Are you a business in downtown Davis?
Sign up now to participate in the DDBA eGift Card.

The new Davis Downtown Gift Card is an easy, no-risk and no-cost opportunity* for your business, and encourages people to shop locally. The program officially launched in Spring 2023.

What is the DDBA eGift Card?

These digital cards are made available through our partner service provider Yiftee, a company that started in 2012 to “Keep Local Dollars Local,” as its motto states. It has more than 450 community cards across the nation, generating millions of dollars in new revenue for small businesses. These cards work like a credit card when a customer redeems them. There’s even a platform for companies, nonprofits, schools and other entities to buy them in bulk.

These cards allow shoppers to spend them at any participating Davis Downtown merchant or restaurant, and offer the gift-giver the peace of mind that their money is supporting local businesses. We frequently get requests from the city, UC Davis, sporting leagues, schools, PTAs and others for this kind of card. By providing this opportunity, we can keep dollars local that often end up going to Amazon or other large chains outside of our community.

How do I get started?

  1. If you are a downtown Davis business, email info@davisdowntown.com to express your interest in signing up for the program.
  2. Receive an activation card by email from Yiftee (or Davis Downtown) and/or a mobile text message by Yiftee if you provide your mobile number while signing up. If you don’t receive an email from Yiftee or Davis Downtown, check your spam or junk folder. Follow the instructions at the bottom of the activation card page, and key the 16-digit code into your POS system. (This comes through as a 10-cent charge. If your POS requires $1, it’s OK. Yiftee will run it as $1. It will be declined but Yiftee gets the information it needs to include you in the Davis Downtown program.)
  3. Once the activation code has been processed (it may take up to 24 hours), you will see your business on the map in the Davis Downtown Gift Card online portal and you are ready to redeem our community’s eGift cards! Please note that your business must be the “merchant of record” to process financial transactions; a PayPal merchant is OK but it will not work on third-party websites such as Doordash. If your business operates both storefront and online sales, you will need an additional activation card for your ecommerce platform, available by emailing support@yiftee.com.
  4. Yiftee’s email provides instructions on adding the community eGift card to your website, and links on your social media. It offers window clings and other signage to let customers know you participate in the program. There are short videos to train employees on the simple steps of buying and using the eGift cards.

How do customers use the cards?

  1. To redeem an eGift card, customers present the card on a mobile device or printed on paper. It’s processed as a MasterCard with a 16-digit code, CVV, ZIP and expiration date. Charges may not exceed the card balance, so it’s important that the customer knows exactly how much is on the card.
  2. Customers or merchants can check the card balance online at any time here.
  3. To process a payment that exceeds the card value, enter the card value first, then use another payment method for the remaining transaction amount. No tipping is allowed.

Need something more detailed and visual? The Yiftee merchant kit further explains the above process.

* No cost for merchants to join or participate. Merchant simply pays applicable credit card processing fees to its service provider.