Spotting FACTA Violations on Credit and Debit Card Receipts

Merchants who print more than the last five card digits on credit and debit card receipts may be in violation of federal law.

The Fair and Accurate Credit Transactions Act (FACTA) mandates that all merchants follow specific rules to help protect U.S. consumers.

The act was passed in 2003 in an attempt to curb the growing problem of identity theft. FACTA restricts the amount of information that may be shown on credit and debit card receipts. The information is typically done via truncation–replacing digits of the card number with symbols such as * or #.

FACTA 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 the sale or transaction.” Merchants can violate FACTA by either including any portion of the expiration date on a receipt or including any numbers other than the last five digits of a card on a receipt.

FACTA guidelines apply to all electronically printed customer receipts such as receipts printed by cash registers, self-service kiosk receipts, and restaurant receipts.

For example, having any of the following depictions of an expiration date of Feb. 28, 2018 would be a FACTA violation:

• EXP: 02/18
• EXP: 02/2018
• EXP: 022018
• EXP: 0218
• Expires: 0218
• Exp Date: 02/18
• Exp Date: 02/28/18
• EXPIRY: 02/18
• 02/18
• 0218
• Date 02/**
• EXP **/18

Additionally, having any of the following depictions of a credit or debit card number 1111-2222-3333-4444 would be a violation:

• 11** **** **** 4444
• **** **22 **** 4444
• **** **** **33 ****

By protecting consumer information, it is less likely that someone would be able to piece together personal information from credit and debit card receipts. For example, if someone got ahold of credit and debit card receipts with a full credit card number, or multiple receipts with different part of the card number, they would be able to use that card number for unauthorized purchases.

Additionally, some cards require expiration date for authentication and having expiration dates printed on receipts would compromise that information.

Despite FACTA being federal law, companies can still commit violations via software malfunctions or human error. In January 2018, a FACTA lawsuit was filed against Party City alleging that full American Express expiration dates were printed on receipts.

In 2017, Microsoft Corporation settled a class action lawsuit regarding alleged FACTA violations. The lawsuit alleged that Microsoft retail stores printed credit and debit card receipts with more than the last five digits of their card number. Also in 2017, Subway settled the largest FACTA settlement in the history of FACTA at $30.9 million for allegedly printing credit card expiration dates on receipts.

Even if no harm occurred as a result of a FACTA violation, compensation may still be available. Businesses who violate FACTA are strictly penalized which can lead to substantial compensation for victims of the violations.

If you believe you are the victim of a FACTA violation, an experienced legal professional would be able to help you determine your 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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