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Article: Banks Trump Retailers in Gift Cards.
- Article from:
- American Banker
- Article date:
- May 7, 2004
- Author:
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By all measures 2003 was a breakout year for gift cards. The number of Americans who bought them doubled, to 97 million, and what they paid for them rose by half, to $43 billion.
Though retailer gift cards paved the way, banks have followed them into this booming market. All of the larger bank card issuers are looking for ways to offer competing products.
Last year Charter One sold a half million MasterCard gift cards, 16 times as many as in 2002 and triple its expectations. Corporations bought 50,000 of its cards, or one in six.
But a storm has been brewing over gift card fees and expiration dates. As the 2003 holiday season approached, Sen. ...