Source: Radio New Zealand
Gift cards commonly expire after 12 months, leaving shoppers out of pocket. Andrey Popov / 123RF
Retailers want changes to new gift card expiry rules, saying certain aspects will cause compliance headaches and put debt pressure on businesses.
From Monday, all gift cards sold or given out with a purchase will need to have a minimum expiry date of three years.
Chief executive Retail New Zealand, Carolyn Young, says small businesses will have to have much higher liabilities on their balance sheets, for longer.
“Currently, businesses that run those sorts of promotions generally have a 60-day to 90-day expiry on those cards, so it’s quite a shift.”
Young said on the whole retailers supported the legislation, but they would like changes to make the rules more streamlined.
“Currently, businesses that run those sorts of promotions generally have a 60-day to 90-day expiry on those cards, so it’s quite a shift. “
The new rules aim to make things fairer for consumers and bring New Zealand closer to Australia’s laws.
Retail New Zealand chief executive Carolyn Young. Supplied
Commerce Commission principal compliance advisor Grant McIntosh told Morning Report on Monday it was a “big step forward for consumers”.
“It’s a really broad definition under the new rules and it includes a lot of different gift cards – from those really typical examples that you might get in clothing stores or electronics outlets, to things like prepaid cards that you can use in multiple different stores.”
Prepaid top-up cards for telecommunication services, public transport, electricity, gas, or water services have been excluded. Any other prepaid top-up cards have to adhere to the new minimum expiry. Loyalty points are not affected, and gift cards given out free would be exempt.
“These are all exemptions that were put into the legislation. This was a member’s bill that went through the process around 18 months ago,” McIntosh explained. “The rationale… was all discussed at the time. It wasn’t a decision that [the Commerce Commission] made individually.”
The bill passed its third reading with all parties but ACT voting in favour.
The commission has for years put out regular reminders, particularly around big shopping events like Christmas, that gift cards often had expiry dates sooner than their owners might realise.
Old gift cards sold before 16 March, 2026, will still expire on their original dates. But any sold from then onwards – regardless of what date is written on them – will have to abide by the new rules.
“The really good news for consumers is that even if the gift card is purchased today onwards and doesn’t have that three-year expiry date stated on it like it should, the law is very clear that they are entitled to that three-year period. So first and foremost, they can still use that gift card.”
Anyone with concerns was able to contact the commission, he said.
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– Published by EveningReport.nz and AsiaPacificReport.nz, see: MIL OSI in partnership with Radio New Zealand
