Brief every staff member on the changeover
Tell them the date, what changes at the register, and exactly what to do if a customer presents a card that does not scan: look up by number, call support, honor the balance. A written one-pager at each station prevents the customer-facing failure everyone is afraid of.
- 9
Notify customers holding balances
Email, in-store signage and a note on your website stating cards continue to work. Most merchants skip this and then handle the anxiety one customer at a time. Include the new balance-check URL.
- 10
Order new stock and phase out old cards
New cards carry the new balance-check URL and terms. Keep honoring old plastic indefinitely — there is no need to force a swap — but stop distributing it once new stock arrives.
- 11
Archive the old provider's final reports
Download and store the final liability report, transaction history and any escheatment filings before your account is closed. Once access ends, that data is usually gone, and you may need it for an audit or an unclaimed property filing years later.
- 12
Send written termination notice and confirm receipt
Only after the new program is verified live. Send notice in the form the contract requires, get written acknowledgment, and confirm the date your final invoice covers so you are not billed past cutover.
Why merchants leave their current provider
- Per-transaction fees that scale with your success instead of a flat monthly cost
- Support that closes at 5pm on Friday when your busiest hours are Friday and Saturday night
- A provider that cannot integrate with the POS you just switched to
- Gift and loyalty split across two vendors with two invoices and two customer credentials
- No pooling support as you open a second and third location
- Reporting that cannot produce the outstanding liability figure your accountant asks for
Free migration assessment
Send your details and we will review your current setup, tell you whether your card numbers can be preserved, and give you a dated migration plan. No obligation, and no charge. You can also call 1 (484) 471-3963 and talk it through.