What happens when
not if, many gas stations can't be getting cheap gasoline from refinery as costs or overseas charging more cause futures markets have doubled or tripled and cardholders bought these cards a buck or more from current price and very few stations are honoring these cards any more? The small station owners are not going to go into debt and lose their stations. It is going to end up being like chips at a casino and they not honoring them any more for past two years.
One of the huge reasons gasoline costs way it does is state taxes, PA highest at 50.4 to lowest AK 12.25cnts per gallon and federal taxes of 18.40 cents per gallon. And you can expect these taxes going to increase as states going bankrupt.
http://taxfoundation.org/sites/taxfoundation.org/files/docs/GasTaxMap-01_0.png
The other flip of the coin, when crude oil tops and instead of fast drop, could be 3-4 years decline, consumer will be losing as they could have bought way too high and take years/decades before price that high again.
As far as the company itself, every dollar collects interest and the 3%, but at some point all those who bought cards will ask for redemption, so better have slick lawyers. This could be profitable business for few years till it is not good, then the states can start suing you if you don't allow redemption.
Plus I don't know regulations of dealing with buying commodities like gasoline as in a way the consumer becomes a trader and company can be considered an exchange? It is not like buying $50 Gift card at Starbucks, I am not locked into a price of cup of coffee.
as far as gas stations, they have no say,, these cards run like credit gas station gets their asking price,,, we have nothing to do with the gas station at all and we need nothing from them,,, let me clarify this one for u with an overly simplified example,,, customer buys 1 gallon at 2 dollars,,, we hedge it on his behalf,,, price goes up to 3,,, customer redeems,,, we lose a dollar from the customer redeeming but make the dollar (or more) from hedging,, of course assuming perfect hedge,, u do though touch upon a sensitive situation though that might arise,,, and that is if there was ever another oil shock in which crude itself becomes scarce and unavailable,, in which case customers money is tied up with us and cant redeem it, not cuz of us but cuz of forces beyond us,,,, this has to be answer,,, but this is for the very faaaaaaaar future and becomes a concern when this company becomes TOO BIG TO FAIL,, but COULD also be solved (not for sure) by refunding customers their money,, again a remote situation
THE TAX ISSUE WITHIN STATES and federal rate is also a very BIG issue but also remote,, in the last 18 years or so i believe taxes on gasoline has only been raised twice... the tax issue has to be addressed somehow cuz gas prices could end up going higher cuz of taxation rather than an increase in crude,,,
we would never disallow redemption,, customers can redeem their gas anytime as long as there is still gas in the world,,,
regulation,,, THIS IS THE MOST important step and hurdle to start compared with the others which wont arise till later,,, but its also not impossible the regulations here is very involved,, becauyse in a way we are becoming a bank,,, we are becoming custodials of the money of the customers whom buy today,, redeem later,,,, and the resposbility to deliver the product at the same price lies within the company (us) thus there is a huge risk and consumer safety issue here but as again with any other business to business, it can be regulated,,, audited,, stress tested as well