Fed Targets Gift Cards

The Federal Reserve is on a consumer protection roll. Last week, the Fed tackled overdraft fees on point-of-sale and ATM transactions (see Hooray for the New Overdraft Rules). Today, the Federal Reserve announced proposed rules concerning gift cards aimed at fees on the cards and expiration dates (see press release). The highlights are that providers cannot charge fees unless:

1. The card is inactive for one year;
2. No more than one fee is charged monthly; and
3. The provider gives notice of the fees to the consumer.

Moreover, cards cannot expire for at least five years after purchase or reloading of the card. Both store-specific and network based cards are covered by the rules.

- JSM

Phillip Keitel on Gift Cards

'Tis the season for gift cards! While this piece is from 2008, Phillip Keitel of the Philadelphia Branch of the Federal Reserve Bank has written The Laws, Regulations, Guidelines, and Industry Practices that Protect Consumers Who Use Gift Cards. Here's the abstract:

This paper discusses consumer protections available to gift-card users. Specifically, it examines the ways in which value loaded at the time of purchase is protected for future card use or returned to consumers when the card is not used or has expired. The consumer protection information included in this paper is derived from a number of sources, including several types of state statutes, Federal Trade Commission decisions, financial industry regulatory agency guidelines, and previous interviews with payments industry experts regarding practices concerning network-branded gift cards. This paper expands research begun by the Payment Cards Center in 2004 into prepaid cards generally and the protections available to consumers who use gift cards specifically.

Happy shopping!

- JSM

Bankruptcy and Gift Cards

This AP article dated March 3, 2008, ”Bankruptcy Makes Gift Cards Worthless,” is one of several that I have seen along similar lines recently and serves as a good reminder that, notwithstanding a variety of attempts to protect consumers who use gift cards (including limits or outright bans on expiration dates, which about 70% of states now have in some form), consumers can still be vulnerable to total loss in the event of the issuer’s bankruptcy. The article also highlights some fairly ingenious efforts on the part of competitors to take advantage of the situation (and attract new customers) by honoring those otherwise worthless gift cards, at least in part.