How to use Digital Gift Cards on Steam

Valve added the option to purchase digital gift cards to its Steam gaming platform recently which enables users to add funds to their friend's account.

The Steam platform supported physical gift cards for a long time. You could purchase a Steam gift card in retail outlets and online to add currency to an account's wallet. The money was then available for purchases on the Steam platform.

The digital gift card works differently. Since it is digital, there is no need to purchase it in retail stores or in online stores before use. Another difference is that you cannot buy digital gift cards for yourself as you can simply fill up your wallet directly on Steam without having to purchase a gift card (or use a physical gift card for that).

Digital Gift Cards on Steam are designed solely for sending money to a friend on Steam.

How to use Digital Gift Cards on Steam

You can purchase $5, $10, $25, $50 and $100 digital gift cards on Steam (different currencies depending on the region you are in of course).

You may load the gift card page on the Steam website, or select Store > Gift Cards in the Steam client to get started.

The process is made up of three steps:

1. Select the desired gift card from the available selection.
2. Select the friend that you want to gift it.
3. Personalize the gift card with a custom name, message and signature.
4. Review the purchase and select a payment method.

An email message is sent to the selected friend, and the new gift card is also highlighted in the Steam client.

The following restrictions and rules are in place:

• Digital Gift Cards can only be given to friends that have been your friend for at least three days.
• The monetary value of the gift card is added to the friend's wallet automatically.
• Money is automatically converted to the user's currency when the transfer completes.
• Declined gift cards are refunded, either to the original payment method if supported, or otherwise to your Steam wallet.

It is still possible to gift virtual items such as games directly to friends. The new digital gift cards option adds another option to the gifting process.