How to store information?

How long does a store have my credit information?

• When i go to any store and i swipe my debit card how long does the store have my information? do they see my bank information or do they just see the money transaction going through.

• Answer:

  At minimum, the store will keep the information long enough to prove that you authorized sale, in case you ever dispute the charge. Under the FCBA, you have 60 days from statement date to dispute any charges that you did not authorize. So they will keep information pertaining to the sale for at minimum 90 days. Keeping in mind that the IRS can audit them as far back as 7 years over tax-related matters, some stores may keep their receipts for at least 7 years to make sure they can prove those sales to the IRS if ever audited. Or they may keep the information indefinitely. There really is no regulation that tells them when they must destroy/erase the information. So it is up to each store's discretion as to how long they keep information pertaining to their sales. The stores do not see your actual banking/account information (bank name, balances, your address, etc). They only see the card # that you used and its expiration date. Keep in mind that, by law, printed receipts can only show the last 4 digits of your card -- so if someone got ahold of a receipt, it would be useless. When they swipe the card through their computer, the software usually has security protocols in place so that once the transaction is finalized, only a manager or someone with high security clearance can see the actual card information in its database. The Gramm-Leach-Bliley Act requires anyone who handles your financial account information to maintain a written policy and procedural safeguards to prevent unauthorized access to your information. If you are concerned about the issue, you can ask the store what safeguards they have in place to protect your information.