1. Why would I want my store to accept payment with someone else’s gift card?
Maybe you are a high risk merchant that has trouble with CC processor such as gambling sites or adult related sites. Or you customer base is concerned about privacy and fraud. Accepting gift cards is also a great way to avoid chargebacks.
2. What consumers want this?
Consumers who are concerned about their privacy.
3. How do you make money?
We already make money by selling discounted gift cards to shoppers looking to save money on purchases from their favorite brands.
4. Balance verification seems a bit easier than balance transfer. The stores issuing gift cards make a fair amount of money in interest on those card balances. Cooperating with you and other stores might result in a loss of net interest income.
Some brands love the secondary markets and other don't. But i would argue it may help increase brand sales since customers may buy gift cards solely for the purpose of privacy or other reasons.