Credit Card Receipt Requirements Are Designed to Protect Consumers

Credit card receipt requirements have changed over the years, and it is best to always check your receipts to make sure vendors follow the laws.

When you make a purchase at a store using your debit or credit card, no more than the last five numbers of the card should appear on your receipt. The receipt should never contain the expiration date or the CVV numbers, which are the security numbers on the back of the card right after the signature space.

These credit card receipt requirements are mandated by the Fair and Accurate Credit Transactions Act (FACTA). FACTA was enacted in 2003 to allow consumers to make identifiable purchases with a reduced chance of being victims of identity theft.

The Federal Trade Commission’s Bureau of Consumer Protection says “credit card number on sales receipts are a ‘golden ticket’ for fraudsters and identity thieves.”

Identity thieves don’t hesitate to go dumpster-diving to find receipts that contain enough information that allows them to make fraudulent purchases.

FACTA’s Credit Card Receipt Requirements

Credit card receipts should always include:

1. Merchant’s DBA (Doing Business As) name and address
2. Date of transaction
3. Products or services purchased, including the prices and applicable taxes
4. The cardholder’s signature on only the merchant’s copy, unless a PIN number was used
5. Authorization approval code from the card issuer
6. Up to the last five digits of the credit card account number if done electronically

FACTA plainly states that “no person that accepts credit cards or debit cards for the transaction of business shall print more than the last 5 digits of the card number or the expiration date upon any receipt provided to the cardholder at the point of sale or transaction.”

Some mom-and-pop shops that continue to use handwritten or carbon-copy imprinted receipts are exempt from these requirements. Also, merchants are allowed to keep more details of a transaction for their records, but that information must be securely stored.

Credit card receipt requirements apply to both small and large businesses. Any business that does not comply with FACTA rules can incur penalties handed out by the Federal Trade Commission. Consumers also have successfully collected damages and attorney’s fees.

Both civil penalties and injunctive relief have been applied in various cases. (Injunctive relief is when the court orders the defendant to stop a specified act.) A consumer who finds a merchant has not complied with FACTA during a purchase can file a lawsuit. Merchants found liable for certain kinds of violations could pay anywhere from $100 to $1000, or the monetary loss the infraction caused.

Courts are apt to find a merchant has “willfully” violated FACTA credit card receipt requirements if the retailer “knew or should have known” of FACTA’s regulations and was made aware of the statute’s requirements.

FACTA was announced through written communication to all retailers.

Retailers might place blind trust in their credit card equipment companies. Smaller merchants are more apt to assume their machines comply with the newest laws, even though they might not. FACTA has been in place for more than a decade, yet consumers cannot assume all merchants are compliant.

If you have been handed a receipt that does not meet the new credit card receipt requirements, you could be eligible for compensation due to the merchant’s FACTA infractions.

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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