Happy holidays! As we wrap up a productive calendar year for UPPO, we have a lot to look forward to in 2025. We’re only about three months away from the UPPO Annual Conference in Tucson, Arizona, and it’s shaping up to be an incredible week. As part of our world-class lineup of educational sessions and networking events, we’ll celebrate 30 years of UPPO. If you haven’t yet registered, do so by Jan. 17 to take advantage of early-bird rates. I hope to see you there.

Over the past several months and continuing into 2025, a major UPPO initiative is refining our advocacy work. I am pleased to announce the formation of our new Operational Compliance Issues Task Force, which will explore the need for a standing committee focused on practical issues related to unclaimed property compliance and complementing our Government Relations and Advocacy Committee’s (GRAC’s) work.

We continue to enhance our advocacy efforts by relationship-building with the states. Indeed, having a relationship with state administrators built on mutual respect helps ensure our voice is heard when issues of concern arise. To that end, I’d like to report that recently, we engaged in productive conversations with Idaho Treasurer Julie Ellsworth regarding UPPO’s concerns related to recent changes in Idaho’s unclaimed property law. She was overwhelmingly receptive to our concerns, requested further dialogue and draft revisions, and has agreed to seek amendments to help resolve our member’s challenges with some of the confusing and problematic language in the state’s unclaimed property law.

These are just a few initiatives underway as we transition to a new calendar year. Thank you to our committee and task force members, who have been working hard on these and other issues, and thanks to you for your ongoing membership and engagement with UPPO. On behalf of your UPPO Board, I wish you a happy holiday season and a prosperous new year.

UPPO’s recent It’s in the Bag webinar defined unique retail properties, discussed key differences when determining whether to report, and examined special state requirements regarding gift cards, promotions and rebates. Because limited time prevented presenters from responding to some of the participant questions during the webinar, they kindly agreed to respond for publication on UPPO’s Unclaimed Property Focus blog. The webinar is available exclusively to members on demand.

I have a VISA gift card issued by Tango Cards. They state a seven-month expiration period. Can they keep the residual funds, or do they have to remit as unclaimed property? I have over $400 left on a card, and they tell me they don't have to give me my funds, even in the form of a “new” card.
This sounds like a promotional card that was issued without direct monetary consideration from the card recipient. These cards do not produce unclaimed property, and they are not “cash” that can be refunded.

Please clarify the difference between a stored-value card and a gift card. In RUUPA, most of the states draw a distinction.
Gift cards are a subset of stored-value cards. Please see Slide 9 of the webinar presentation (available with the webinar recording on UPPO's On-Demand Webinar page) for a more complete discussion of this issue.

Please discuss the difference between the card plastic expiring and the underlying value expiring. The underlying funds represented by most closed-loop gift cards do not expire.
However, because of technological changes and fraud concerns, the plastic that evidences those funds may not be accepted by updated point-of-sale systems or websites. In those situations, the federal CARD Act allows the gift card issuer to issue a new piece of plastic to evidence the funds.

When state law provides differing escheat rules for stored-value cards versus gift cards, what property type codes do holders use to report each?
Not all states have different reporting codes for stored value cards versus gift cards, but where the reporting rules differ, the code for gift cards is MS12 (“MS Twelve”), and the code for stored value cards is MSI2 (MS, the letter “I” and the number 2).

I recently discovered that a restaurant chain’s gift cards cannot be used when there is a small leftover amount, not even through a split transaction with another card. As far as you know, is this legal? Or could you provide commentary on this? It is stated on their website that their gift card program “follows Indiana gift law,” if this helps.
I think that the terms and conditions of the gift card would address this situation. I am guessing that the terms and conditions state that the gift card can be reloaded. If so, you can add value to the card up to the amount of the lowest-priced item on the menu and use the entire balance of the card to purchase that item. It’s a pain in the neck and not good practice, but there is nothing strictly illegal about it as long as the value can be added to the card and the terms and conditions address the issue.

Some states have called out “Financial Institution Loyalty Cards” as specifically exempt. How do these differ from other loyalty cards?
There are several distinctions between a standard loyalty card and a financial institution loyalty card (FILC). First, the FILC must be issued through a promotional program established by a financial organization, including savings and loan associations, banks and credit unions, whereas a standard loyalty card can be issued by any retailer or service provider. Also, while there are usually restrictions on loyalty cards requiring that they be issued without any direct monetary consideration, FILC programs can have carveouts for monetary consideration or annual or periodic fees. Finally, loyalty programs typically have restrictions that they may be used or redeemed only to obtain goods, services or discounts but cannot be redeemed for money, whereas FILCs can be redeemable for money or monetized by the financial organization issuing the FLIC.

It is a rewards card for 30 years of service, and I would love to have any help working through this situation and getting the funds back if possible.
See my response to the first question above. I do not think a card recipient can get “funds” back from the issuer. However, you could sell the card on an auction site if you do not want to use the card to buy goods and services.

I thought gift cards were single-load instruments while the stored-value cards were general-purpose reloadable instruments.
Many closed-loop gift cards are, in fact, reloadable. However, because of fraud concerns, issuers of closed-loop gift cards are starting to turn off the reloadability function.