Credit CARD Act Regulation’s Next Stop….Gift Cards
| April 5, 2010 |
Over the last couple of months there is no doubt that we have seen many good and bad changes (depending on who you ask) within the financial industry. While most of the changes have been focused on Wall Street and credit cards there is still more to come due to the continuation of the Credit CARD Act. Now the focus will be shifted over to gift cards and August 22, when the next act of the law is implemented.
When it comes to the new rules effecting gift cards, they are intended to help limit the abusive fees and early expiration dates that traditionally leave cardholders with a valueless card if it is not used. As for what to expect from the new law, consumers will starting seeing something similar to credit cards as gift cards now must have disclosures that are easy to read and understand. They will also notice that issuers are no longer able to charge inactivity or service fees for cards that go unused within the first year of it purchase.
Unlike credit card issuers, it seems that for the most part the prepaid industry has not made much of a fuss about the changes that will take effect. As of the moment, one of the only complaints that have been voiced concerns the short amount of time that issuers have to comply with the new rules. According to a news release from the NBPCA (The Network Prepaid Card Association) because there is a tight deadline to make card products that comply with the new law, it may have some bearing on the availability of the most popular gift cards during the holidays.
| Share | Tweet |
