The gift card is available now as a last minute Christmas present, as shoppers are able to send their gift card immediately by email, text or message app. Recipients can then simply add the fully digital Mastercard to their mobile wallet to instantly “tap-n-pay” in-store, or buy online.

The Select Digital Gift Card is the first fully digital, mobile-enabled gift card in the UK and is now available to purchase through www.highstreetvouchers.com, and can be used either online or in-store at more than 6,400 outlets of 61 of the most popular retail brands in the UK including John Lewis, Topshop, TK Maxx, Waterstones, Debenhams, Ernest Jones and Argos, as well as restaurant Pizza Express.

Revolutionising a prepaid gifting industry that was previously weighed down by postage fees and high physical production and distribution costs, the gift card functions as a secure prepaid Mastercard once activated by the recipient.

By enabling the recipient to check their balances at any time, the gift card also removes the age-old problem of people forgetting which gift cards they’ve used or what balance they have remaining.

Scott Abrahams Senior Vice President, Business Development at Mastercard commented “We want to offer consumers the option to pay how they want, when they want. We are delighted to have partnered with Clevercards and Appreciate Group to help revolutionise the gift card industry by making it as simple as paying by any other payments method. “

Kealan Lennon, founder and CEO of CleverCards, comments: “We have effectively created a digital £50 note - one that can be instantly sent and spent between any parties electronically, across borders. The CleverCards-distributed digital Mastercard can be used by anyone, anywhere, anytime.

“This is money reimagined for the new generation of consumers and providers, including safety, security and regulatory compliance.”

“We’re proud to be the first company in the UK to bring this type of technology to market,” says Appreciate Group’s CEO Ian O’Doherty.

“It’s a real game-changer in many ways as it completely reimagines how gift cards should work in a mobile-enabled world.”

Leading gifting and engagement company Appreciate Group plc, partnered with CleverCards to be the first company in the UK to launch on the CleverCards platform.

This is the first major use of the CleverCards platform, and plans are in place to expand their adaptable platform across further payment instrument use cases including debit cards, expense cards, corporate or customer rewards and more.