[originaltext]Suppose someone invented a gift card so versatile that it could b

Suppose someone invented a gift card so versatile that it could be used almost anywhere to buy almost anything. This gift card would be good forever and would be accepted in many foreign countries. You could bend it in half—or even leave it in the pocket of your trunks when you went for a swim and it would still work fine. Wait a minute. Somebody already invented that go-anywhere gift card. It’s called cash. Cash has huge advantages over gift cards. There’s been a big trouble about gift card fees, so Congress eventually stepped in to limit them. And a sizable chunk of gift card value—estimates range between 5% and 10%—never gets fully used. These aren’t issues that come with cash. So why have gift cards grown in popularity when we already have something better sitting in our wallets? The answer is a combination of consumer psychology and opportunistic retailers and card issuers. Consumers see giving cash as silly, and retailers have taken advantage of that to push gift cards. Most store cards don’t have fees anymore. They have a different problem. You’re committed to use the card at a designated store. And a new National Retail Federation survey finds that shoppers expect to spend a bit less on holiday gift cards this year.
13. What will happen if the multifunction gift card falls into water?
14. What’s the reason for Congress interfering in the gift card issue?
15. Why are the gift cards so popular among consumers?