On June 3, the President signed into law the Credit and Debit Card Receipt Clarification Act (H.R. 4008), which helps to clarify the requirements of what retailers print on credit and debit card receipts and also helps in the defense of frivolous litigation surrounding the issue of the expiration date on the receipts.  This is a great legislative victory for NACS, our allies, and especially retailers that are ensnarled in these ridiculous lawsuits. NACS was happy to push this pro-business legislation through Congress in such a timely fashion and we give a great deal of praise to the House and Senate sponsors Rep. Tim Mahoney (FL) and Sen. Charles Schumer (NY) for their hard work.

Please note that the legislation only deals with any receipt provided to a consumer at a point of sale or transaction between December 4, 2004 and June 3, 2008.  For these past receipts that have shortened the credit or debit card number but not deleted the expiration date, these receipts shall not be considered in willful noncompliance with the law. Effective June 4, 2008, however, printing expiration dates on consumer receipts will be considered a violation.

NACS wants to make sure that all retailers know that they are not to print any expiration dates on the receipts that they give to the consumers.  Please review the Federal Trade Commissions’ business alert on the specifics of credit and debit card receipts and the rules governing what they give to customers.