We wish to thank Laura Parker, board chair of the Retail Gift Card Association for sending the following information about the RGCA's mission and recent initiatives.
"The Retail Gift Card Association, www.thergca.org/, the only nonprofit trade association representing the closed-loop gift card industry, released two public service announcements (PSAs) to help defend consumers against fraud involving gift cards. The PSAs support our association's mission to protect, promote and enhance the use of retail gift cards as forms of branded currency and stored value solutions that enable, enrich and encourage commerce.
"Our PSAs arm shoppers with tips on how to identify scams, what to do if approached by a fraudster, and how to report the crime. And we need your help amplifying this messaging by sharing our PSAs with your merchant clients and partners.
"With gift cards representing a multi-billion-dollar industry, it's important to all of us that consumers' gift card experiences are positive. While fraud only impacts a small fraction of the total dollar volume spent on gift cards, we at the RGCA are working to eradicate it and proactively stop criminals from taking advantage of honest consumers. The PSAs provide valuable educational resources that we hope will put an end to these criminal acts by building awareness among different industry stakeholder groups.
"We're providing free access to the PSAs so payments professionals like you can share with your merchant customers and help them educate shoppers on how to identify fraud and avoid falling victim. We encourage ISOs, merchant level salespeople, processors and other merchant services providers to share our 30-second (https://bit.ly/RGCAPSA30) and 60-second (bit.ly/RGCAPSA6) PSAs with retailers, on social media, on your websites and via email campaigns.
"The RGCA also launched www.GiftCardSafety.org, which provides other fraud-fighting resources including contact information for where people can report fraud, tips to safeguard gift cards and common scams to watch out for. Please help us fight fraud, protect shoppers and safeguard our industries via a strong, united front."
Do you support a worthwhile organization that intersects with the payments sphere? Tell us about it at greensheet@greensheet.com. 
The Green Sheet Inc. is now a proud affiliate of Bankcard Life, a premier community that provides industry-leading training and resources for payment professionals. Click here for more information.
Notice to readers: These are archived articles. Contact names or information may be out of date. We regret any inconvenience.
Prev Next
