Last Tuesday, March 23rd the Federal Reserve gave final approval to the gift card provisions in the Credit Card Accountability Responsibility and Disclosure Act of 2009. While these rules don’t eliminate the fees many consumers face for not spending funds quickly enough, they do protect consumers from some unexpected costs and further specify that the conditions and terms of the gift card must be clearly stated.Dormancy, inactivity and service fees on gift cards are now prohibited unless:
- The consumer hasn’t used the gift card for at least one year;
- No more than one of these types of fees is charged each month; and
- The consumer is given proper and clear information about the fees
In addition, the expiration dates for the gift card funds must be at least five years after the issue date or five years after funds were last loaded onto the card.These provisions do not go into effect until August 22nd. Missouri currently has no laws pertaining to gift cards or certificates.In addition, the St. Louis Post-Dispatch published an article about these new regulations on Sunday, March 28, that you may be interested in reading.
