The U.K. prepaid gift card market is experiencing strong growth among consumers who buy them as gifts and for self-use, as well as among businesses that purchase them for customer loyalty programs and as employee incentives.

The U.K. gift card market is expected to reach US$13.1 billion (about £10 billion) in transaction volume by 2020, up from US$8.6 billion (about £6.5 billion) in 2015 – a growth rate of over 8 percent each year, according a report from the payments market intelligence consultancy PayNXT360.

Closed loop gift cards, which can only be used at the merchant that issued the card, comprise of the bulk of the U.K. market, according to PayNXT360. However, increased consumer desire to use gift cards multiple outlets – across high street retailers and online merchants such as Amazon, is leading to significant growth in open loop cards.