Is selling gift cards below face value haram?

Why the type of card matters

In Islam, money exchanged for the same money must be equal and handed over on the spot. The Prophet ﷺ said gold for gold, silver for silver, like for like and hand to hand (Sahih Muslim 1587). Scholars apply this to modern currencies too. So the key question is: is a gift card money, or is it something else?

• Open-loop cards (Visa, Mastercard, Amex gift cards) can be spent almost anywhere, like cash. Selling a £100 Visa card for £85 looks like swapping £100 for £85, which many scholars say is riba.
• Closed-loop cards only buy goods or services from one company. Many scholars see them as a prepaid right to that company's products, not as currency, so selling a £100 Amazon card for £85 is selling goods at a discount, which is ordinary trade. Others are more cautious and treat any balance in a currency as money, so they advise selling at face value or swapping for goods instead.

The Quran's line between trade and riba

The scholars who allow discounted store cards say this is trade in a product. Those who forbid it see a money swap with an unequal amount. Both groups agree that a cash-for-cash swap with a gap is riba. For the basics, see What is riba in Islam?

Conditions for a halal sale

• Immediate exchange. The buyer pays and receives the card code at the same sitting, the same as with gold. See Is buying gold online halal?
• Honest balance. Don't sell a card that's partly used, expired or locked without saying so.
• Legit cards only. Never sell cards bought with stolen payment details, and avoid "gift card" requests from strangers, a common scam.
• Use the right platform. Raise, CardCash and similar sites are fine to use, but avoid sellers who sell codes they don't actually own yet. See Is dropshipping haram?

The cleanest options

If you'd rather avoid the disagreement, use the card yourself, give it as a gift, or swap it with a friend for goods of their choice. Selling a store card at face value is allowed by everyone.