Projo Biz Blog

SOUTH KINGSTOWN, R.I. _ The South Kingstown Chamber of Commerce announced today that it will honor all local gift certificates despite the collapse last week of the national company responsible for processing the payments.

"Even though it means that we end up paying twice, this is something we want to do to keep people shopping locally, support our businesses and make sure that people don't lose faith in their Chamber of Commerce," Lisa Roy, interim director of the organization said.

Roy made the statement after an emergency morning meeting of the chamber's board of directors. She estimated that the chamber purchased about $7,000 worth of the gift certificates -- redeemable at local businesses and restuarants -- between November and December of last year.

Last week, CertifiChecks, an Ohio-based company that handled gift certificates for corporations across the country, abruptly announced that it was liquidating.

The chamber's board of directors decided to honor the certificates to protect shoppers and businesses alike. Participating merchants are being asked toaccept the gift certificates, but instead of depositing them in the bank, redeem them at the South Kingstown Chamber of Commerce office, 230 Old Tower Hill Road, in Wakefield.

"We will pursue matters with CertifiCheck as a chamber," Roy said. "We'll deal with any legalities and the question of whether there's any way to attach our funds. "In the meantime we wanted to keep propelling shopping in our community."

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