A BILL to amend and reenact §§ 59.1-530 and 59.1-531 of the Code of Virginia and to amend the Code of Virginia by adding a section numbered 59.1-531.1, relating to gift certificates; international transactions; fraud reports.
HB689 revises Virginia’s gift certificate disclosure and consumer protection rules. It updates the statutory definitions of “gift certificate,” “merchant,” “service fee,” and related terms to expressly include general use prepaid cards and other prepaid payment devices, while preserving the framework for merchant-issued certificates redeemable for goods, services, credit, or money. The bill also keeps and clarifies disclosure requirements for expiration dates and value-diminishing certificates, requiring that the relevant information be clearly and permanently imprinted on the certificate or made available through a phone number or website.
The bill further tightens restrictions on fees and activation practices. It prohibits dormancy fees, inactivity charges, and service fees on merchant-issued gift certificates except in limited promotional or loyalty-program circumstances where no money or value was exchanged. It also adds a new rule barring merchants from selling a gift certificate as part of an international transaction unless a 24-hour activation hold is implemented. Finally, HB689 creates a new reporting requirement directing local law enforcement to immediately forward reports of gift certificate fraud to the FBI’s Internet Crime Complaint Center.
HB689 would amend §§ 59.1-530 and 59.1-531 of the Code of Virginia and add § 59.1-531.1, expanding and clarifying the state’s consumer protections for gift certificates and prepaid cards. It would affect merchants that issue or sell gift certificates, especially those involved in online, cross-border, or prepaid-card transactions, by imposing additional disclosure, fee, and activation requirements. It also creates a new law-enforcement reporting obligation for local agencies handling gift certificate fraud complaints.
The available legislative history suggests a cautious but not strongly polarized reception. The bill was referred to the Labor and Commerce Committee and continued to the next session by voice vote, which indicates it advanced procedurally without recorded roll-call opposition but also without final approval. The absence of recorded debate or votes makes it difficult to identify strong public support or opposition, though the measure appears framed as a consumer-protection and anti-fraud bill.
The main points of potential contention are the bill’s operational burdens on merchants and payment providers. Retailers and gift-card issuers may object to the 24-hour activation hold for international transactions, the expanded definition of covered gift certificates to include general use prepaid cards, and the continued restrictions on fees. Consumer advocates would likely support these provisions as anti-fraud and transparency measures, while merchants may view them as compliance-heavy or disruptive to legitimate sales, especially for travel, remittance, or online purchases involving international buyers.