card – FinTech and Blockchain Law Watch

Australian Gift Cards – Additional Consumer Protections

Nov 11 2018

By Jim Bulling, Edwin Tan and Elise Hamblin

Every year, Australian consumers suffer an estimated loss of $70 million through gift cards expiring before use. On 18 October 2018, the Treasury Laws Amendment (Gift Cards) Act 2018 (Gift Card Act) was passed in an effort to reduce this loss. Fintech card issuers should be aware of the upcoming changes and start making preparations to ensure that they continue to be compliant with the regulatory requirements.

What will change?

The Gift Card Act amends the Australian Consumer Law to create a national regime where:

gift cards must have a minimum expiry period of three years;
expiry information on gift cards must be prominently displayed; and
the charging of fees (except certain prescribed fees) after a gift card has been supplied will be prohibited.

We expect that the amendments will not apply to reloadable cards.

Surprise: New York State Court Ruling Means That NY Payroll Card Regulations Could Go into Effect After All

Jul 23 2018

By Judith Rinearson and Eric A. Love

The years-long endeavor in New York State to extensively regulate payroll cards (referred to in the NY regulations as “payroll debit cards”) recently entered a new phase when the New York State Supreme Court, Albany County, annulled the New York State Industrial Board of Appeals’ (“IBA”) February 2017 decision to revoke new payroll card regulations that had previously been issued in that state. This means that, depending on the outcome of the recently filed appeal of the court’s decision, the controversial and highly restrictive NY payroll card regulations could become effective after all.

Don’t Look a Gift Card in the Mouth: Beware of Liability Under the Electronic Fund Transfers Act

Apr 08 2016

By Robert W. Sparkes, III, Brian M. Forbes, Soyong Cho

Many of us have had a similar experience. We receive a gift card, put it in a “safe” place with other gift cards, and forget it exists. Inevitably, we uncover the gift card and find ourselves asking questions such as: Does this card still have any value? Has it expired? Can it expire? Will I be charged a fee for use (or non-use)? Should I call the 800 number? The experience invariably ends by putting the card aside and promising to deal with it later. But, what really does happen to the value of those cards?

To read more, click here.

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