Consumers can no longer spend their gift cards at several Irish shopping centres after the company that manages the funds and provides the service had its license revoked.
Liffey Valley Shopping Centre and The Square Tallaght in Dublin and Mahon Point Shopping Centre in Cork have all confirmed they are currently not accepting their own-branded gift cards.
It comes after UAB PAYRNET, the payments firm responsible for issuing gift cards in several outlets in Ireland and across the EU, had their licence revoked by the Bank of Lithuania last week for serious violations.
The Central Bank of Ireland said it has been made aware of this development and that it is engaging with the Bank of Lithuania on "any potential impact" on Irish consumers.
Liffey Valley Shopping Centre has acknowledged that the situation will be both concerning and inconvenient to customers.
In a statement read out on RTÉ's Liveline, it said: "Due to circumstances beyond our control, we are currently unable to sell or accept gift cards."
Mahon Point Shopping Centre issued a similar statement on its website and could not clarify how and when it would be resolved.
It said: "At this stage, the full implications and the timeline for a resolution are not completely clear. However, we are working closely with the gift card provider and exploring every possible avenue to rectify the situation as swiftly as possible."
Speaking to RTÉ News, Dermot Jewell, Chief Executive of the Consumers Association, explained that in any "dilemma" like this, the advice they give to consumers is "to go to the person who you gave the money to".
He said the shopping centres "hold a liability to some degree" as he referred to terms and conditions that come with paying for something in advance.
He also said there has to be some contribution made on "clarity" by those running the systems and providing the gift card service here.
There are also calls being made by politicians for shopping centres to honour the gift cards.
Fine Gael TD Emer Higgins said thousands of consumers have been left unable to spend their existing gift cards due to the license for the associated payments fund being revoked.
Ms Higgins said: "Thousands of customers will be inconvenienced by this recent announcement that leaves them unable to spend their gift cards for various retailers around the country."
She said while it is a difficult situation for shopping centres, consumers need to be reassured that their gift cards will be honoured.
"If not, I would fear that it could cause a lot of reputational damage to impacted retailers," added Ms Higgins.
She said the Competition and Consumer Protection Commission (CCPC) offer a range of advice on the fair and legal issuing and honouring of gift cards and she urged the CCPC to engage with impacted retailers to bring about a resolution for customers.
According to the Bank of Lithuania, UAB PAYRNET is aware of the amount of its current liabilities to clients and its client funds are safeguarded in separate dedicated accounts.
It said it must inform clients about the applicable settlement procedure with clients no later than five working days.
Regulators in Lithuania also stated that it will initiate bankruptcy proceedings against the institution this week.
