TIPS FOR YOUR BUSINESS IF YOU OFFER OR ACCEPT GIFT CARDS

Gift cards are popular at this time of year. To help your business avoid problems with gift cards, we’ve listed the rules if you sell gift cards and some important things for your business to remember.

Rules if you sell gift cards

Your business must clearly state:

• all conditions and restrictions on use of the gift card, including whether there are any limitations on the number of transactions
• the expiry date of the gift card, which must be prominently displayed (with some exceptions)
• the activation expiry date for cards that need to be activated
• whether the card can be reloaded or topped up.

Avoid any surprises when the recipient is using the gift card

Recipients should not be required to pay any additional fees or charges on gift cards.

In most circumstances your business cannot have terms and conditions on gift cards that allow you to charge post-supply fees. Post-supply fees may include things like:

• gift card activation fees
• gift card account keeping fees
• balance inquiry fees
• inactivity fees.

Most gift cards must have a minimum 3-year expiry period

The law says that most gift cards must have a minimum 3-year expiry period, unless an exception applies.

Businesses should check whether any exceptions apply and can refer to the ACCC website. If exceptions don’t apply, the gift card must be redeemable for at least 3 years after the day it was supplied or purchased.


Gift cards are covered under the Australian Consumer Law (ACL)

Under the ACL, consumers have the right to expect certain things when they buy a product or service. These basic rights are called consumer guarantees. If one of the consumer guarantees under the ACL has not been met, you must offer a remedy, which is usually the solution of a repair, replacement, or refund.

Gift cards themselves are covered by these laws. If the gift card doesn’t work and the consumer is not at fault, the business should offer the consumer a refund or a replacement gift card.


Offering a gift card is not appropriate when a consumer is entitled to and wants a refund

If a product does not meet a consumer guarantee the business must offer the consumer a remedy. The type of remedy (repair, replace or refund) depends on whether the failure is major or minor.

Businesses should understand their obligations in relation to consumer guarantees and not seek to avoid them. For information on consumer guarantees please refer to the ACCC website.

There are penalties if a business breaks the rules for gift cards or other parts of the Australian Consumer Law.

To learn more about gift card rules and when they apply please refer to the ACCC website.