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Is it ribbis for closed stores to sell gift certificates at a discount price
Why is the fact that the store is closed at all relevant to the halachic question? The question should be equally relevant about a regularly open store selling discounted gift certificates.
is it ribbis on whom?
No, it is not ribbis. You are not allowed to charge extra for late payment, but you are allowed to give a discount for early payment. If payment is due now, and for a higher price you allow the customer to pay at the end of the month, that is ribbis. But if payment is not due till the end of the month, you are allowed to offer a lower price if the customer pays now. The same applies to gift certificates: payment is not due until the goods are purchased, so it’s OK to offer a discount in return for payment in advance.
This sounds very similar to buying bonds. I’ll use Israel Bonds as an example. You can pay them $100 today and get a certificate that you can redeem in 2 years time for $110. They use the funds immediately and you collect a higher value at a later time.
Small business may not have access to the financial markets that allow them to raise funds in the form of bonds or stocks. I like this idea of gift cards, but it does contain a lot more risk as the gift cards are not underwritten by a 3rd party the same way a bond is.
Burnt: sovereign bonds aren’t underwritten by any third party. And they sometimes default on them (Argentina, etc.)
“but you are allowed to give a discount for early payment”
I don’t believe this is accurate. My notes aren’t in front of me but I’m pretty sure “early bird discount s” are generally ribbis albeit drabanan.
I once asked Rabbi Reisman about gift cards and iirc he said it wasn’t ribbis because it isn’t a loan. You are buying a coupon that is worth more than you paid.
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