Buy Gift Cards with Polygon (POL, formerly MATIC)

Why pay with Polygon on Genghis?

Polygon solves a specific problem: Ethereum mainnet is too expensive for routine spending. A $25 gift card paid in ETH on mainnet can cost $1 to $30 in gas during congested periods, with confirmation times stretching from seconds to minutes. The same purchase on Polygon costs about $0.001 to $0.01, settles in under five seconds, and uses the same EVM tooling: same wallet, same address format, same transaction model. Polygon is what Ethereum looks like once you remove the cost of running every transaction through L1.

For Genghis customers, that translates to a network fee of a fraction of a cent. POL is the native gas token and the most direct way to pay on the network; if you'd rather hold a USD-pegged asset, USDC on Polygon uses the same rails. Either way, you're paying on a network that processes hundreds of millions of transactions per year, most of them small.

The audience that arrives via Polygon at Genghis is distinct from the Bitcoin and Solana cohorts. It skews toward NFT collectors (OpenSea volumes, Reddit Avatars, Disney/Starbucks NFT drops have all run on Polygon), gaming users (Animoca portfolio, Polygon-native chains), and EVM-natives looking for a cheap mainnet alternative. The page is built for that profile: technical enough to address network-specific questions, retail enough to keep checkout simple.

How to buy gift cards with Polygon: 3-step checkout

1. 1

   Pick your product

   Browse 4,500+ gift cards, game keys, eSIMs, and prepaid cards. Add to cart.

2. 2

   Select Polygon at checkout

   Click "Pay with crypto", then choose Polygon (listed as MATIC). The deposit screen shows the exact amount in POL and a unique deposit address tied to your order.

3. 3

   Send on the network you picked

   In your wallet, switch to Polygon Mainnet (chain ID 137), or to Ethereum if you picked the ERC-20 option. Send the displayed amount. Polygon adds a block about every 2 seconds; your code appears on screen once the payment confirms on the network.

Critical: each deposit address accepts POL only on the network you picked at checkout. Sending from BSC or any other EVM chain, or from Ethereum to a Polygon-network address, is the most common loss vector for new Polygon users. Always verify the network in your wallet (Polygon shows as "Polygon" or chain ID 137) before confirming the transaction.

What makes Polygon different

Three protocol-level facts shape how Polygon behaves at checkout:

• ▸POL is the rebranded MATIC token. In September 2024, Polygon completed the migration from MATIC to POL: a 1:1 token swap designed to support the network's expanded multi-chain architecture. The asset is the same network token under a new name. Most exchanges and wallets have updated automatically; some still show MATIC pending UI refresh. At our processor (NowPayments), the code is MATICMAINNET regardless of which name your wallet displays. POL and MATIC are interchangeable references for the same balance.
• ▸Polygon PoS sidechain architecture. Polygon PoS is a sidechain to Ethereum: it runs its own consensus (a delegated proof-of-stake validator set) and produces blocks every ~2 seconds on average. Periodically, roughly every 30 minutes, the network commits a checkpoint of recent blocks to Ethereum L1. The checkpoint provides an additional layer of finality anchored in Ethereum's security, but typical retail checkout doesn't wait for it.
• ▸EVM equivalence. Polygon implements the Ethereum Virtual Machine. Smart contracts written for Ethereum run on Polygon with no changes; wallet addresses are identical (same 0x format, same private keys); MetaMask treats it as a network selection rather than a different ecosystem. For users, this means the entire EVM toolset (MetaMask, Rabby, Polygonscan, hardware wallet integrations) works identically. There is no learning curve switching from Ethereum mainnet to Polygon beyond changing the network selector.

Pay with POL or USDC-on-Polygon: which to choose

Both options run on the same Polygon PoS network with the same ~2-second blocks and sub-cent fees. The choice is about exposure, not infrastructure:

• ▸Pay in POL if you hold the token, want to spend down a Polygon-native balance, or are participating in Polygon staking. The amount is exposed to POL volatility between the moment you start checkout and the moment we receive the payment. The quote holds for about 20 minutes; the rate is not locked.
• ▸Pay in USDC on Polygon if you want USD-pegged stability. Same network rails, fast and cheap, with stablecoin pricing. Most NFT users already hold some USDC on Polygon from marketplace activity.

For users coming from Ethereum mainnet, the practical question is whether to bridge ETH or USDC. USDC is generally easier: Circle's official bridge (CCTP) handles native-to-native conversion without the wrapped-asset complexity. ETH on Polygon arrives as WETH (wrapped ETH), which is fine for spending but adds one mental step compared to native POL or USDC.

Which Polygon wallet should you use?

Any EVM-compatible wallet works at Genghis checkout once you've added the Polygon network. The most common are:

• ▸MetaMask. The default for Ethereum and Polygon. Add the Polygon network from the network dropdown (chain ID 137); Polygon now appears as a built-in option in recent versions. Best for most users, especially those already familiar with Ethereum mainnet.
• ▸Rabby. A MetaMask alternative built by DeBank with cleaner UX, automatic network detection, and pre-transaction security checks. Recommended for users who interact with multiple chains regularly.
• ▸Trust Wallet, Coinbase Wallet, Phantom (multi-chain). Mobile-first wallets that support Polygon natively. Good if you don't want a browser extension.
• ▸Ledger devices. Hardware-wallet support via MetaMask connected to the Polygon network, or via Ledger Wallet. Recommended for larger balances or long-term holding of POL/USDC on Polygon.

Connect your wallet, switch to Polygon Mainnet, scan the QR code at checkout, confirm the transaction.

Polygon, gaming, and the NFT-spender pattern

Many POL balances belong to users with parallel positions in NFTs and gaming. OpenSea has run substantial volume on Polygon since 2021. Reddit's Collectible Avatars program (millions of users) minted on Polygon. Disney's Pinnacle, Starbucks Odyssey, Animoca's gaming portfolio: all Polygon-native or Polygon-deployed. The result is a cohort that holds POL not because they bought it as an investment but because it accumulated in their wallet from minting, trading, and play-to-earn activity.

For that cohort, the structural question is what to do with a balance that's too small to bridge to Ethereum mainnet (gas would eat it) and too small to bother off-ramping to fiat (KYC, wait times, fees). Genghis answers that with direct spending: convert a $50 POL balance into a Steam gift card or eSIM, no bridge needed, no exchange in the middle. The same applies to USDC-on-Polygon balances accumulated from NFT sales.

This is the pattern that makes Polygon checkout differentiated. Not the protocol benchmarks (those are common across L2s) but the user-side fact that Polygon is where the digital-goods-meets-digital-collectibles economy already lives. Genghis just gives that economy a clean off-ramp into the rest of the digital-goods world.

What does a POL transaction cost?

Polygon transaction fees are denominated in POL gas: typically 30 to 60 gwei for a standard transfer, which works out to roughly $0.001 to $0.01 at current prices. The fee scales mildly with network demand but rarely exceeds a few cents even during peak congestion. There is no priority tip mechanism comparable to Ethereum mainnet's; the gas market on Polygon is much shallower because supply (block space) is much larger relative to demand.

The amount in your coin is shown before you pay. It includes our exchange-rate margin; a network cost applies only to USDT on Tron and to Monero. Your wallet adds the network fee. Compared to Ethereum mainnet ($1 to $30 typical, $50+ during peak congestion) for the same purchase, Polygon is structurally 1 to 3 orders of magnitude cheaper.

Related: pay with Ethereum, USDC, or Solana

If you're comparing options across the EVM landscape and adjacent fast chains, these spokes cover the closest alternatives:

• ▸Ethereum (ETH). EVM hub, ~12 sec, variable gas.
• ▸USDC. Stablecoin, 9 networks (incl. Polygon).
• ▸Solana (SOL). High-throughput PoS, sub-second, ~$0.0001.

Further reading

• Bitcoin vs Stablecoins for Shopping: A Practical Comparison
• Living on Crypto in 2026: What Actually Works
• How to Spend Crypto in the USA Without Cashing Out