Two More Gift Card Companies Say They're Ready To Quit New Jersey
By David Madden
TRENTON, N.J. (CBS) -- Two more companies have decided to get out of the gift card business in New Jersey, citing concerns over a new law that could allow the state to take unused funds after purchased cards go unused for two years.
Their names may be unknown to you, but InComm and Blackhawk Network are two companies that act as middlemen, if you will, for retailers. Their cards come with all kinds of brand names, in convenience stores and shopping malls.
Both firms will be out of New Jersey by June, if a requirement for retrieving personal customer data isn't lifted.
"There's been nothing built to handle hundreds of retailers on the front end and hundreds of product providers on the back end and marry the zip code to the card data and ultimately find a way to get all that information to the State of New Jersey," notes Scott Meierhoff, InComm's chief financial officer.
American Express has already pulled its gift cards from New Jersey. A lawsuit has been filed by retailers to stop the law from taking effect.
