Gift Card Agreement & User Guide

Learn more about your gift card and how easy it is to purchase the perfect gift.

This Gift Card Agreement and User Guide (this "Agreement") is the terms and conditions that govern our issuance and your use of the enclosed Visa® Gift Card ("Card"). By purchasing, signing, or using the Card, or authorizing another person to use the Card, you agree to the terms and conditions in this Agreement. Please read this Agreement carefully and keep it for your records. In this Agreement, "you" and "your" mean: (a) the person to whom we issue the Card; (b) the person receiving the Card; and (c) the person using the Card. The terms "we," "us," and "our," mean East West Bank, and its successors, agents, and assigns.

NOTE: A copy of this Agreement should be provided to the "Card Purchaser/East West Bank Customer" upon Gift Card purchase and to the "Cardholder/Gift Recipient" as an accompaniment to the Gift Card.

Your gift card can be used to make purchases anywhere Visa debit cards are welcome. Your Card is a prepaid, non-reloadable debit card. You have received the Card with a U.S. Dollar amount fixed at the time of purchase. Unless we otherwise agree, a Card may be purchased with a minimum value of $25.00 and a maximum value of $1,000.00. You acknowledge and agree that the amount available on the Card is limited to the prepaid U.S. Dollar value fixed at the time of purchase. The Card is not a credit card or an automated teller machine card. The prepaid value is not an account and is not insured by the Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation or any other federal or state agency. You have no separate, distinct deposit account established for you with us that is associated with the Card. Your Card's prepaid value cannot be increased after the Card is issued or replaced after the value is used. The prepaid value will decrease as you use the Card, or you incur, or we assess, a fee or charge. We do not pay interest on the balance on your Card. The Card is our property and we reserve the right to cancel, repossess, or revoke its use at any time without prior notice, subject to applicable law. If you permit someone else to use your Card, we will treat this use as if you have authorized that person to use your Card and you will be responsible for any transactions initiated by such person with your Card, with or without your knowledge. Purchases of Cards are final, and resale of Cards is strictly prohibited.

Before using your Card, you must sign your signature on the back where indicated. Once the Card is signed, it cannot be transferred to anyone else. Write down the Card number, Card expiration date, and the Customer Service number 800-627-2140 on the card carrier (accompanying your Card) or on a separate piece of paper. In the event the Card is lost, stolen, or destroyed, this information may be required.

Default Personal Identification Number (PIN) - The default PIN for your card is the last 4 digits of the card number. Your Card and PIN are activated in the Branch as they are issued to you, and the value of the Card will be available for immediate use.

If you have purchased the Card as a gift, inform your recipient of the default Card PIN and provide recipient with all of the materials you received with the Card at the time of purchase. The materials should include this Agreement, which will help your recipient understand how to best use the Card. The recipient should also record the Card number, Card expiration date, and the Customer Service number 800-627-2140 on a separate piece of paper.

You may use your Card as often as you like to obtain goods and services up to the value of the Card. Each time you use your Card, we will deduct the amount of the transaction from the remaining value associated with the Card. The Card is not reloadable and cannot be used after its value reaches $0.00 or after the Card expiration date (shown on the front of the Card), whichever occurs first . To pay for purchases at merchants that accept Visa® debit cards, you should use the Card as you would a credit card, by selecting the "credit" payment option and signing the sales receipt. You can also use the Card as you would a debit card, by selecting the "debit" payment option and entering your PIN. This PIN cannot be used to give cash access at ATMs or cash back at Merchants. You should not disclose your PIN to anyone. If the security or confidentiality of your PIN is compromised, you should notify us immediately by calling Customer Service at 800-627-2140. A PIN may not be needed in order to purchase goods or services at merchant locations that accept Visa® debit cards.

You are responsible for keeping track of the available balance on your Card. Because transactions posting to the Card are not managed by individual merchants, merchants generally will not be able to determine the available balance on your Card, so you need to know the exact balance BEFORE making a purchase. To obtain your available balance and a record of daily updated Card transactions, visit us online at www.eastwestbank.com or call 800-627-2140 (Note: There is no charge for online or telephone inquiries). Customer Service is available 24 hours per day, 7 days per week. We strongly urge you to regularly review your Card's online transaction history. Your failure to review this information could affect your rights with regard to unauthorized transactions or transaction errors. If you use your Card for more than its available value, you agree to pay us the difference upon demand. If you have a problem with a purchase that you make with the Card, or if you have a dispute with a merchant, you must deal directly with the merchant. If you are entitled to a refund for any reason relating to a Card transaction, you agree to accept the refund under the policy of that merchant. We are not responsible if a merchant does not honor your Card or does not return your Card to you. You may not place a “stop payment” on any Card transaction.

• To obtain cash, except as described in this Agreement under the "Gift Card Expiration, Early Closure, Revocation" section
• For gambling or any unlawful activity
• To make regular, preauthorized payments to third parties

If you wish to use your Card to purchase an item for more than the available balance on the Card, subject to the merchant's policy, you may be able to use your Card toward a portion of the purchase price and then use another form of payment to pay the balance of the purchase price. This is called a "split tender" transaction because you would be "splitting" the purchase price between your Card and another form of payment. Before you request a "split tender" transaction, please confirm the available balance on your Card. Then, you MUST ask the merchant if two forms of payment will be accepted for the purchase you wish to make. If the merchant agrees, first request that the merchant debit or charge a specific dollar amount on the other form of payment (i.e., the purchase price less the available balance on your Card), and then use your Card to pay the remaining balance. Some retailers, particularly department stores, will only allow a "split tender" transaction if the second form of payment is cash or check. Internet and most mail order merchants do not permit "split tender" transactions. We do not guarantee that the merchant will accept two forms of payment, such as two gift cards.

We may refuse to honor transactions you make if your Card does not have a sufficient available balance. Certain types of merchants (e.g., gas stations, restaurants, car rental agencies) obtain an authorization that may exceed the actual amount of your purchase. If the amount of their authorization request exceeds the amount remaining on your Card, we may not honor your transaction even though the available balance on your Card would cover the actual amount of purchase. We will hold any excess authorization amount obtained by the merchant until the transaction is completed. Once the merchant sends us the final amount of your actual purchase, we will remove the "hold" on your available balance for any additional amount exceeding this final amount. This may take three (3) to seven (7) days, and during this period, you will not be able to use any balance subject to this "hold."

To avoid a decline of, or a hold on, the available balance on your Card, we recommend that you prepay for gasoline purchases inside the station (instead of swiping your Card at the pump). For other merchants that may obtain an authorization in excess of the purchase (such as restaurants, hotels, etc.) you may ask the merchant to authorize a specific dollar amount. We do not guarantee that the merchant will fulfill this request.

Internet, mail, and phone order purchases may require a reference to the correct name and home address of the Card holder on file. However, the information we retain on file may not match that of the Card holder (for example, if the Card was given as a gift); therefore, we do not guarantee that this information will be available on file. Purchases initiated through these types of merchants may be declined.

Tell us AT ONCE if you believe your Card has been lost or stolen, or if you believe that an electronic fund transfer has been made without your permission using information from your Card. Telephoning is the best way of keeping your possible losses down. Subject to the zero-liability policy set forth below, you could lose all the money on your Card. If you tell us within two (2) business days after you learn of the loss or theft of your Card, you can lose no more than $50 if someone used your Card without your permission. If you do NOT tell us within two (2) business days after you learn of the loss or theft of your Card, and we can prove we could have stopped someone from using your Card without your permission if you had told us, you could lose as much as $500.00. In addition, if your transaction history shows transfers that you did not make including those made by Card or other means tell us at once. If you do not tell us within 60 days after the transaction history was made available to you, you may not get back any money you lost after the 60 days if we can prove that we could have stopped someone from taking the money if you had told us in time. If a good reason (such as a long trip or a hospital stay) kept you from telling us, we will extend the time periods. A record of updated daily Card transactions may be viewed online by visiting us at www.eastwestbank.com. If you do not have online access or if you cannot obtain transaction history online, recent transactions may be obtained by calling Customer Service 800-627-2140 (Note: There is no charge for online or telephone inquiries). Your failure to review transaction history could affect your rights.

If you believe your Card has been lost or stolen, call us immediately at Customer Service 800-627-2140. You can also write to: East West Bank, P.O. Box 927, Alhambra, CA 91802-0927. You should also call the number or write to the address listed above if you believe a transfer has been made using the information from your Card without your permission.

When you call us, you will be asked to provide the Card number and other identifying details. We cannot provide a replacement Card if you do not have your Card number available. If our records show that there is still an available balance remaining on the Card, we will cancel the Card and may send you a replacement Card. The replacement Card will be in the amount of available balance on your lost or stolen Card at the time you notified us. Subject to applicable law, we will deduct a Card Replacement fee from your available balance. PLEASE SAFEGUARD YOUR CARD AND TELL US IMMEDIATELY IF THE CARD IS LOST OR STOLEN.

For purposes of this Agreement, our business days are Monday through Friday. Weekends and Federal holidays are not included.

In case of errors or questions about your Card transactions or electronic transfers, telephone us IMMEDIATELY at the Customer Service Number 800-627-2140 or write us at: East West Bank, P.O. Box 927, Alhambra, CA 91802-0927 as soon as you can, if you think your transaction history or receipt is wrong or if you need more information about a transfer listed on the transaction history or receipt. We must hear from you no later than 60 days after we made available to you the transaction history on which the problem or error appeared.

• Tell us your name and Card number.
• Describe the error or the transfer you are unsure about, and explain as clearly as you can why you believe it is an error or why you need more information.
• Tell us the dollar amount of the suspected error.

If you tell us orally, we may require that you send us your complaint or question in writing within 10 business days. We will determine whether an error occurred within 10 business days after we hear from you and will correct any error promptly. If we need more time, however, we may take up to 45 days to investigate your complaint or question. If we decide to do this, we will credit your Card or issue a replacement Card within ten (10) business days for the amount you think is in error, so that you will have the use of the money during the time it takes us to complete our investigation. If we ask you to put your complaint or question in writing and we do not receive it within 10 business days, we may not credit your Card. For errors involving new Cards, point-of-sale, or foreign-initiated transactions, we may take up to 90 days to investigate your complaint or question. For new Cards, we may take up to 20 business days to credit your Card for the amount you think is in error. We will tell you the results within three business days after completing our investigation. If we decide that there was no error, we will send you a written explanation. You may ask for copies of the documents that we used in our investigation.

Notices within 60 days of the posting of the unauthorized transaction on the online transaction history. You have zero liability for an unauthorized transaction made with your Card or Card number if you notify us of the unauthorized transaction within 60 days of the posting of such transaction on the online transaction history. The 60-day period commences to run even if you do not access your transaction history online.

Notices after 60 days of the posting of the unauthorized transaction on the online transaction history. If you do not notify us within this 60-day period, you must prove to our satisfaction that the transaction was unauthorized. Use of your Card is "authorized" if it is used by you or anyone to whom you have given actual, implied, or apparent authority. You may be required to provide documentation to support your claim, including an affidavit of unauthorized use and a police report. Additionally, in evaluating your claim, we consider whether any negligence on your part contributed to the transaction in question. Some of the factors we consider in connection with this evaluation include:

• Timely reporting of lost Card - whether you reported any loss or theft of your Card to us within 48 hours of discovery of the loss or theft.
• Prompt review of online transaction history - whether you promptly reviewed the online transaction history. If you do not have Internet access, you may also call us at 800-627-2140 for the Card's transaction history.
• Prompt report of unauthorized transaction - whether, following your discovery of an unauthorized use of your Card on your transaction history, you reported the unauthorized transaction to us within 48 hours of the discovery.
• Safeguarding of Card - whether you exercised reasonable care in safeguarding your Card and Card number from loss or theft.
• Multiple prior incidents - whether you reported multiple incidents of unauthorized use to us within the 12-month period immediately preceding your claim, and the facts and circumstances surrounding those incidents.

The Card is valid through the expiration date shown on the front of the Card or until the available balance on the Card reaches zero, whichever occurs first (except where prohibited or modified by applicable law). When the Card expires, it will be cancelled and any unused balance will be handled according to the applicable unclaimed property law.

You may close your Card no later than 30 days after the expiration date and receive the remaining balance by contacting East West Bank Customer Service at 888-895-5650. You must provide us a valid Card number when requesting to close a Card. We may revoke the Card at any time without cause or notice. You must surrender a revoked Card and may not use it to make purchases. If we honor your request to close the Card or if we revoke your Card, the remaining balance (less any applicable fees) will be sent to you by check. At our discretion, the check may be made payable to and mailed to the name and address shown on our Card records or to the name and address provided by the person initiating the closure request. As we have no way of verifying if the Card has been given as a gift, we are under no obligation to verify if the person initiating the closure request is authorized to do so.

We encourage you to use your Card immediately. The Bank assesses no fees when using the Card to purchase goods and services within the U.S. You have unlimited free access to balance and transaction information online at www.eastwestbank.com (Note: There is no charge for online or telephone inquiries). The following fees may apply except where prohibited or modified by applicable law:

• Card Purchase Fee: We may charge a fee of $2.00 when you purchase your Card.
• Inactivity Fee: A monthly fee of $1.50 will be charged to your Card after 12 months of no activity until the card expires. This fee will not be charged once the balance on the Card reaches $0.00.
• Lost/Stolen Card Replacement Fee: A $15.00 replacement fee may be charged to your Card if the Card is lost or stolen.
• Customer Service Calls: There is no charge for calls made to customer service.
• (Note: In case of multiple fees incurred in a given calendar month, the Bank will impose only one type of fee for that calendar month.)

If we do not complete a transaction arising from the use of your Card on time or in the correct amount according to our agreement with you, if any, we will be liable to you for losses or damages. However, there are some exceptions. We will not be liable, for instance:

• If through no fault of ours, you do not have enough available balance on your Card to cover a transaction
• If the system was not working properly
• If circumstances beyond our control (such as flood or fire) prevent the transaction, despite reasonable precautions that we have taken

We are not liable to you in any case for special, punitive, or consequential damages or for any incidental expenses incurred by you, including, without limitation, attorneys' fees.

At our discretion, we may change the terms of, or add a new term to, this Agreement or change any feature of, or add a new feature to, the Card. We will give you notice of such change by posting a notice on our website, www.eastwestbank.com, or as otherwise permitted by law.

Generally, absent your consent, we will not disclose information about your Card or its transactions, but may do so under the following circumstances: (i) to comply with a statute, regulation, or rule; (ii) in connection with examinations by state and federal banking authorities; (iii) to comply with any legal process, including, without limitation, a subpoena, search warrant, or other order of a government agency or court; (iv) when we determine that disclosure is necessary or appropriate in order to complete a transaction; (v) to verify the existence and condition of your Card for a third party, such as a merchant or credit bureau; (vi) to provide information to your legal representative or successor; (vii) to report the involuntary cancellation and revocation of your Card; (viii) when we conclude that disclosure is necessary to protect you, your Card, or our interests; (ix) to our agents, independent contractors, and other representatives in connection with the servicing or processing of your Card or its transactions, or similar purposes; (x) to our affiliated banks and companies; or (xi) if you give your permission.

To the extent federal law is not applicable, the laws of the state of California or Texas, depending on where the Card is issued, shall govern this Agreement without regard to that state's conflict of laws principles. We may waive any of the provisions or conditions of this Agreement, but any such waiver shall be effective only on that occasion and shall not be construed as a continuing waiver of the waived provision or condition on any other occasion.

Any controversy or claim between you and us, including, but not limited to, those arising out of or relating to the Card, this Agreement, or any related agreement or any claim based on or arising from an alleged tort, shall at the request of either party be determined by arbitration. The arbitration shall be governed by the Federal Arbitration Act (Title 9, U.S. Code), notwithstanding any choice of law provision in this Agreement, and under the authority, and the applicable consumer rules and procedures of, the American Arbitration Association then in effect. Arbitrator(s) must be licensed attorneys with expertise in the substantive laws applicable to the subject matter of the dispute. The arbitration shall take place in the state in which you live. Neither you nor we shall be entitled to join or consolidate disputes by or against others in any arbitration, or to include in any arbitration any dispute as a representative or member of a class, or to act in any arbitration in the interest of the general public or in a private attorney general capacity.