The simple answer to this question, from a consumer perspective, is that open loop gift cards think Visa gift cards can be used almost anywhere. Closed loop gift cards such as Starbucks gift cards can only be used at the issuing merchant. There are two traditional types of gift cards open and closed loop. Only the specific business gift card processing program will accept closed-loop cards. Open-loop gift cards look like a credit card, are not specific to a business and are accepted nearly everywhere. They process on credit card systems such as Visa and MasterCard . Closed-Loop Gift Card Programs Customers can select between two main types of prepaid cards closed loop or open loop. A closed-loop prepaid card is what customers traditionally think of as a store gift card. Closed-loop cards… Closed-loop gift cards are a nice way to promote your business and ensure customers and recipients keep coming back to your business to shop. While open-loop gift cards offer additional flexibility of where they can be spent, they don t necessarily ensure they are spent with your business. Where closed loop payment cards are limited in scope, open-loop cards cover the realm of traditional credit cards, debit cards, gift cards, EBT cards, and just about every other electronic payment method. Open-loop cards are issued by major financial organizations such as Visa, American Express, MasterCard, Discover, and so forth. 71 percent of them were in largely African American neighborhoods Ibid. Speak with your accountant about how to handle revenue from Groupon and similar deals. Prepaid income is usually treated as a liability on your balance sheet until you fulfill the obligation or until the time expires to exercise the offer. Think gift cards. You may also encounter state-by-state issues regarding sales tax. Alternatively, you can make use of the Get Introduced feature. This allows you to contact members of LinkedIn who are in our 2nd degree or 3rd degree network. Here s how Being descriptive but brief Distance Yourself from Most People How bad do you want it? How willing are you? Are you willing to sleep in your car for it? Are you willing to live in a tiny apartment while your friends own houses? Are you willing to forgo the new BMW in favor of a rust bucket with 150,000 miles? Are you willing to wait tables at Maloney s Bar and Grill when your friends have cushy $50K year jobs? How willing are you?