For many years, a gift card often accompanied a thank you. However, while those kind gestures showed great appreciation, the actual gift frequently fell to the waste side.

One Victoria-based startup recognizes that about 18% of all physical and prepaid gift cards do not get used. Unredeemed credits and expired gift cards fade away and that is an estimation of $10 billion annual lost. Companies that issued unused gift cards would have once claimed the liability as revenue. Now with changes in the legislation, unused gift cards are being taxed as unclaimed property. Because of that gift cards are no longer retailers’ cash cow.

Enter Kiind, a zero-waste gift campaign that simplifies and enhances the gift giving experience by charging the giver only when the recipient uses the gift.

“For people who use Kiind, they like the concept of being smart with their money,” said Leif Baradoy, CEO and founder of Kiind. “It’s not about being cheap. It is saying I don’t want to be wasteful. I am offering you this gift—if you don’t want it. Cool. Give it to charity. Or if you don’t want it, I don’t want to pay for it either. But if you do want it, great!”

Kiind’s convenient features allow users to send gifts to one or more recipient fast. Those receiving gifts will be able to view it via emails or on Passbook, and once the gift is used the giver will be notified. It is through this notification that Kiind helps build relationships, especially in B2B interactions.

“People like being notified when their gift is being used or claimed,” said Baradoy. “That gives them a reason to touch base and follow up with someone. Kiind is a tool to help people connect with one another in a meaningful way. Although we are a digital gifting company, we see ourselves in a relationship business.”

Since forming in 2011, Kiind had always offered options for givers and receivers. If a recipient chose to decline a gift, they had the choice of offering it to charity with a simple click of a button.

Now, Kiind’s newest feature enables the recipient to select the most desirable gift from multiple choices.

“So you can offer someone a $100 Amazon card or a one-year subscription to Rdio or $100 Gap gift card,” said Baradoy, “It helps the recipient get the gift they want and the giver is still able to offer something to someone and tailor the gift to where their interest are.”

Over time, Kiind will help givers become smarter by tracking the choices their recipients make. By gaining intelligence, gift can be personalized and a healthy relationship can flourish from there.

Along with the new multiple choices feature going live on Tuesday, August 24, the team at Kiind are also adding new partnerships and inventory into their system, just in time for the holiday season.

Although the majority of Kiind’s inventory is currently only available in the US, Baradoy assured us that before the malls get packed with holiday shoppers, Kiind will do a nationwide roll out. Over 25 different Canadian retailers will be added and that includes movie theatre chains and well-known restaurants.

Kiind was recently selected as a finalist at the Grow Conference’s Startup Smackdown and the New Ventures BC Competition. As Baradoy opportunistically awaits the results for the competitions and the upcoming shopping season, Kiind reaps the benefits of gift cards’ slow demise.