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A gift card also known as gift certificate in North America, or gift voucher or gift token in the UK is a prepaid stored-value money card, usually issued by a
retailer Retail is the sale of goods and services to consumers, in contrast to wholesaling, which is sale to business or institutional customers. A retailer purchases goods in large quantities from manufacturers, directly or through a wholesaler, and t ...
or
bank A bank is a financial institution that accepts deposits from the public and creates a demand deposit while simultaneously making loans. Lending activities can be directly performed by the bank or indirectly through capital markets. Because ...
, to be used as an alternative to cash for purchases within a particular store or related businesses. Gift cards are also given out by employers or organizations as rewards or gifts. They may also be distributed by retailers and marketers as part of a promotion strategy, to entice the recipient to come in or return to the store, and at times such cards are called cash cards. Gift cards are generally redeemable only for purchases at the relevant retail premises and cannot be cashed out, and in some situations may be subject to an expiry date or fees. American Express, MasterCard, and
Visa Visa most commonly refers to: *Visa Inc., a US multinational financial and payment cards company ** Visa Debit card issued by the above company ** Visa Electron, a debit card ** Visa Plus, an interbank network *Travel visa, a document that allows ...
offer generic gift cards which need not be redeemed at particular stores, and which are widely used for cashback marketing strategies. A feature of these cards is that they are generally anonymous and are disposed of when the stored value on a card is exhausted. From the purchaser's point of view, a gift card is a
gift A gift or a present is an item given to someone without the expectation of payment or anything in return. An item is not a gift if that item is already owned by the one to whom it is given. Although gift-giving might involve an expectation ...
, given in place of an object which the recipient may not need, when the giving of cash as a present may be regarded as socially inappropriate. In the
United States The United States of America (U.S.A. or USA), commonly known as the United States (U.S. or US) or America, is a country primarily located in North America. It consists of 50 states, a federal district, five major unincorporated territo ...
, gift cards are highly popular, ranking in 2006 as the second-most given gift by consumers, the most-wanted gift by women, and the third-most wanted by males. Gift cards have become increasingly popular as they relieve the donor of selecting a specific gift. In 2012, nearly 50% of all US consumers claimed to have purchased a gift card as a present during the holiday season. In Canada, $1.8 billion was spent on gift cards, and in the UK it is estimated to have reached £3 billion in 2009, whereas in the United States about US$80 billion was paid for gift cards in 2006. The recipient of a gift card can use it at their discretion within the restrictions set by the issue, for example as to validity period and businesses that accept a particular card. Gift card sales are not limited to banks or retailers; such other companies as
airlines An airline is a company that provides air transport services for traveling passengers and freight. Airlines use aircraft to supply these services and may form partnerships or alliances with other airlines for codeshare agreements, in which ...
,
cruise ship Cruise ships are large passenger ships used mainly for vacationing. Unlike ocean liners, which are used for transport, cruise ships typically embark on round-trip voyages to various ports-of-call, where passengers may go on tours known as "sho ...
s,
hotel A hotel is an establishment that provides paid lodging on a short-term basis. Facilities provided inside a hotel room may range from a modest-quality mattress in a small room to large suites with bigger, higher-quality beds, a dresser, a ref ...
s, barber shops,
train In rail transport, a train (from Old French , from Latin , "to pull, to draw") is a series of connected vehicles that run along a railway track and transport people or freight. Trains are typically pulled or pushed by locomotives (often kno ...
companies,
theme park An amusement park is a park that features various attractions, such as rides and games, as well as other events for entertainment purposes. A theme park is a type of amusement park that bases its structures and attractions around a central ...
s,
restaurant A restaurant is a business that prepares and serves food and drinks to customers. Meals are generally served and eaten on the premises, but many restaurants also offer take-out and food delivery services. Restaurants vary greatly in appearance ...
s and other type of companies may offer gift cards as well.


History

Neiman Marcus Neiman Marcus Group, Inc. is an American integrated luxury retailer headquartered in Dallas, Texas, which owns Neiman Marcus, Bergdorf Goodman, Horchow, and Last Call. Since September 2021, NMG has been owned by a group of investment compan ...
introduced the first gift card using a payments infrastructure in late 1994, though
Blockbuster Entertainment Blockbuster LLC, formerly known as Blockbuster Video, was an American-based provider of home video and video game rental services. Services were offered primarily at video rental shops, but later alternatives included DVD-by-mail, streaming, ...
was the first company to do so on a wide scale, test-marketing them in 1995 and launching them around the country the next year. In the beginning, the Blockbuster gift card replaced gift certificates that were being counterfeited with recently introduced color copiers and color printers. Blockbuster's first gift card transactions were processed by what was then Nabanco of
Sunrise, Florida Sunrise is a city in central-western Broward County, Florida, United States, and is a principal city of the Miami metropolitan area. As of the 2020 census, the city had a total population of 97,335. Sunrise was incorporated in 1961 and founded ...
. Nabanco was the developer of the first third-party platform for the processing of gift cards using existing payment infrastructure. Neiman Marcus and Blockbuster were later followed by the
Mobil Mobil is a petroleum brand owned and operated by American oil and gas corporation ExxonMobil. The brand was formerly owned and operated by an oil and gas corporation of the same name, which itself merged with Exxon to form ExxonMobil in 1999. ...
gas card, which initially offered prepaid phone value provided by MCI.
Kmart Kmart Corporation ( , doing business as Kmart and stylized as kmart) is an American retail company that owns a chain of big box department stores. The company is headquartered in Hoffman Estates, Illinois, United States. The company was inco ...
was next with the introduction of the Kmart Cash Card, which in the early generations provided prepaid phone time with
AT&T AT&T Inc. is an American multinational telecommunications holding company headquartered at Whitacre Tower in Downtown Dallas, Texas. It is the world's largest telecommunications company by revenue and the third largest provider of mobile te ...
. Later Kmart and Mobil dropped this feature, as it was not profitable for them. The Kmart Cash Card was the first replacement for cash returns when a shopper did not have a receipt for a gift. This practice of giving a cash card in place of cash for non-receipted returns is commonplace today with most merchants. From these early introductions, other retailers began to adapt a giftcard program to replace their gift certificate programs.


Function and types

A gift card may resemble a
credit card A credit card is a payment card issued to users (cardholders) to enable the cardholder to pay a merchant for goods and services based on the cardholder's accrued debt (i.e., promise to the card issuer to pay them for the amounts plus the o ...
or display a specific theme on a
plastic card A debit card, also known as a check card or bank card is a payment card that can be used in place of cash to make purchases. The term '' plastic card'' includes the above and as an identity document. These are similar to a credit card, but u ...
the size of a credit card. The card is identified by a specific number or code, not usually with an individual name, and thus could be used by anybody. They are backed by an on-line electronic system for authorization. Some gift cards can be reloaded by payment and can be used thus multiple times. Cards may have a serial number,
barcode A barcode or bar code is a method of representing data in a visual, machine-readable form. Initially, barcodes represented data by varying the widths, spacings and sizes of parallel lines. These barcodes, now commonly referred to as linear or on ...
,
magnetic strip The term digital card can refer to a physical item, such as a memory card on a camera, or, increasingly since 2017, to the digital content hosted as a virtual card or cloud card, as a digital virtual representation of a physical card. They share ...
, which is read by an electronic credit card machine. Many cards have no value until they are sold, at which time the cashier enters the amount which the customer wishes to put on the card. This amount is rarely stored on the card but is instead noted in the merchant's
database In computing, a database is an organized collection of data stored and accessed electronically. Small databases can be stored on a file system, while large databases are hosted on computer clusters or cloud storage. The design of databases span ...
, which is cross linked to the card ID. Gift cards thus are generally not
stored-value card A stored-value card (SVC) is a payment card with a monetary value stored on the card itself, not in an external account maintained by a financial institution. This means no network access is required by the payment collection terminals as funds ...
s as used in many public transport systems or library photocopiers, where a simplified system with no network stores the value only on the card itself. To thwart
counterfeiting To counterfeit means to imitate something authentic, with the intent to steal, destroy, or replace the original, for use in illegal transactions, or otherwise to deceive individuals into believing that the fake is of equal or greater value tha ...
, the data is
encrypted In cryptography, encryption is the process of encoding information. This process converts the original representation of the information, known as plaintext, into an alternative form known as ciphertext. Ideally, only authorized parties can deci ...
. The magnetic strip is also often placed differently than on credit cards, so they cannot be read or written with standard equipment. Other gift cards may have a set value and need to be activated by calling a specific phone number. Gift cards can also be individually custom tailored to meet specific needs. By adding a custom message or name on the front of the card, it can make for an individualized gift or be used as a gesture of appreciation towards an employee. Gift cards are divided into open loop or network cards and closed loop cards. The former are issued by banks or credit card companies and can be redeemed by different merchants, the latter by a specific store or restaurant and can be only redeemed by the issuing provider. The latter, however, tend to have fewer problems with card value decay and fees. Card value decay is less of an issue since the Credit Card Accountability Responsibility and Disclosure (CARD) Act was passed by the US Congress in 2009. Inactivity fees and card expirations are both limited by the new law. In either case the giver would buy the gift card and may have to pay an additional purchase or activation fee, and the recipient of the card would use the value of the card at a later transaction. A third form is the hybrid closed loop card whose issuer has bundled a number of closed loop cards; an example is free gift cards for a specific
shopping mall A shopping mall (or simply mall) is a North American term for a large indoor shopping center, usually anchored by department stores. The term "mall" originally meant a pedestrian promenade with shops along it (that is, the term was used to refe ...
. Gift cards differ from
scrip A scrip (or '' chit'' in India) is any substitute for legal tender. It is often a form of credit. Scrips have been created and used for a variety of reasons, including exploitive payment of employees under truck systems; or for use in local com ...
gift certificates, in that the latter are usually sold as a paper document with an authorized signature by a restaurant, store, or other individual establishment as a
voucher A voucher is a bond of the redeemable transaction type which is worth a certain monetary value and which may be spent only for specific reasons or on specific goods. Examples include housing, travel, and food vouchers. The term voucher is also a ...
for a future service; there is no electronic authorization. A gift certificate may or may not have an expiration date and generally has no administrative fees. Bank issued gift cards may be used in lieu of checks as a way to disburse rebate funds. Some retailers use the gift card system for refunds in lieu of cash thereby assuring that the customer will spend the funds at their store. A charity gift card allows the gift giver to make a charitable donation and the gift recipient to choose a charity that will receive the donation. Gift cards can also be country-specific, and can be used to access USA-specific programming and media when outside the United States.


Mobile and virtual gift cards

Mobile gift cards are delivered to mobile phones via
email Electronic mail (email or e-mail) is a method of exchanging messages ("mail") between people using electronic devices. Email was thus conceived as the electronic (digital) version of, or counterpart to, mail, at a time when "mail" meant ...
or
SMS Short Message/Messaging Service, commonly abbreviated as SMS, is a text messaging service component of most telephone, Internet and mobile device systems. It uses standardized communication protocols that let mobile devices exchange short text ...
, and phone apps allow users to carry only their cell phone. Virtual gift cards are delivered via email to the recipient, the benefits being that they cannot be physically lost and that the consumer does not has to spend the additional time needed to buy a physical gift card in a brick and mortar store making it more convenient. Gift cards of this type can also be purchased quicker, which is especially attractive if a gifting occasion is on the horizon. Other companies have introduced virtual gift cards that users redeem on their smartphones. As the merchant is not involved in the loop, it is considered a cash transfer rather than a traditional gift card.


Gift card collecting

Gift cards can have many different designs, including for, holidays, special occasions, sports teams, cartoons, and more. Some hardcore collectors collect different variations of each card, and or prefer where the pin number is not scratched off. Even more desirable are brand new unused gift cards even ones still attached to the retail backers. Most gift cards are plastic, some variances include clear plastic, shaped cards, and paperboard cards. Recently most
Starbucks Starbucks Corporation is an American multinational chain of coffeehouses and roastery reserves headquartered in Seattle, Washington. It is the world's largest coffeehouse chain. As of November 2021, the company had 33,833 stores in 80 cou ...
and
Chipotle A chipotle (, ; ), or ''chilpotle'', is a smoke-dried ripe jalapeño chili pepper used for seasoning. It is a chili used primarily in Mexican and Mexican-inspired cuisines, such as Tex-Mex and Southwestern United States dishes. It comes in d ...
gift cards are now paperboard instead of plastic. A partial list of popular retailers with collectors who have released gift cards worldwide with many different designs and or variations include: *
Aldi Aldi (stylised as ALDI) is the common company brand name of two German multinational family-owned discount supermarket chains operating over 10,000 stores in 20 countries. The chain was founded by brothers Karl and Theo Albrecht in 1946, when t ...
*
Applebee's Applebee's Restaurants LLC. is an American company that develops, franchises, and operates the Applebee's Neighborhood Grill + Bar restaurant chain. The Applebee's concept focuses on casual dining, with mainstream American dishes such as salads ...
* Barnes & Noble *
Best Buy Best Buy Co. Inc. is an American multinational consumer electronics retailer headquartered in Richfield, Minnesota. Originally founded by Richard M. Schulze and James Wheeler in 1966 as an audio specialty store called Sound of Music, it was rebr ...
*
Burger King Burger King (BK) is an American-based multinational chain of hamburger fast food restaurants. Headquartered in Miami-Dade County, Florida, the company was founded in 1953 as Insta-Burger King, a Jacksonville, Florida–based restaurant chain ...
*
Chick-Fil-A Chick-fil-A ( , a play on the American English pronunciation of " filet") is an American fast food restaurant chain which is the country's largest which specializes in chicken sandwiches. Headquartered in College Park, Georgia, Chick-fil-A oper ...
*
Chili's Chili's Grill & Bar is an American casual dining restaurant chain. The company was founded by Larry Lavine in Texas in 1975 and is currently owned and operated by Brinker International. History Chili's first location, a converted postal stati ...
*
Chipotle A chipotle (, ; ), or ''chilpotle'', is a smoke-dried ripe jalapeño chili pepper used for seasoning. It is a chili used primarily in Mexican and Mexican-inspired cuisines, such as Tex-Mex and Southwestern United States dishes. It comes in d ...
* CVS *
Dollar Tree Dollar Tree, Inc. is an American multi-price-point chain of discount variety stores. Headquartered in Chesapeake, Virginia, it is a ''Fortune'' 500 company and operates 15,115 stores throughout the 48 contiguous U.S. states and Canada. Its st ...
* Dunkin Donuts *
Firehouse Subs Firehouse Subs is an American restaurant chain based in Jacksonville, Florida. It was founded in 1994 by former firefighter brothers Chris and Robin Sorensen. Firehouse Subs has over 1,210 restaurants in 46 states, Puerto Rico, and Canada. Hi ...
* Game Stop *
Home Depot The Home Depot, Inc., is an American multinational home improvement retail corporation that sells tools, construction products, appliances, and services, including fuel and transportation rentals. Home Depot is the largest home improvement r ...
* IHOP *
In-N-Out Burger In-N-Out Burger is an American regional chain of fast food restaurants with locations primarily in California and the Southwest. It was founded in Baldwin Park, California, in 1948 by Harry (1913–1976) and Esther Snyder (1920–2006). The c ...
*
Jack in the Box Jack in the Box is an American fast-food restaurant chain founded February 21, 1951, by Robert O. Peterson (1916–1994) in San Diego, California, where it is headquartered. The chain has over 2,200 locations, primarily serving the West Coast ...
*
JC Penney Penney OpCo LLC, doing business as JCPenney and often abbreviated JCP, is a midscale American department store chain operating 667 stores across 49 U.S. states and Puerto Rico. Departments inside JCPenney stores include Mens, Womens, Boys, Girl ...
* K-Mart *
Krispy Kreme Krispy Kreme, Inc. (previously Krispy Kreme Doughnuts, Inc.) is an American multinational doughnut company and coffeehouse chain. Krispy Kreme was founded by Vernon Rudolph (1915–1973), who bought a yeast-raised recipe from a New Orleans c ...
* McDonald's *
Olive Garden Olive Garden is an American casual dining restaurant chain specializing in Italian-American cuisine. It is a subsidiary of Darden Restaurants, Inc., which is headquartered in Orange County, Florida. As of 2012, Olive Garden restaurants accounte ...
*
Panera Panera Bread is an American chain store of bakery-café fast casual restaurants with over 2,000 locations, all of which are in the United States and Canada. Its headquarters are in Sunset Hills, Missouri. The company operates as Saint Loui ...
* Perkins * Qdoba *
Red Lobster Red Lobster Hospitality LLC is an American casual dining restaurant chain headquartered in Orlando, Florida. The company has operations across most of the United States (including Puerto Rico, Guam) and Canada, as well as in China, Ecuador, Hong ...
*
Red Robin Red Robin Gourmet Burgers, Inc., more commonly known as Red Robin Gourmet Burgers and Brews or simply Red Robin, is an American chain of casual dining restaurants founded in September 1969 in Seattle, Washington. In 1979, the first franchised ...
*
Schlotzsky's Schlotzsky's is an American franchise chain of restaurants, specializing in sandwiches and pizza. The company is headquartered in Atlanta, Georgia. Schlotzsky's has more than 330 franchised and company-owned locations throughout the United Stat ...
* Sears *
Sonic Sonic or Sonics may refer to: Companies *Sonic Drive-In, an American drive-in fast-food restaurant chain * Sonic (ISP), an Internet provider and CLEC, serving more than 100 California communities * Sonic Foundry, a computer software company wh ...
*
Starbucks Starbucks Corporation is an American multinational chain of coffeehouses and roastery reserves headquartered in Seattle, Washington. It is the world's largest coffeehouse chain. As of November 2021, the company had 33,833 stores in 80 cou ...
*
Steak 'n Shake Steak 'n Shake Operations, Inc. (doing business as Steak 'n Shake) is an American casual restaurant chain concentrated primarily in the Midwestern United States with locations also in the South, Mid-Atlantic and Western United States, Europe ...
*
Subway Subway, Subways, The Subway, or The Subways may refer to: Transportation * Subway, a term for underground rapid transit rail systems * Subway (underpass), a type of walkway that passes underneath an obstacle * Subway (George Bush Intercontin ...
*
Target Target may refer to: Physical items * Shooting target, used in marksmanship training and various shooting sports ** Bullseye (target), the goal one for which one aims in many of these sports ** Aiming point, in field artillery, ...
*
Tim Hortons Tim Hortons Inc., commonly nicknamed Tim's, or Timmie's is a Canadian multinational coffeehouse and restaurant chain. Based in Toronto, Tim Hortons serves coffee, doughnuts, and other fast-food items. It is Canada's largest quick-service rest ...
*
Toys R Us A toy or plaything is an object that is used primarily to provide entertainment. Simple examples include toy blocks, board games, and dolls. Toys are often designed for use by children, although many are designed specifically for adults and pe ...
*
Walmart Walmart Inc. (; formerly Wal-Mart Stores, Inc.) is an American multinational retail corporation that operates a chain of hypermarkets (also called supercenters), discount department stores, and grocery stores from the United States, headquarter ...
*
Wendy's Wendy's is an American international fast food restaurant chain founded by Dave Thomas (1932–2002) on November 15, 1969, in Columbus, Ohio. Its headquarters moved to Dublin, Ohio, on January 29, 2006. As of December 31, 2018, Wendy's was th ...
According to the ''
Guinness Book of World Records ''Guinness World Records'', known from its inception in 1955 until 1999 as ''The Guinness Book of Records'' and in previous United States editions as ''The Guinness Book of World Records'', is a reference book published annually, listing world ...
'', the largest gift card collection in the world, as of 2021, belonged to Canadian-American brothers Aaron and David Miller of
Scarsdale, New York Scarsdale is a town and village in Westchester County, New York, United States. The Town of Scarsdale is coextensive with the Village of Scarsdale, but the community has opted to operate solely with a village government, one of several village ...
. By 2013, the brothers had amassed an estimated 3,125 different cards. In addition, some online collecting websites have pages dedicated to gift card listings for collectors.


Pitfalls

It has been argued that holiday giving destroys value due to mismatching gifts. The most efficient way to keep value in gifting would be to give cash; however, giving cash in most cultures is not socially acceptable, except with children. Gift cards, to a degree, may overcome this problem, but have certain pitfalls. Some feel that the absence of the thought of selecting a specific gift makes a gift card a worse choice than a poorly executed but individual gift. New products in the gift card industry are evolving to tackle this "impersonal" pitfall of gift cards; new services launched by some service providers allows for customization and personalization of gift cards. Gift cards have been criticized for the issuers ability to set rules that are detrimental to the purchaser or card recipient. For example, gift cards may be subject to an expiry date, administrative fees, restrictions on use, and absence of adequate protection in case of fraud or loss. Over time fees may render the value of a gift card zero. However, these issues have been addressed in recent years in some jurisdictions. In the
United States The United States of America (U.S.A. or USA), commonly known as the United States (U.S. or US) or America, is a country primarily located in North America. It consists of 50 states, a federal district, five major unincorporated territo ...
, many jurisdictions limit or prohibit all fees or expiration dates for gift cards. Furthermore, because of the negative impact on sales that such policies can have, most merchants have adopted and even advertise a no fee, no expiration policy for their gift cards, whether or not state laws require it. In 2011, an estimated 2.5% of gift cards were subject to an expiration date and 2.7% to post sale fees. A quarter of gift card recipients still have not spent gift cards a year after receiving them, according to a
Consumer Reports Consumer Reports (CR), formerly Consumers Union (CU), is an American nonprofit consumer organization dedicated to independent product testing, investigative journalism, consumer-oriented research, public education, and consumer advocacy. Founde ...
survey, and a majority of people say they end up spending more than the value of the card once they get to the store. On the other hand, consumers may try to use as much of a gift card as possible while avoiding spending money out of pocket, usually resulting in small values remaining on the card. Consumer laws in some places have addressed this. In Australia, a gift card can be exchanged for cash if there is a remaining amount that the business believes can't be "conveniently used." In the event of the bankruptcy of the issuing retailer, the outstanding value on gift cards is considered
unsecured debt In finance, unsecured debt refers to any type of debt or general obligation that is not protected by a guarantor, or collateralized by a lien on specific assets of the borrower in the case of a bankruptcy or liquidation or failure to meet the t ...
, and as such gift cards may become valueless. If the company intends to continue trading, gift cards may be honoured even in bankruptcy. Another issue regarding gift cards is the growing concerns from retailers and other businesses about what can be done to prevent gift cards from being exploited by fraudsters. Gift card information can either be stolen from their rightful owners by fraudsters or they can be purchased with stolen credit card information. In recent years, cyber criminals have increased their efforts to take advantage of fraudulent gift cards as they are simple to exploit with automated brute-force bot attacks. The most common form of gift card fraud is committed through the act of stealing card information for activated cards with an existing balance by attacking a retailer's systems which store gift card data. Once a gift card has been compromised, the fraudster will then check the balance through online customer portals before using the funds or reselling on the secondary gift card market.


Redemption rate

Not all gift cards are redeemed. The card may be lost, there may be time decay expiration and fees or complex rules of redemption, or the recipient may not be interested in the store that accepts the card or be under the false assumption that not using it will save money for the giver. It has been estimated that perhaps 10% of cards are not redeemed, amounting to a gain for retailers of about $8 billion in the United States in 2006. In 2012, over $100 billion in gift cards will be purchased in the United States, where over 20% of those gift cards will go unredeemed or unused. This has amassed a large opportunity in the secondary market, similar to the secondary ticket market in the early 2000s. Some companies have created a business in the secondary gift card market that allow consumers to sell their unused gift cards or buy discounted gift cards to their favorite brands. This has helped their users recoup their share of some $55 million per day that goes unredeemed in the United States every year.


Regulations


Canada

All Canadian provinces have legislations passed to ban expiry dates and fees collected on gift cards. However, provincial gift card legislations do not apply to sectors that are regulated under federal laws. For example, gift cards that resemble credit cards i.e. with American Express, MasterCard, or Visa branding and phone cards are regulated by the federal government. Under the federal ''Prepaid Payment Products Regulations'', effective 1 May 2014, federally regulated gift cards may only charge maintenance fees under certain conditions and may not set an expiry date for funds on those cards.


United States

In the past, uniform standards concerning gift cards did not exist. This was set to change as an addendum to the
Credit CARD Act of 2009 The Credit Card Accountability Responsibility and Disclosure (CARD) Act of 2009 is a federal statute passed by the United States Congress and signed by U.S. President Barack Obama on May 22, 2009. It is a comprehensive credit card reform legislat ...
directs the federal government to create consumer-friendly standards pertaining to gift cards. Most notably, the new regulations prohibit retailers from setting expiration dates unless they are at least five years after the card's date of issue or the date on which funds were last added to the card. In addition, retailers are no longer able to assess dormancy, inactivity, or service fees unless the card has been inactive for at least 12 months, and if fees are added after that period, the details of such fees must be clearly disclosed on the card. Additionally, retailers are unable to levy more than one fee per month. The new provisions took effect on 22 August 2010. Open loop cards are governed by rules of the
Comptroller of the Currency The Office of the Comptroller of the Currency (OCC) is an independent bureau within the United States Department of the Treasury that was established by the National Currency Act of 1863 and serves to charter, regulate, and supervise all natio ...
; however, oversight has been criticized. Closed loop gift cards are subject to rules set by different state regulations, and issuing authorities vary widely in the rules they set for the consumer. Moreover, rules can be changed by the issuer without notifying the consumer.


See also

*
Rebate card A rebate card is a debit card that provides funds promised by a business as a rebate. They are often offered to those who make a specific purchase, or for loyalty to a company by accumulating a certain amount of money or number of points worth of ...
*
Token money Token money, or token, is a form of money that has a lesser intrinsic value compared to its face value. Token money is anything that is accepted as money, not due to its intrinsic value but instead because of custom or legal enactment. Token mo ...


References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Gift Card Exonumia Debit cards Giving Payment systems Personal finance Retail financial services 1994 introductions 1996 introductions American inventions