PAYMENT CARD
Chapter II: The payment card
Any card issued by a credit institution or by an institution or a service mentioned in Article L. 518-1 and allowing its holder to withdraw or transfer funds constitutes a payment card.
Any card issued by an establishment, institution or service mentioned in the first paragraph and allowing its holder exclusively to withdraw funds constitutes a withdrawal card.
The order or commitment to pay given by means of a payment card is irrevocable.
Payment can only be stopped in the event of loss, theft or fraudulent use of the card or of the data related to its use, or of judicial reorganization or liquidation of the beneficiary.
The holder of a card mentioned in Article L. 132-1 bears the loss suffered, in the event of loss or theft, before the opposition provided for in Article L. 132-2, within the limit of a ceiling which cannot exceed 400 euros. However, if he has acted with negligence constituting gross negligence or if, after the loss or theft of the said card, he has not filed the opposition as soon as possible, taking into account his habits of use of the card, the ceiling provided for in the previous sentence is not applicable. The contract between the cardholder and the the issuer may, however, provide for the opposition period beyond which the card holder is deprived of the benefit of the ceiling provided for in this paragraph. This period may not be less than two clear days after the loss or theft of the card.
The ceiling referred to in the previous paragraph is increased to 275 euros on January 1, 2002 and to 150 euros as of January 1, 2003.
The responsibility of the holder of a card mentioned in article L. 132-1 is not engaged if the disputed payment has been made fraudulently, remotely, without physical use of his card.
Likewise, his liability is not incurred in the event of counterfeiting of his card within the meaning of article L. 163-4 and if, at the time of the contested transaction, he was in physical possession of his card.
In the cases provided for in the two preceding paragraphs, if the card holder disputes in writing having made a payment or a withdrawal, the disputed sums are credited back to his account by the card issuer or returned, free of charge, at most. late within one month of receipt of the dispute.
In the event of fraudulent use of a card mentioned in Article L. 132-1, the card issuer reimburses its holder for all of the bank charges it has incurred.
The legal period during which the holder of a payment or withdrawal card has the opportunity to file a complaint is set at seventy days from the date of the contested transaction. It can be contractually extended, without being able to exceed 120 days from the disputed transaction.
