How to Redeem Groupon Vouchers

Now that you’ve figured out how to get on Groupon, and customers are discovering your business, what could be more important than making sure you get paid? For that to happen, you have to stay on top of redeeming Groupon customers’ vouchers when they come in. This ensures payment and helps prevent voucher misuse and duplicate redemptions. If a customer contacts Groupon and requests a refund but their voucher has been redeemed by you or your staff, the refund won’t be deducted from your payment.

For a quick guide on how to redeem Groupon vouchers in Merchant Center, check out this video tutorial:

Redeeming customers’ vouchers also prompts them to provide feedback in your Merchant Center afterward, and helps you track how many Groupon customers you’ve serviced. Groupon regularly sends reminders to customers who’ve purchased your voucher but haven’t redeemed yet, in order to encourage redemption and minimize refunds.

For a more in-depth rundown of Groupon vouchers, how to redeem them, and troubleshooting tips for redemption issues, continue reading below.

• What’s In a Groupon Voucher?
• Ways to Redeem a Groupon Voucher
  • Desktop
  • Mobile
  • Customer’s Device
• What to Try In Case of Redemption Issues

What’s In a Groupon Voucher?

Groupon customers will present their voucher to you either in paper form or on their mobile phone. In both cases, the information present will be similar. You must redeem the voucher in either Merchant Center or the free Groupon Merchant app to prevent it from being used more than once, so make sure you and your staff familiarize yourselves with the key sections of the voucher.

1. Deal Type

Before you service the customer, make sure you check the type of offer. The voucher may only be used for the specific service that’s listed. For any products or services beyond the stated value of the voucher, the customer is responsible for payment.

2. Voucher Code

This code is used to pull up the voucher in Merchant Center or in the Groupon Merchant app, so that you can view the voucher’s information and validity.

3. Redemption Code

If you’re using Merchant Center to redeem the voucher, enter this code.

4. Security Barcode

If you’re using the Groupon Merchant app to redeem, scan this code.

Ways to Redeem a Groupon Voucher

There are three main ways you can redeem a Groupon customer’s voucher: on a desktop using Merchant Center, on a mobile device with the Groupon Merchant app, or right from the customer’s phone.

Redeeming on Desktop with Merchant Center

1. On a desktop with reliable access to the internet or a wireless network, log in to Merchant Center with your credentials.
2. Once you’ve logged in, click the green “Redeem” button in the upper right corner.
3. In the resulting text field, you have two options. You can either:
   1. Search for the voucher by typing in the customer’s full name, or
   2. Enter the voucher code. This method also lets you redeem several vouchers at once by entering multiple voucher codes, each separated by a comma.
4. Once the name or voucher code is recognized, the “Redeem” button will turn green again and you’ll be able to click it.

You can track all redeemed vouchers for active deals in the Merchant Center home page. You can also see additional information for specific deals by navigating to the Campaigns tab on the left and selecting the campaign you wish to review.

Redeeming on Mobile with the Groupon Merchant App

1. On an Apple or Android device with reliable access to the internet or a wireless network, open the Groupon Merchant mobile app and log in with your Merchant Center credentials.
2. Once you’ve logged in, select the “Redeem” icon from the tab-bar at the bottom of the screen.
3. From there, you can either:
   1. Follow the on-screen instructions to scan the barcode using your device’s camera, which will automatically mark the voucher as used, or
   2. Manually type the voucher code into the relevant text field.

You can view the status of all your issued vouchers in the Voucher List, by selecting the “Vouchers” icon at the bottom of the screen.

Redeeming from a Customer’s Device

1. Have the customer pull up the voucher on their smartphone or tablet.
2. Tap the button in the middle of the screen that says “Mark as Redeemed” and confirm if it asks you to.

What to Try In Case of Redemption Issues

Having problems redeeming a customer’s Groupon voucher? Here are some recommendations for some of the more common issues you may encounter. If these don’t help, reach out to us via the Support tab in Merchant Center.

Groupon Voucher “Not Found”

If you get an error message that says “Not Found” then you may be in the wrong Merchant Center account. This may happen if you have multiple Groupon Merchant accounts, such as if you’ve been featured in different countries or have multiple businesses.

Access your other accounts by clicking “Change Account” in the menu on the left side of the screen.

Groupon Voucher “Rejected”

If you get a message that says “Rejected” then it means the customer attempted to purchase this deal, but their payment didn’t go through. When a payment method fails, it still triggers a line item being added to your customer list, but no valid voucher was ever actually issued.

Any voucher marked “Rejected” is not valid, and should not be redeemed. Remember to always validate vouchers at the time of scheduling, and make sure you redeem each voucher at the time of use to ensure each customer has made a valid purchase.

Groupon Voucher “Pending”

If the voucher’s status says “Pending” then it typically means the payment hasn’t gone through yet. Once the payment clears, you should be able to redeem the voucher.

Voucher Redeemed by Mistake

If a voucher has been redeemed by mistake, Groupon unfortunately isn’t able to “un-redeem” it. If the customer needs to be refunded for this voucher, ask them to contact our Customer Service department through their Groupon account.

If you’re a “Pay-on-Redemption” merchant, any payment made for this voucher will be deducted from your payment the next time you redeem a voucher for the same offer.

Customer Forgot Voucher

If a customer forgets to bring their voucher, presents an incorrect printout, or can’t pull up their redemption code, then you can find their voucher in Merchant Center by searching their full name using the instructions above.

However, if the customer presents a voucher which has already been refunded, we will be unable to process payment for that voucher.

Still have issues or questions? Contact us using the Support tab in your Merchant Center account.