New Jersey Administrative Code › Title 17 - TREASURY - GENERAL › Chapter 18 - UNCLAIMED PERSONAL PROPERTY › Subchapter 3 - DORMANCY FEES › Section 17:18-3.1 - Definitions

Current through Register Vol. 56, No. 14, July 15, 2024
The following words and terms, when used in this subchapter,
				  shall have the following meanings, unless the context clearly indicates
				  otherwise:
"Customer loyalty program" means a structured marketing
				  effort designed to reward, and, therefore, encourage loyal buying behavior that
				  is potentially beneficial to the program initiator, by encouraging the
				  continued patronage of customers. It is designed to lower the turnover among
				  users of a product or service by providing customers with incentives and other
				  benefits for remaining a customer. It may involve the gathering of data on
				  customer behavior in order to decipher trends, reward loyalty, and influence
				  shopping behavior, including, but not limited to, providing rewards cards and
				  pay-for-membership cards.
"Dormant or inactive" means the period of no activity for a
				  number of consecutive days since the last activity date noted in the system of
				  the holder, issuer or securities broker of property. Dormant status is based
				  upon lack of customer-initiated activity, deposits/withdrawals, passbook
				  updates and non-repetitive transfers. System generated activity (such as
				  interest postings, automatic interest transfers, service fees) does not affect
				  the dormant or inactive date calculations. Customer generated activity such as
				  a name or address change is considered contact and will cause an account to no
				  longer be considered dormant or inactive.
"Dormant or dormancy fees" mean any fees that are charged as
				  a result of property being classified as dormant or inactive.
"General purpose reloadable card" means a stored value card
				  issued by a bank or other similarly regulated financial institution or by a
				  licensed money transmitter that is:
1. Usable and honored upon presentation at multiple merchants
				  or service providers that are not under common ownership or control for goods
				  or services or at automated teller machines;
2. Issued in a requested prepaid amount, which amount may be,
				  at the option of the issuer, increased in value or reloaded, if requested by
				  the cardholder; and
3. Not marketed or labeled as a gift card.
The term "general purpose reloadable card" includes a
				  temporary non-reloadable card issued solely in connection with a reloadable
				  card.
"Holder" means an entity, wherever organized or domiciled,
				  that is the original obligor indebted to another on an obligation and that has
				  the ultimate responsibility of reporting abandoned stored value card
				  information and remitting the unredeemed balance to the Administrator of
				  unclaimed property.
"Issuer of a stored value card" is any person, retailer,
				  merchant, vendor, provider, institution, or business association with the
				  obligations of a holder to accept the stored value card as redeemable for,
				  solely or a combination of, merchandise, services, or cash, and to report and
				  deliver proceeds of the stored value card if abandoned.
"Last known address" means a description of the location of
				  the apparent owner, sufficient for the purpose of determining which state has
				  the right to escheat the abandoned property and the zip code of the apparent
				  owner's (creditor's) last known address is sufficient.
"Net card value" means the amount of value of a stored value
				  card subject to becoming "unclaimed property." "Net card value" is the original
				  issued value of the card, including additional amounts subsequently loaded onto
				  the card that have not been withdrawn, less any amounts used or withdrawn from
				  the card and any service charge, fee, or dormancy charge permitted by
				  law.
"Promotional program" means a program designed to influence,
				  inform, or persuade a potential buyer's purchasing decision. It is developed
				  with the intention to increase demand for merchandise or services and/or to
				  differentiate a product. It may include incentives such as discounts, free
				  items, or a contest with the intent of increasing the sales of a given
				  product.
"Purchaser" means a recipient of the stored value card at the
				  point of sale.
"Securities broker" means any person engaged in the business
				  of effecting or attempting to effect transactions in securities for the
				  accounts of others or for his own account including:
1. An agent;
2. An issuer;
3. A person who effects transactions in this State
				  exclusively in securities described in
				  49:3-50(a)1
				   and 2;
4. A bank, savings institution, or trust company; or
5. A person who effects transactions in this State
				  exclusively with or through:
i. The issuers of the securities involved in the
				  transactions;
ii. Other securities brokers;
iii. Banks, savings institutions, trust companies, insurance
				  companies, investment companies as defined in the "Investment Company Act of
				  1940,"
				  15 U.S.C. §
										80a-1 et seq., pension or profit-sharing
				  trusts, or other financial institutions or institutional buyers, whether acting
				  for themselves or as trustees; or
iv. Such other persons not otherwise within the intent of the
				  Uniform Securities Law,
				  49:3-49(c),
				  as the bureau chief of the Bureau of Securities in the Division of Consumer
				  Affairs of the Department of Law and Public Safety, as set forth in
				  49:3-66,
				  may by rule or order designate.
"Security" means any note; stock; treasury stock; bond;
				  debenture; evidence of indebtedness; certificate of interest or participation
				  in any profit-sharing agreement, including, but not limited to, certificates of
				  interest or participation in real or personal property; collateral-trust
				  certificate; preorganization certificate or subscription; transferable share;
				  investment contract; voting-trust certificate; certificate of deposit for a
				  security; certificate of interest in an oil, gas or mining title or lease; or,
				  in general, any interest or instrument commonly known as a "security," or any
				  certificate of interest or participation in, temporary or interim certificate
				  for, guarantee of, or warrant or right to subscribe to or purchase, any of the
				  foregoing.
"Seller" means the entity or person who sells or tenders to
				  the purchaser the stored value card at the point of sale or transaction.
"Stored value card" means a record that evidences a promise,
				  made for monetary or other consideration, for the face value of the card by the
				  holder, issuer, or seller of the record that the purchaser/owner of the record
				  will be provided, solely, or for a combination of, merchandise, services, or
				  cash in the value shown in the record, which is pre-funded and the value of
				  which is reduced upon each redemption. The term "stored value card" includes,
				  but is not limited to, the following items: paper gift certificates, records
				  that contain a microprocessor chip, magnetic stripe, or other means for the
				  storage of information, general purpose reloadable cards, gift cards,
				  electronic gift cards, rebate cards, credits for merchandise returned without a
				  receipt, stored value cards, or certificates, store cards, and similar records
				  or cards. A card is not to be considered a "stored value card" for the purposes
				  of this subchapter when it is used for the following purposes:
1. Wage pay cards. These are cards that are issued for wages
				  owing in the ordinary course of business. A related bank account is opened for
				  the employee when a stored value card is issued for the purpose of wage
				  payments. The bank holding the funds will have the primary obligation of
				  identifying and reporting any funds that are deemed abandoned. The deposit is
				  presumed abandoned three years from the last transaction in accordance with
				  N.J.S.A.
				  46:30B-18; or
2. Cards issued in payment of other liabilities that occur in
				  the ordinary course of business and that are redeemable for cash. Cards issued
				  for credit balances, customer overpayments, security deposits, refunds, credit
				  memoranda, unused tickets, or in payment of other liabilities that occur in the
				  ordinary course of business that are redeemable for cash are deemed credits and
				  have three-year abandonment periods pursuant to
				  N.J.S.A.
				  46:30B-42. Issuers of stored value cards
				  issued for the above-mentioned purposes are required to obtain and maintain the
				  name and address of the recipients of these cards.
"Uniform Unclaimed Property Act" or "Act" means the act found
				  at
				  N.J.S.A.
				  46:30B-1et seq.