(a) General. This part applies to any electronic fund transfer that
authorizes a financial institution to debit or credit a consumer’s
account. Generally, this part applies to financial institutions. For
purposes of sections 1005.3(b)(2) and (3), 1005.10(b), (d), and (e),
1005.13, and 1005.20, this part applies to any person, other than
a person excluded from coverage of this part by section 1029 of the
Consumer Financial Protection Act of 2010, Title X of the Dodd-Frank
Wall Street Reform and Consumer Protection Act, Pub. L. 111-203, 124
Stat. 1376. The requirements of subpart B apply to remittance transfer
providers.
(b) Electronic fund
transfer.
(1) Definition. The term “electronic fund transfer” means any transfer of funds
that is initiated through an electronic terminal, telephone, computer,
or magnetic tape for the purpose of ordering, instructing, or authorizing
a financial institution to debit or credit a consumer’s account. The
term includes, but is not limited to:
(i) Point-of-sale transfers;
(ii) Automated teller
machine transfers;
(iii) Direct deposits or withdrawals of funds;
(iv) Transfers initiated by telephone;
and
(v) Transfers
resulting from debit card transactions, whether or not initiated through
an electronic terminal.
(2) Electronic
fund transfer using information from a check.
(i) This
part applies where a check, draft, or similar paper instrument is
used as a source of information to initiate a one-time electronic
fund transfer from a consumer’s account. The consumer must authorize
the transfer.
(ii)
The person initiating an electronic fund transfer using the consumer’s
check as a source of information for the transfer must provide a notice
that the transaction will or may be processed as an electronic fund
transfer, and obtain a consumer’s authorization for each transfer.
A consumer authorizes a onetime electronic fund transfer (in providing
a check to a merchant or other payee for the MICR encoding, that is,
the routing number of the financial institution, the consumer’s account
number and the serial number) when the consumer receives notice and
goes forward with the underlying transaction. For point-of-sale transfers,
the notice must be posted in a prominent and conspicuous location,
and a copy thereof, or a substantially similar notice, must be provided
to the consumer at the time of the transaction.
(iii) A person may provide notices that
are substantially similar to those set forth in Appendix A-6 to comply
with the requirements of this paragraph (b)(2).
(3) Collection of returned item fees via electronic fund transfer.
(i) General. The person initiating an electronic fund transfer to collect a fee
for the return of an electronic fund transfer or a check that is unpaid,
including due to insufficient or uncollected funds in the consumer’s
account, must obtain the consumer’s authorization for each transfer.
A consumer authorizes a onetime electronic fund transfer from his
or her account to pay the fee for the returned item or transfer if
the person collecting the fee provides notice to the consumer stating
that the person may electronically collect the fee, and the consumer
goes forward with the underlying transaction. The notice must state
that the fee will be collected by means of an electronic fund transfer
from the consumer’s account if the payment is returned unpaid and
must disclose the dollar amount of the fee. If the fee may vary due
to the amount of the transaction or due to other factors, then, except
as otherwise provided in paragraph (b)(3)(ii) of this section, the
person collecting the fee may disclose, in place of the dollar amount
of the fee, an explanation of how the fee will be determined.
(ii) Point-of-sale transactions. If a fee for
an electronic fund transfer or check returned unpaid may be collected
electronically in connection with a point-of-sale transaction, the
person initiating an electronic fund transfer to collect the fee must
post the notice described in paragraph (b)(3)(i) of this section in
a prominent and conspicuous location. The person also must either
provide the consumer with a copy of the posted notice (or a substantially
similar notice) at the time of the transaction, or mail the copy (or
a substantially similar notice) to the consumer’s address as soon
as reasonably practicable after the person initiates the electronic
fund transfer to collect the fee. If the amount of the fee may vary
due to the amount of the transaction or due to other factors, the
posted notice may explain how the fee will be determined, but the
notice provided to the consumer must state the dollar amount of the
fee if the amount can be calculated at the time the notice is provided
or mailed to the consumer.
6-5305.1
(c) Exclusions from coverage. The
term “electronic fund transfer” does not include:
(1) Checks. Any transfer of funds originated by check, draft, or similar paper
instrument; or any payment made by check, draft, or similar paper
instrument at an electronic terminal.
(2) Check guarantee or authorization. Any transfer of funds that
guarantees payment or authorizes acceptance of a check, draft, or
similar paper instrument but that does not directly result in a debit
or credit to a consumer’s account.
(3) Wire or other
similar transfers. Any transfer of funds through Fedwire or through
a similar wire transfer system that is used primarily for transfers
between financial institutions or between businesses.
(4) Securities and commodities transfers. Any transfer of funds
the primary purpose of which is the purchase or sale of a security
or commodity, if the security or commodity is:
(i) Regulated
by the Securities and Exchange Commission or the Commodity Futures
Trading Commission;
(ii) Purchased or sold through a broker-dealer regulated by the Securities
and Exchange Commission or through a futures commission merchant regulated
by the Commodity Futures Trading Commission; or
(iii) Held in book-entry form by a Federal
Reserve Bank or Federal agency.
6-5306
(5) Automatic
transfers by account-holding institution. Any transfer of funds
under an agreement between a consumer and a financial institution
which provides that the institution will initiate individual transfers
without a specific request from the consumer:
(i) Between
a consumer’s accounts within the financial institution;
(ii) From a consumer’s account
to an account of a member of the consumer’s family held in the same
financial institution; or
(iii) Between a consumer’s account and
an account of the financial institution, except that these transfers
remain subject to section 1005.10(e) regarding compulsory use and
sections 916 and 917 of the Act regarding civil and criminal liability.
(6) Telephone-initiated transfers. Any transfer
of funds that:
(i) Is initiated by a telephone communication
between a consumer and a financial institution making the transfer;
and
(ii) Does not take
place under a telephone bill-payment or other written plan in which
periodic or recurring transfers are contemplated.
6-5306.1
(7) Small institutions. Any preauthorized transfer to or from an
account if the assets of the account-holding financial institution
were $100 million or less on the preceding December 31. If assets
of the account-holding institution subsequently exceed $100 million,
the institution’s exemption for preauthorized transfers terminates
one year from the end of the calendar year in which the assets exceed
$100 million. Preauthorized transfers exempt under this paragraph
(c)(7) remain subject to section 1005.10(e) regarding compulsory use
and ections 916 and 917 of the Act regarding civil and criminal liability.