Employee Statements Sent Via Email

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Question:

We are considering requiring our employees to only receive their statements via e-mail instead of print. Is there anything in the Regs that would prevent us from being able to do this since our employees are provided email access through the bank and can receive it there? Are we required to give them a choice of delivery method for their statement if this is available?

Answer:

You can devise financial incentives for your employees to sign up for e-statements, but you can not impose e-disclosures on unwilling customers--including your staff. Deposit account statements often include disclosures required by Regs. E and DD. To be valid, these disclosures must be in writing, and must comply with the delivery requirements of these regulations. For an e-statement to qualify as "written", you must obtain (in advance) each customer's informed consent by following the procedure set out in Section 101(C)(1)(c)(ii) of the federal ESIGN Act. Although the e-delivery rules of Regulations E and DD are optional, they are a safe harbor.

First published on BankersOnline.com 10/16/06