With the amount of stores declaring bankruptcy, and
store closings, people are becoming weary of purchasing gift cards.
According to a survey on gift card spending conducted for NRF by
BIGresearch, a small number of people say that they are worried that
the retailer will go out of business (3.1%). Despite the nervous
consumers, and down economy gift card sales are projected to bring in
$24.9 billion in sales nationwide this year. The Federal Deposit
Insurance Corp. (FDIC) is trying to ease peoples fears in the hope that
people will not curb their spending on gifts this year.

If you
are a merchant who keeps your funds in an FDIC insured account, your
customers now have no reason to worry. The FDIC recently ruled that
gift card balances may be insured. The new ruling stated that gift card
value will be seen as a \"deposit\", meaning that as long as your funds
are in an FDIC insured account, the gift card owner can make a claim
for the value of the card despite bankruptcy

\"The ruling by
FDIC\'s general counsel, may protect holders of gift cards issued by
retailers like Circuit City, which has filed for bankruptcy protection,
but also extends to open loop cards that are issued by financial
institutions themselves. The ruling said cards can be insured up to the
full $250,000 FDIC limit and noted that in cases where cards are not
registered to an owner, the bearer of the card will be considered to be
the owner.\"

So if you are worried about buying or receiving gift
cards this Holiday season, don\'t be. Although it is wise to monitor the
news for potential bankruptcies and avoid cards for those merchants...
to avoid the purchase of cards to any business is unnecessary.

Should
you find yourself holding a gift card in February to a store who is
filing for bankruptcy there are some easy steps to ensure your card is
not worthless...

1. Pick up the phone and ask the gift-card issuer if they are still accepting gift cards

2. Use your card immediately...you may even get a great deal with close out prices!

3.
Check the competition. A Google search might give you information about
competitors who are running special promotions targeting gift-card
holders of the bankrupt company.

4. File a claim against the company. For most major retailers this is easily done on their website.

If
you are a merchant who is interested in gift cards for your location
give Payex a call at 888.729.3848 today. We are offering 100 specially
designed Holiday gift cards FREE with the purchase of 500 additional
cards. There is little initial investment required, and your customers
will be thrilled to give others the gift of your business.