Lidl and epay announced a gift card and prepaid top-up rollout across nearly 1,600 supermarkets in France on 12 November 2025. The cards were to sit at the checkout, putting prepaid purchases alongside the weekly grocery shop. The agreement extended an existing relationship between the companies in several European markets. [S01]
The initial selection covered ten prepaid products. The announcement named PlayStation, Nintendo, PaysafeCard and EVERYWISH among the examples, without publishing a complete ten-product list. Those examples describe the range of third-party offers, rather than a new gift card redeemable only at Lidl. [S01]
What the French rollout covers
| Item | Announced scope |
|---|---|
| Retail reach | Nearly 1,600 Lidl supermarkets in France |
| Placement | At supermarket checkouts |
| Initial assortment | Ten prepaid products |
| Named examples | PlayStation, Nintendo, PaysafeCard and EVERYWISH |
| Commercial terms | Retailer commissions and sales targets were not disclosed |
Source: the companies' November 2025 announcement. Store and assortment figures describe that rollout. [S01]
Théau Desmedt, purchasing director at Lidl France, framed the addition around convenience and choice. Amélie Dupuy, epay France's product and business development director, described the supermarket network as another route into everyday purchases. epay is part of Euronet Worldwide. [S01] [S02]
The distribution value of a grocery checkout
For gift card brands, the relevant asset here is access to a recurring shopping occasion. Customers visiting for groceries can encounter a gaming or shopping card without making a separate trip to a specialist retailer. For a supermarket, a compact prepaid assortment can broaden the gifting offer within limited checkout space.
That makes placement important. A card range has to be visible enough to prompt a purchase, while the transaction needs to fit the ordinary checkout process. The announcement establishes the intended retail footprint and merchandising location. It gives no sales or redemption results from which to judge how well the range performed. [S01]
For other retailers considering a similar programme, the questions come after distribution: which products sell, how seasonal demand changes the mix, and whether the assortment earns its space. Those are useful measures of execution. The store count is the starting point for that assessment, not a forecast of gift card spending.
Sources and documents
Collapse
- [S01] Lidl and epay launch gift cards in nearly 1,600 supermarkets in France — epay
- [S02] Lidl launches gift cards with epay in France — epay France via PRNewswire