The Federal Reserve is continuing to hone in on unfair practices with plastic money, but in my opinion they are not going far enough – we need Gift Cards with no fees. After passing the Credit CARD Act earlier this year, it has now proposed rules that would “restrict the fees and expiration dates that may apply to gift cards,” said a press release last week. Under the pending rules, gift card terms and conditions would be required to be stated clearly.
According to the Federal Reserve’s website:
The proposed rules would prohibit dormancy, inactivity, and service fees on gift cards unless: (1) there has been at least one year of inactivity on the certificate or card; (2) no more than one such fee is charged per month; and (3) the consumer is given clear and conspicuous disclosures about the fees. Expiration dates for funds underlying gift cards must be at least five years after the date of issuance, or five years after the date when funds were last loaded.
Gift cards are basically cash that a person pays to a business, in advance. In fact, Consumer Reports states that one out of four gift cards will go unused, at a cost of $8 Billion Dollars!
If you are going to make real change in this world, do what is right and fair. Gift cards with no fees is the right move.
Give me your thoughts below!
