Gift cards don't always get redeemed, and of those that do get redeemed, many are not redeemed right away.

It varies by issuer retailer and market category, but generally (rough estimates) about a quarter of cards remain unredeemed after one year.

That unredeemed amount is (eventually) booked as "breakage", which is pure profit to the retailer.

So they are getting cash for the sale of the gift card, and booking that as a liability until it is redeemed. So a gift card is like an interest-free loan (albeit with uncertain repayment date) to the retailer.

Why would they give that up? I suppose they could operate an underfunded mint and add funds as needed based on card redemption, but I suspect an electronically transferrable card balance would increase redemption rates. (e.g., due to regifting, as one example. I got a Best Buy card, but I'ld rather have the sats so I trade it online -- and since there's essentially no risk to the buyer I can sell it near its face value).

This is my pet project. It has taken me more time than I had anticipated, but I have already managed to build a cashu library for the basic operations (mint, melt, token validation etc), a mint, a lightning gateway (phoenix), and right now I'm working on the nostr integration (nips 60/61).

I also want to add fiat gateways in the future (credit card, cash, mobile money etc)

All work is done in java.

Sometimes I wish I had someone working with me on this, especially, I need someone with more dev experience to improve the mint.

Whoever is reading this and is interested in helping, please keep in touch.

Thinking of ecash that way actually makes it easier to explain to those who aren’t familiar with it. I’ll start using that when mentioning Cashu to people who don’t know it.

You could start with Steak ’n Shake, which is a major chain that began accepting Bitcoin.

The main reason is that they are fiat businesses., they have obligations to report.

People and businesses should learn how to operate privately before making such moves.

in case of:

May Be, because they do not have the knowledge, May Be, because they do not have someone inside who can support them, May be, cause they have the old mind set (only bank)....

How can we make a campaign to inform these big retailers about this opportunity? -Go and visit directly some retailers for a demo, -Call directly the retailers as a business development does, -Go to events where retailers are, -Send a video demo,

-A free hotline "support", -Propose this card for "the best employee of year/month or birthday card or christmas card....),

Totally agree. This is such a huge missed opportunity. I guess most retailers are simply not aware of how Cashu works yet — or they still perceive Bitcoin stuff as too technical or risky. The idea of running their own mint plus LN node sounds complex to them, but in reality, it could actually reduce costs and build stronger customer loyalty.

Maybe what’s missing is exactly what you said — a proper campaign. Simple, clear education targeted at retailers, showing real-world examples and how this could give them an edge. Someone needs to build the “Cashu for Retailers” playbook.

It always comes back to volatility. To enable Bitcoin as a viable Medium of Exchange, a volatility solution needs to be available first. Only then this makes sense for retailers.

The proposal is interesting; my personal opinion is that the key factor remains the specific need and the availability of liquidity. Each user has a different urgency, and most are looking for quick and functional solutions, not necessarily ideal or decentralized.

Today, companies like VISA and Mastercard are capitalizing on this demand with crypto-reloadable cards. They don't create new money; they simply offer an already established infrastructure with broad global acceptance. In my personal case, I liquidate sats for USDC and then top up a Cypher Card (VISA), which allows me to pay for goods and services frictionlessly. (Not what I wanted, but it's what I get.)

The same goes for family remittances: it's much more practical to exchange USDT for fiat on any P2P market than to look for a technical alternative that hasn't yet matured in terms of adoption or liquidity.

In short: liquidity follows the simplest and most direct path. As long as a solution like Cashu cards doesn't overcome that friction and offer the same ease of use, I don't think I, as a retailer, would pursue that alternative without any incentive.

Since I'm biased about my needs, I think I'd need to consult with more retailers about the idea.