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Washington statute

RCW 9A.56.290 — Credit, payment cards—Unlawful factoring of transactions

Current through 2026 Regular Session

Part of Chapter 9A.56: Theft And Robbery, Revised Code of Washington.

Criminal charges under this statute

Full text of RCW 9A.56.290

Statutory text current through the 2026 Regular Session. This publication reproduces the official text of the Revised Code of Washington from the Code Reviser's published files; it is not the official statutes of the State of Washington.

RCW 9A.56.290Primary source, current through the 2026 Regular Session
(1) A person commits the crime of unlawful factoring of a credit card or payment card transaction if the person: (a) Uses a scanning device to access, read, obtain, memorize, or store, temporarily or permanently, information encoded on a payment card without the permission of the authorized user of the payment card or with the intent to defraud the authorized user, another person, or a financial institution; (b) Uses a reencoder to place information encoded on a payment card onto a different card without the permission of the authorized issuer of the card from which the information is being reencoded or with the intent to defraud the authorized user, another person, or a financial institution; (c) Presents to or deposits with, or causes another to present to or deposit with, a financial institution for payment a credit card or payment card transaction record that is not the result of a credit card or payment card transaction between the cardholder and the person; (d) Employs, solicits, or otherwise causes a merchant or an employee, representative, or agent of a merchant to present to or deposit with a financial institution for payment a credit card or payment card transaction record that is not the result of a credit card or payment card transaction between the cardholder and the merchant; or (e) Employs, solicits, or otherwise causes another to become a merchant for purposes of engaging in conduct made unlawful by this section. (2) Normal transactions conducted by or through airline reporting corporation-appointed travel agents or cruise-only travel agents recognized by passenger cruise lines are not considered factoring for the purposes of this section. (3) In a proceeding under this section that is related to an identity theft under RCW 9.35.020, the crime will be considered to have been committed in any locality where the person whose means of identification or financial information was appropriated resides, or in which any part of the offense took place, regardless of whether the defendant was ever actually in that locality. (4)(a) Unlawful factoring of a credit card or payment card transaction is a class C felony. (b) A second or subsequent violation of subsection (1) of this section is a class B felony.

Official sources

Legal terms used in this section

Questions this section answers

Is credit, payment cards a felony or a misdemeanor in Washington?

It depends on the circumstances: credit, payment cards ranges from a Class C Felony to a Class B Felony in Washington under RCW 9A.56.290.

Unlawful factoring of a credit card or payment card transaction (first offense): Class C Felony (RCW 9A.56.290(4)(a)) · Unlawful factoring of a credit card or payment card transaction (repeat offense): Class B Felony (RCW 9A.56.290(4)(b))

Which Washington statute covers credit, payment cards?

Credit, payment cards is governed by RCW 9A.56.290 (Credit, payment cards—Unlawful factoring of transactions).

This reference is informational and is not legal advice.