Glossary
What is voucher expiry?
Expiry is a date after which a voucher can no longer be used. It is optional, and the business that issued the voucher sets it. It is worth thinking about carefully, because it decides how long you owe something, and the law has views on it.
Expiry looks like an administrative detail and is closer to a commercial and legal decision.
Why venues use it
An obligation with no end date sits on the books forever. An expiry bounds it.
Why to be careful
Aggressive expiry is the fastest way to make a loyalty programme feel like a trick, and in some jurisdictions minimum expiry periods for prepaid value are regulated. Take advice before setting a short one on anything a customer paid for.
Reminders before it runs out
Fidella reminds the owner before a voucher expires. The first reminder comes about a week before, and a second when a day or so is left. However many vouchers are involved, they arrive together in one message a day.
The first reminder also comes by email, unless the owner has turned email notifications off. A voucher that arrives with less time left than that skips the reminder it has already missed.
Related terms
- VoucherAn entitlement a customer holds and can redeem at the business that issued it.
- Voucher statusWhere a voucher is in its life: issued, claimed, redeemed, expired, refunded, void.
- BreakageIssued value that is never redeemed.
- Loyalty liabilityThe value of outstanding rewards and unused vouchers you still owe.