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Coupons and Gift
Certificates
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Are all coupons and gift certificates required to comply with the new
specifications?
When do the new specifications for coupons and gift certificates come into
effect?
Will coupons or gift certificates already in circulation still be accepted in
the clearing system after September 2, 2008?
Which elements will be mandatory for coupons and gift certificates according to
the new specifications?
What are conditional statements, and what provisions apply to their use on
coupons and gift certificates?
Are all coupons and gift certificates required to comply with the new
specifications?
The new specifications apply to coupons and gift certificates that are
deposited at financial institutions by the businesses that accept them, and then
processed through the clearing system. These can be identified by the line of
special numeric characters in magnetic ink (MICR) printed across the bottom,
similar to what appears on cheques. The new specifications do not apply
to coupons and gift certificates that merchants accept and process internally
but do not submit to a financial institution for processing through the clearing
system.
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When do the new specifications for coupons and gift certificates come into
effect?
Businesses that issue coupons and gift certificates that are processed
through the clearing system are strongly encouraged to adopt the new
specifications the next time they are printing these items. A grace period for
“old format” items is in effect until September 2, 2008. Any MICR-encoded
coupons and gift certificates printed after that date must reflect the new
requirements.
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Will coupons or gift certificates already in circulation still be accepted in
the clearing system after September 2, 2008?
The CPA and its member FIs recognize that some coupons and gift certificates
issued before September 2, 2008 may remain in circulation after the end of the
grace period. FIs will continue to process these as they are received, provided
that good images can be captured from them.
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Which elements will be mandatory for coupons and gift certificates according to
the new specifications?
The following elements will be mandatory on the front of all gift
certificates and coupons:
- Amount in Figures field;
- Name of the Payor (i.e. the business that issues the coupon or gift
certificate);
- Name of CPA Member financial institution;
- Phrase to Identify the Type of Item (“Gift Certificate” or “Store
Coupon”);
- MICR encoding in accordance with Section 4 of Standard 006 and the MICR
specification sheet of the issuer’s financial institution.
The following elements will be mandatory on the back of gift
certificates and store coupons:
- Teller Stamp Box;
- Endorsement Line;
- Verification Phrase (e.g BACK/VERSO).
For complete details, consult Standard 006, Part A.
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What are conditional statements, and what provisions apply to their use on
coupons and gift certificates?
Conditional statements are statements that are intended to place some
restriction on redeeming an item. An example of such a statement would be “Not
valid after (date).”
Conditional statements are permitted on coupons and gift certificates.
However, financial institutions will not be responsible for verifying that
any conditions are met. Items may not be returned through the clearing
system because a condition is not met. Any dispute would have to be
addressed between the issuer of the coupon or gift certificate and the party
that accepted it.
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