There is no justification for additional regulation of retail gift cards, according to a leading shopping centre body.
The Shopping Centre Council of Australia (SCCA), which represents the nation's major shopping centre owners and managers, has lodged a submission in response to the Issues Paper on ‘Gift Cards in the Australian Market’, which was released by the Commonwealth Consumer Affairs Advisory Council (CCAAC).
The SCCA's executive director, Milton Cockburn, said the organisation disagrees with the paper, which says there is a need for additional regulation of gift cards used by retailers.
For retailers and traders gift cards tend to be an effective way of increasing sales and building brand loyalty.
The Issues Paper outlines some concerns about gift cards, including the application of expiry dates and other terms and conditions.
“We have argued that if the CCAAC believes there is a need for additional regulation, and the Issues Paper fails to make that case, this should be done by means of formal guidelines to gift card issuers, gift card providers and consumers after full consultation with all relevant parties,” Cockburn said.
He also said the SCCA believe the Australian Competition and Consumer Commission (ACCC) is the appropriate body to issue such guidelines.
The paper will also look at issues around outstanding gift card balances and consumer protection laws
In the Australian Merchant Payments Forum's (AMPF) submission to the CCAAC, the group said the Australian gift card market has different characteristics when compared to overseas markets, and therefore some of the conditions that have prompted a regulatory response in other countries do not exist here.
“The AMPF believes that there is no current evidence of consumer detriment in this market segment, that consumers are comfortable and confident in their use of gift cards and that they are experienced in comparing and using payment cards with a variety of terms and conditions,” the report said. "The existing generic consumer regulatory framework appears to provide the required level of protection that is needed and therefore it does not seem necessary to introduce specific additional gift card consumer protection measures at this time.”