Chockstone's Dormancy Reports Ease Merchant Escheatment Worries

Dormancy reporting is critical for merchants, who use gift cards to attract and retain customers, in order to protect the merchant from mishandling funds under abandoned and unclaimed property (AUP) laws. Gift card popularity is soaring. Industry statistics show US gift card sales hit $76B in 2006, with holiday sales alone of $24.8B. Many states now look to unclaimed property as a solution to budget shortfalls.

Corporate credit departments can find their A/R portfolios targets of unclaimed property audits by states. Unused credit memos or past-due escheatable credits could cause understatement of liabilities "material enough to trigger Sarbanes-Oxley Act (SOX) consequences," according to a report from Credit Today.

"Chockstone's customers have national footprints and are facing increased state scrutiny for their gift card transaction records," said Holly Files, Chockstone's COO. "Every state has different policies, and that fact alone demands robust reporting tools to give our clients peace of mind. With Chockstone's accessible, online dormancy reports, our clients are able to efficiently and accurately manage their escheatment audit requirements."

Chockstone's web-based dormancy reports provide merchants with detailed data about each cards' history. Chockstone's dormancy reports:

• Provide detailed reporting for each of the 50 states, categorizing gift card balances by:
• State where purchased
• State where first registered
• State where last used
• Capture complete transactional activity Ð including how long each card has been dormant
• Track online purchases and transaction history from web stores
• Report quarterly and yearly activities

Chockstone's dormancy reports, which are now available to all clients, are an enhancement to Chockstone's gift and loyalty marketing platform. Chockstone users are now able to simply log in to their online account, select "Dormancy" in the Business Dashboard, and the dormancy report is immediately generated with real-time data, easily sorted by state.