(a) Scope. This section applies to a person described in section
222.90(a) that issues a debit or credit card (card issuer).
(b) Definitions. For purposes
of this section:
(1) Cardholder means a consumer
who has been issued a credit or debit card.
(2) Clear and conspicuous means
reasonably understandable and designed to call attention to the nature
and significance of the information presented.
(c) Address-validation requirements. A card issuer must establish and implement reasonable policies and
procedures to assess the validity of a change of address if it receives
notification of a change of address for a consumer’s debit or credit
card account and, within a short period of time afterwards (during
at least the first 30 days after it receives such notification), the
card issuer receives a request for an additional or replacement card
for the same account. Under these circumstances, the card issuer may
not issue an additional or replacement card, until, in accordance
with its reasonable policies and procedures and for the purpose of
assessing the validity of the change of address, the card issuer—
(1) (i) notifies
the cardholder of the request—
(A) at the cardholder’s former
address; or
(B) by any
other means of communication that the card issuer and the cardholder
have previously agreed to use; and
(ii) provides to the cardholder a reasonable
means of promptly reporting incorrect address changes; or
(2) otherwise assesses
the validity of the change of address in accordance with the policies
and procedures the card issuer has established pursuant to section
222.90 of this part.
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(d) Alternative timing of address validation. A card issuer may satisfy the requirements of paragraph (c) of this
section if it validates an address pursuant to the methods in paragraph
(c)(1) or (c)(2) of this section when it receives an address-change
notification, before it receives a request for an additional or replacement
card.
(e) Form of notice. Any written or electronic notice that the card issuer provides under
this paragraph must be clear and conspicuous and provided separately
from its regular correspondence with the cardholder.
