New Gift Card Rules Start on Sunday, 08/22/2010.
New federal rules that regulate fees and expiration dates for all gift cards take affect this Sunday. Although Washington State already has tough laws regarding cards purchased in this state, these changes will cover any gift card that you buy or sell nationally.
The new rules are:
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Inactivity fees cannot be charged until the card has not been used for a period of no less than (12) twelve months.
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Gift Cards Expiration Dates must be be no less than (5) five years from the purchase date.
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Not more than (1) one fee (of any kind) can be charged to the cardholder in a single month.
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Information printed on the card must include fee disclosure, expiration date, and provide either a toll-free number to call for more information or a website where you can get more information.
The following items are EXEMPT from the new regulations:
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Re loadable Cards. This covers pre-paid phone cards, and Debit Cards from big Credit Card companies.
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Rebate and Loyalty Cards.
Please contact CCS Retail Systems if you would like to have your systems current Gift Card configuration reviewed.