Sec. 1005.7 Initial disclosures.

Official Interpretation

7(a) Timing of Disclosures

1. Early disclosures. Disclosures given by a financial institution earlier than the regulation requires (for example, when the consumer opens a checking account) need not be repeated when the consumer later enters into an agreement with a third party to initiate preauthorized transfers to or from the consumer's account, unless the terms and conditions differ from those that the institution previously disclosed. This interpretation also applies to any notice provided about one-time EFTs from a consumer's account initiated using information from the consumer's check. On the other hand, if an agreement for EFT services to be provided by an account- holding institution is directly between the consumer and the account-holding institution, disclosures must be given in close proximity to the event requiring disclosure, for example, when the consumer contracts for a new service.

2. Lack of advance notice of a transfer. Where a consumer authorizes a third party to debit or credit the consumer's account, an account-holding institution that has not received advance notice of the transfer or transfers must provide the required disclosures as soon as reasonably possible after the first debit or credit is made, unless the institution has previously given the disclosures.

3. Addition of new accounts. If a consumer opens a new account permitting EFTs at a financial institution, and the consumer already has received Regulation E disclosures for another account at that institution, the institution need only disclose terms and conditions that differ from those previously given.

4. Addition of service in interchange systems. If a financial institution joins an interchange or shared network system (which provides access to terminals operated by other institutions), disclosures are required for additional EFT services not previously available to consumers if the terms and conditions differ from those previously disclosed.

5. Disclosures covering all EFT services offered. An institution may provide disclosures covering all EFT services that it offers, even if some consumers have not arranged to use all services.

7(b) Content of Disclosures

7(b)(1) Liability of Consumer

1. No liability imposed by financial institution. If a financial institution chooses to impose zero liability for unauthorized EFTs, it need not provide the liability disclosures. If the institution later decides to impose liability, however, it must first provide the disclosures.

2. Preauthorized transfers. If the only EFTs from an account are preauthorized transfers, liability could arise if the consumer fails to report unauthorized transfers reflected on a periodic statement. To impose such liability on the consumer, the institution must have disclosed the potential liability and the telephone number and address for reporting unauthorized transfers.

3. Additional information. At the institution's option, the summary of the consumer's liability may include advice on promptly reporting unauthorized transfers or the loss or theft of the access device.

7(b)(2) Telephone Number and Address

1. Disclosure of telephone numbers. An institution may use the same or different telephone numbers in the disclosures for the purpose of:

i. Reporting the loss or theft of an access device or possible unauthorized transfers;

ii. Inquiring about the receipt of a preauthorized credit;

iii. Stopping payment of a preauthorized debit;

iv. Giving notice of an error.

2. Location of telephone number. The telephone number need not be incorporated into the text of the disclosure; for example, the institution may instead insert a reference to a telephone number that is readily available to the consumer, such as “Call your branch office. The number is shown on your periodic statement.” However, an institution must provide a specific telephone number and address, on or with the disclosure statement, for reporting a lost or stolen access device or a possible unauthorized transfer.

7(b)(4) Types of Transfers; Limitations

1. Security limitations. Information about limitations on the frequency and dollar amount of transfers generally must be disclosed in detail, even if related to security aspects of the system. If the confidentiality of certain details is essential to the security of an account or system, these details may be withheld (but the fact that limitations exist must still be disclosed). For example, an institution limits cash ATM withdrawals to $100 per day. The institution may disclose that daily withdrawal limitations apply and need not disclose that the limitations may not always be in force (such as during periods when its ATMs are off- line).

2. Restrictions on certain deposit accounts. A limitation on account activity that restricts the consumer's ability to make EFTs must be disclosed even if the restriction also applies to transfers made by non-electronic means. For example, Regulation D of the Board of Governors of the Federal Reserve System (12 CFR Part 204) restricts the number of payments to third parties that may be made from a money market deposit account; an institution that does not execute fund transfers in excess of those limits must disclose the restriction as a limitation on the frequency of EFTs.

3. Preauthorized transfers. Financial institutions are not required to list preauthorized transfers among the types of transfers that a consumer can make.

4. One-time EFTs initiated using information from a check. Financial institutions must disclose the fact that one-time EFTs initiated using information from a consumer's check are among the types of transfers that a consumer can make. See Appendix A-2.

7(b)(5) Fees

1. Disclosure of EFT fees. An institution is required to disclose all fees for EFTs or the right to make them. Others fees (for example, minimum-balance fees, stop-payment fees, or account overdrafts) may, but need not, be disclosed. But see Regulation DD, 12 CFR Part 1030. An institution is not required to disclose fees for inquiries made at an ATM since no transfer of funds is involved.

2. Fees also applicable to non-EFT. A per-item fee for EFTs must be disclosed even if the same fee is imposed on non-electronic transfers. If a per-item fee is imposed only under certain conditions, such as when the transactions in the cycle exceed a certain number, those conditions must be disclosed. Itemization of the various fees may be provided on the disclosure statement or on an accompanying document that is referenced in the statement.

3. Interchange system fees. Fees paid by the account-holding institution to the operator of a shared or interchange ATM system need not be disclosed, unless they are imposed on the consumer by the account-holding institution. Fees for use of an ATM that are debited directly from the consumer's account by an institution other than the account-holding institution (for example, fees included in the transfer amount) need not be disclosed. See § 1005.7(b)(11) for the general notice requirement regarding fees that may be imposed by ATM operators and by a network used to complete the transfer.

7(b)(9) Confidentiality

1. Information provided to third parties. An institution must describe the circumstances under which any information relating to an account to or from which EFTs are permitted will be made available to third parties, not just information concerning those EFTs. The term “third parties” includes affiliates such as other subsidiaries of the same holding company.

7(b)(10) Error Resolution

1. Substantially similar. The error resolution notice must be substantially similar to the model form in Appendix A of part 1005. An institution may use different wording so long as the substance of the notice remains the same, may delete inapplicable provisions (for example, the requirement for written confirmation of an oral notification), and may substitute substantive state law requirements affording greater consumer protection than Regulation E.

2. Extended time-period for certain transactions. To take advantage of the longer time periods for resolving errors under § 1005.11(c)(3) (for new accounts as defined in Regulation CC of the Board of Governors of the Federal Reserve System (12 CFR part 229), transfers initiated outside the United States, or transfers resulting from POS debit-card transactions), a financial institution must have disclosed these longer time periods. Similarly, an institution that relies on the exception from provisional crediting in § 1005.11(c)(2) for accounts subject to Regulation T of the Board of Governors of the Federal Reserve System (12 CFR part 220) must have disclosed accordingly.

7(c) Addition of Electronic Fund Transfer Services

1. Addition of electronic check conversion services. One-time EFTs initiated using information from a consumer's check are a new type of transfer requiring new disclosures, as applicable. See Appendix A-2.