There’s a new ‘sharing’ gift card for Christmas ’23 – and its creator is from Cork

Who would you share your last €20 with?
Hold onto your Santa hats because the countdown to the “C word” has officially begun, and it’s not just the elves who have something up their sleeves.
Cork’s own Jonathan Grey has unleashed a new game-changing gift card that promises to redefine the way we exchange presents.
You know that heart-warming feeling when you share something special with a loved one? Well, OptionsCard captures that emotion and adds a touch of sparkle by allowing you to share or re-gift part of your balance.
After returning to Ireland following 22 years in London, Grey saw a stark gap in the Irish gift card market.
With an extensive career in the gift card and payment industry, Jonathan (who is also CEO of Ovation Incentive, which specialises in global incentives and recognition campaigns) knew there had to be a more consumer-friendly way.
Avoid unfair gift card fees
In a recent iReach consumer sentiment survey involving over 1,000 adults, commissioned by OptionsCard.ie, a remarkable 37% of respondents expressed their willingness to gift the last €20 of their gift card to a beloved family member.
The survey also uncovered some truths about the gift card scene. If you’ve ever felt that gift card fees were as unfair as finding Brussels sprouts on your Christmas dinner plate, you’re certainly not alone.
A whopping 86% of respondents shared their dissatisfaction with charging a monthly administration fee on the unused balance of a gift card after just 12 months or a period of inactivity. Nearly half of the surveyed adults openly confessed to losing their gift card funds due to sneaky administration fees. Ouch.
The survey also uncovered another common concern: a whopping 71% of gift card givers fret about the possibility of their well-intentioned gifts falling prey to fees.
OptionsCard has a ‘no fees’ policy, plus they’ve thrown in an ‘always visible live balance’ feature, putting an end to those days of squinting at your gift card, wondering what’s left.
We likey.