A friend told me that in the past few weeks he has encountered two restaurants in town where he paid with a debit card and had the entire account number and expiration date printed on the receipt. His attorney provided him with a copy of TCA 47-18-126 which he presented to the cashier at the second establishment. The man was astonished and called his boss.

Oddly enough, the 'customer copy' met the requirement of the law. The cashier offered to keep that copy and give my friend the 'business copy.'

Title 47. Commercial Instruments and Transactions
Chapter 18. Consumer Protection
Part 1. Consumer Protection Act of 1977

§ 47-18-126. Printing of card number or expiration date on electronically printed receipt

(a) Except as otherwise provided in subsection (b), no person that accepts credit cards or debit cards for the transaction of business shall print or cause to be printed more than five (5) digits of the card number or the expiration date upon either the receipt retained by the merchant or the receipt provided to the cardholder at the point of the sale or transaction.

(b) This section shall apply only to receipts that are electronically printed, and shall not apply to transactions in which the sole means of recording a credit card or debit card account number is by handwriting or by an imprint or copy of the card.

(c) A violation of this section is an unfair and deceptive trade practice and punished as provided in this part.

(d)(1) Effective May 13, 2005, the provisions of this section shall apply to any cash register or other machine or device that electronically prints receipts for credit card or debit card transactions that was first put into use on or after January 1, 2005.

(2) Effective January 1, 2007, the provisions of this section shall apply to any cash register or other machine or device that electronically prints receipts for credit card or debit card transactions that was in use prior to January 1, 2005.