(a) Applicability. The requirements of this section apply to any
card issuer that issues credit cards under a credit card account under
an open-end (not home-secured) consumer credit plan.
(b) Definitions.
(1) Agreement. For purposes of this section, “agreement” or “credit card agreement”
means the written document or documents evidencing the terms of the
legal obligation, or the prospective legal obligation, between a card
issuer and a consumer for a credit card account under an open-end
(not home-secured) consumer credit plan. “Agreement” or “credit card
agreement” also includes the pricing information, as defined in section
226.58(b)(7).
(2) Amends. For purposes of this section, an
issuer “amends” an agreement if it makes a substantive change (an
“amendment”) to the agreement. A change is substantive if it alters
the rights or obligations of the card issuer or the consumer under
the agreement. Any change in the pricing information, as defined in
section 226.58(b)(7), is deemed to be substantive.
(3) Business
day. For purposes of this section, “business day” means a day
on which the creditor’s offices are open to the public for carrying
on substantially all of its business functions.
(4) Card issuer. For purposes of this section, “card issuer” or “issuer” means the
entity to which a consumer is legally obligated, or would be legally
obligated, under the terms of a credit card agreement.
(5) Offers. For purposes of this section, an issuer “offers” or
“offers to the public” an agreement if the issuer is soliciting or
accepting applications for accounts that would be subject to that
agreement.
(6) Open account. For purposes of this section,
an account is an “open account” or “open credit card account” if it
is a credit card account under an open-end (not home-secured) consumer
credit plan and either:
(i) The cardholder can obtain extensions
of credit on the account; or
(ii) There is an outstanding balance
on the account that has not been charged off. An account that has
been suspended temporarily (for example, due to a report by the cardholder
of unauthorized use of the card) is considered an “open account” or
“open credit card account.”
(7) Pricing information. For purposes of this section, “pricing information” means the information
listed in section 226.6(b)(2)(i) through (b)(2)(xii). Pricing information
does not include temporary or promotional rates and terms or rates
and terms that apply only to protected balances.
(8) Private label
credit card account and private label credit card plan. For purposes
of this section:
(i) “private label credit card account”
means a credit card account under an open-end (not home-secured) consumer
credit plan with a credit card that can be used to make purchases
only at a single merchant or an affiliated group of merchants; and
(ii) “private label
credit card plan” means all of the private label credit card accounts
issued by a particular issuer with credit cards usable at the same
single merchant or affiliated group of merchants.
(c) Submission
of agreements to Board.
(1) Quarterly
submissions. A card issuer must make quarterly submissions to
the Board, in the form and manner specified by the Board. Quarterly
submissions must be sent to the Board no later than the first business
day on or after January 31, April 30, July 31, and October 31 of each
year. Each submission must contain:
(i) Identifying information
about the card issuer and the agreements submitted, including the
issuer’s name, address, and identifying number (such as an RSSD ID
number or tax identification number);
(ii) The credit card agreements that
the card issuer offered to the public as of the last business day
of the preceding calendar quarter that the card issuer has not previously
submitted to the Board;
(iii) Any credit card agreement previously
submitted to the Board that was amended during the preceding calendar
quarter and that the card issuer offered to the public as of the last
business day of the preceding calendar quarter, as described in section
226.58(c)(3); and
(iv) Notification regarding any credit card agreement previously
submitted to the Board that the issuer is withdrawing, as described
in section 226.58(c)(4), (c)(5), (c)(6), and (c)(7).
(2) [Reserved].
(3) Amended agreements. If a credit card agreement has been submitted
to the Board, the agreement has not been amended and the card issuer
continues to offer the agreement to the public, no additional submission
regarding that agreement is required. If a credit card agreement that
previously has been submitted to the Board is amended and the card
issuer offered the amended agreement to the public as of the last
business day of the calendar quarter in which the change became effective,
the card issuer must submit the entire amended agreement to the Board,
in the form and manner specified by the Board, by the first quarterly
submission deadline after the last day of the calendar quarter in
which the change became effective.
(4) Withdrawal
of agreements. If a card issuer no longer offers to the public
a credit card agreement that previously has been submitted to the
Board, the card issuer must notify the Board, in the form and manner
specified by the Board, by the first quarterly submission deadline
after the last day of the calendar quarter in which the issuer ceased
to offer the agreement.
(5) De minimis exception.
(i) A card
issuer is not required to submit any credit card agreements to the
Board if the card issuer had fewer than 10,000 open credit card accounts
as of the last business day of the calendar quarter.
(ii) If an issuer that previously qualified
for the de minimis exception ceases to qualify, the card issuer must
begin making quarterly submissions to the Board no later than the
first quarterly submission deadline after the date as of which the
issuer ceased to qualify.
(iii) If a card issuer that did not
previously qualify for the de minimis exception qualifies for the
de minimis exception, the card issuer must continue to make quarterly
submissions to the Board until the issuer notifies the Board that
the card issuer is withdrawing all agreements it previously submitted
to the Board.
(6) Private label credit card exception.
(i) A card issuer is not required to
submit to the Board a credit card agreement if, as of the last business
day of the calendar quarter, the agreement:
(A) is offered
for accounts under one or more private label credit card plans each
of which has fewer than 10,000 open accounts; and
(B) is not offered to the public other than
for accounts under such a plan.
(ii) If an agreement that previously
qualified for the private label credit card exception ceases to qualify,
the card issuer must submit the agreement to the Board no later than
the first quarterly submission deadline after the date as of which
the agreement ceased to qualify.
(iii) If an agreement that did not previously
qualify for the private label credit card exception qualifies for
the exception, the card issuer must continue to make quarterly submissions
to the Board with respect to that agreement until the issuer notifies
the Board that the agreement is being withdrawn.
(7) Product testing exception.
(i) A card issuer is not
required to submit to the Board a credit card agreement if,
as of the last business day of the calendar quarter, the agreement:
(A) is offered as part of a product test offered to only a limited
group of consumers for a limited period of time;
(B) is used for fewer than 10,000 open accounts;
and
(C) is not offered
to the public other than in connection with such a product test.
(ii)
If an agreement that previously qualified for the product testing
exception ceases to qualify, the card issuer must submit the agreement
to the Board no later than the first quarterly submission deadline
after the date as of which the agreement ceased to qualify.
(iii) If an agreement that
did not previously qualify for the product testing exception qualifies
for the exception, the card issuer must continue to make quarterly
submissions to the Board with respect to that agreement until the
issuer notifies the Board that the agreement is being withdrawn.
(8) Form and content of agreements submitted to
the Board.
(i) Form and
content generally.
(A) Each agreement must contain the provisions
of the agreement and the pricing information in effect as of the last
business day of the preceding calendar quarter.
(B) Agreements must not include any personally
identifiable information relating to any cardholder, such as name,
address, telephone number, or account number.
(C) The following are not deemed to be part
of the agreement for purposes of section 226.58, and therefore are
not required to be included in submissions to the Board:
(1) Disclosures required by State
or Federal law, such as affiliate marketing notices, privacy policies,
billing rights notices, or disclosures under the E-Sign Act;
(2) Solicitation materials;
(3) Periodic statements;
(4) Ancillary agreements
between the issuer and the consumer, such as debt cancellation contracts
or debt suspension agreements;
(5) Offers for credit insurance or
other optional products and other similar advertisements; and
(6) Documents that may
be sent to the consumer along with the credit card or credit card
agreement such as a cover letter, a validation sticker on the card,
or other information about card security.
(D) Agreements must be presented
in a clear and legible font.
(ii) Pricing
information.
(A) Pricing information must be set forth
in a single addendum to the agreement. The addendum must contain all
of the pricing information, as defined by section 226.58(b)(7). The
addendum may, but is not required to, contain any other information
listed in section 226.6(b), provided that information is complete
and accurate as of the applicable date under section 226.58. The addendum
may not contain any other information.
(B) Pricing information that may vary from
one cardholder to another depending on the cardholder’s creditworthiness
or state of residence or other factors must be disclosed either by
setting forth all the possible variations (such as purchase APRs of
13 percent, 15 percent, 17 percent, and 19 percent) or by providing
a range of possible variations (such as purchase APRs ranging from
13 percent to 19 percent).
(C) If a rate included in the pricing information is a variable rate,
the issuer must identify the index or formula used in setting the
rate and the margin. Rates that may vary from one cardholder to another
must be disclosed by providing the index and the possible margins
(such as the prime rate plus 5 percent, 8 percent, 10 percent, or
12 percent) or range of margins (such as the prime rate plus from
5 to 12 percent). The value of the rate and the value
of the index are not required to be disclosed.
(iii) Optional variable terms addendum. Provisions
of the agreement other than the pricing information that may vary
from one cardholder to another depending on the cardholder’s creditworthiness
or state of residence or other factors may be set forth in a single
addendum to the agreement separate from the pricing information addendum.
(iv) Integrated agreement. Issuers may not provide
provisions of the agreement or pricing information in the form of
change-in-terms notices or riders (other than the pricing information
addendum and the optional variable terms addendum). Changes in provisions
or pricing information must be integrated into the text of the agreement,
the pricing information addendum or the optional variable terms addendum,
as appropriate.
(d) Posting of agreements offered to the public.
(1) Except as provided below,
a card issuer must post and maintain on its publicly available Web
site the credit card agreements that the issuer is required to submit
to the Board under section 226.58(c). With respect to an agreement
offered solely for accounts under one or more private label credit
card plans, an issuer may fulfill this requirement by posting and
maintaining the agreement in accordance with the requirements
of this section on the publicly available Web site of at least one
of the merchants at which credit cards issued under each private label
credit card plan with 10,000 or more open accounts may be used.
(2) Except as provided
in section 226.58(d), agreements posted pursuant to Section 226.58(d)
must conform to the form and content requirements for agreements submitted
to the Board specified in Section 226.58(c)(8).
(3) Agreements posted pursuant to section
226.58(d) may be posted in any electronic format that is readily usable
by the general public. Agreements must be placed in a location that
is prominent and readily accessible by the public and must be accessible
without submission of personally identifiable information.
(4) The card issuer must update
the agreements posted on its Web site pursuant to section 226.58(d)
at least as frequently as the quarterly schedule required for submission
of agreements to the Board under section 226.58(c). If the issuer
chooses to update the agreements on its Web site more frequently,
the agreements posted on the issuer’s Web site may contain the provisions
of the agreement and the pricing information in effect as of a date
other than the last business day of the preceding calendar quarter.
(e) Agreements
for all open accounts.
(1) Availability
of individual cardholder’s agreement. With respect to any open
credit card account, a card issuer must either:
(i) Post
and maintain the cardholder’s agreement on its Web site; or
(ii) Promptly provide a
copy of the cardholder’s agreement to the cardholder upon the cardholder’s
request. If the card issuer makes an agreement available upon request,
the issuer must provide the cardholder with the ability to request
a copy of the agreement both by using the issuer’s Web site (such
as by clicking on a clearly identified box to make the request) and
by calling a readily available telephone line the number for which
is displayed on the issuer’s Web site and clearly identified as to
purpose. The card issuer must send to the cardholder or otherwise
make available to the cardholder a copy of the cardholder’s agreement
in electronic or paper form no later than 30 days after the issuer
receives the cardholder’s request.
(2) Special rule
for issuers without interactive Web sites. An issuer that does
not maintain a Web site from which cardholders can access specific
information about their individual accounts, instead of complying
with section 226.58(e)(1), may make agreements available upon request
by providing the cardholder with the ability to request a copy
of the agreement by calling a readily available telephone line, the
number for which is displayed on the issuer’s Web site and clearly
identified as to purpose or included on each periodic statement sent
to the cardholder and clearly identified as to purpose. The issuer
must send to the cardholder or otherwise make available to the cardholder
a copy of the cardholder’s agreement in electronic or paper form no
later than 30 days after the issuer receives the cardholder’s request.
(3) Form and content of agreements.
(i) Except
as provided in section 226.58(e), agreements posted on the card issuer’s
Web site pursuant to Section 226.58(e)(1)(i) or made available upon
the cardholder’s request pursuant to section 226.58(e)(1)(ii) or (e)(2)
must conform to the form and content requirements for agreements submitted
to the Board specified in section 226.58(c)(8).
(ii) If the card issuer posts an agreement
on its Web site or otherwise provides an agreement to a cardholder
electronically under section 226.58(e), the agreement may be posted
or provided in any electronic format that is readily usable by the
general public and must be placed in a location that is prominent
and readily accessible to the cardholder.
(iii) Agreements posted or otherwise
provided pursuant to section 226.58(e) may contain personally identifiable
information relating to the cardholder, such as name,
address, telephone number, or account number, provided that the issuer
takes appropriate measures to make the agreement accessible only to
the cardholder or other authorized persons.
(iv) Agreements posted or otherwise
provided pursuant to section 226.58(e) must set forth the specific
provisions and pricing information applicable to the particular cardholder.
Provisions and pricing information must be complete and accurate as
of a date no more than 60 days prior to: (1) the date on which the
agreement is posted on the card issuer’s Web site under section 226.58(e)(1)(i);
or (2) the date the cardholder’s request is received under Section
226.58(e)(1)(ii) or (e)(2).
(v) Agreements provided upon cardholder
request pursuant to section 226.58(e)(1)(ii) or (e)(2) may be provided
by the issuer in either electronic or paper form, regardless of the
form of the cardholder’s request.
(f) E-Sign Act requirements. Card issuers may provide credit card agreements in electronic form
under Section 226.58(d) and (e) without regard to the consumer notice
and consent requirements of section 101(c) of the Electronic Signatures
in Global and National Commerce Act (E-Sign Act) (15 U.S.C. 7001 et
seq.).
