Understanding FACTA Credit Card Receipt Laws

The Fair and Accurate Credit Transactions Act (FACTA) is a federal law that governs specific aspects of credit card receipt laws and similar personal identity information properties.

These specific credit card receipt laws state that companies must perform truncation on their printed debit and card receipts in order to help prevent identity theft and credit card fraud.

FACTA was enacted in the early 2000s to help combat the growing problem of identity theft and credit card fraud, and has become one of the most important amendments to credit card receipt laws.

Under FACTA, businesses must perform truncation on each printed receipt and must be sure that their receipt transaction software meets federal credit card receipt laws.

Overview of FACTA Credit Card Receipt Laws

The process of truncation is the act of shortening or omitting all but the last five digits of the card number, along with the complete concealment of the card’s expiration date.

By hiding this vital personal information, businesses make it harder to steal personal information from consumers. More specifically, identity thieves hope to gather as much credit card information as possible to gain access to the consumer’s personal finances.

Identity theft and credit card fraud is one of the most prevalent risks consumers in the United States can face, with instances occurring every day. A February 2014 study conducted by Strategy & Research found 13.1 million identity theft cases were reported in 2013 which resulted in $18 billion in losses.

One of the most common types of identity theft is takeover fraud which was reported in 28% of the cases in 2013. This kind of fraud is characterized by illegally making changes in a consumer’s existing account, ranging from changing settings to making online purchases in their names.

While these credit card receipt laws help combat the problem of identity theft and fraud, no consumer or business is completely immune to it. Consumers are encouraged to be aware of printed receipts and to check whether or not their receipts are FACTA compliant.

Any card receipt showing any more than the last five digits of the card and any part of the expiration date could be a FACTA violation. When FACTA was enacted in 2003, businesses were given until 2006 to update their transaction action software to be compliant with the new credit card receipt laws.

FACTA policy applies to all electronically printed receipts produced by cash registers, self service kiosks and restaurant tickets. Businesses that fail to follow FACTA credit card receipt laws could face penalties up to $1,000 per faulty receipt.

It is important to note that FACTA policy and other typical credit card receipt laws may not apply to handwritten receipts. The truncation requirement applies only to receipts that are electronically-printed.

Consumers who received receipts that are not compliant with federal credit card receipt laws should document them for potential legal action. Potential claimants should contact a lawyer to determine eligibility for a FACTA lawsuit.

Free FACTA Class Action Lawsuit Investigation

If you made one or more purchases and the retailer provided you with a receipt that contained more than the last five digits of your credit or debit card number or the expiration date, you may be eligible for a free class action lawsuit investigation and to pursue compensation for these FACTA violations.

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