Product: Credit reporting or other personal consumer reports

( a ) Time to make payments A creditor may not treat a payment on a credit card account under an open end consumer credit plan as late for any purpose, unless the creditor has adopted reasonable procedures designed to ensure that each periodic statement including the information required by section 1637 ( b ) of this title is mailed or delivered to the consumer not later than 21 days before the payment due date.

( b ) Grace period If an open end consumer credit plan provides a time period within which an obligor may repay any portion of the credit extended without incurring an additional finance charge, such additional finance charge may not be imposed with respect to such portion of the credit extended for the billing cycle of which such period is a part, unless a statement which includes the amount upon which the finance charge for the period is based was mailed or delivered to the consumer not later than 21 days before the date specified in the statement by which payment must be made in order to avoid imposition of that finance charge.

( a ) In general Payments received from an obligor under an open end consumer credit plan by the creditor shall be posted promptly to the obligors account as specified in regulations of the Bureau. Such regulations shall prevent a finance charge from being imposed on any obligor if the creditor has received the obligors payment in readily identifiable form, by XXXXXXXX XXXX  on the date on which such payment is due, in the amount, manner, and location indicated by the creditor to avoid the imposition thereof. 

( b ) Application of payments ( 1 ) In general Upon receipt of a payment from a cardholder, the card issuer shall apply amounts in excess of the minimum payment amount first to the card balance bearing the highest rate of interest, and then to each successive balance bearing the next highest rate of interest, until the payment is exhausted.

( 2 ) Clarification relating to certain deferred interest arrangements A creditor shall allocate the entire amount paid by the consumer in excess of the minimum payment amount to a balance on which interest is deferred during the last 2 billing cycles immediately preceding the expiration of the period during which interest is deferred.

( c ) Changes by card issuer If a card issuer makes a material change in the mailing address, office, or procedures for handling cardholder payments, and such change causes a material delay in the crediting of a cardholder payment made during the 60-day period following the date on which such change took effect, the card issuer may not impose any late fee or finance charge for a late payment on the credit card account to which such payment was credited.

( Pub. L. 90321, title I, 164, as added Pub. L. 93495, title III, 306, Oct. 28, 1974, 88 Stat. 1514 ; amended Pub. L. 11124, title I, 104, May 22, 2009, 123 Stat. 1741 ; Pub. L. 111203, title X, 1087, 1100A ( 2 ), July 21, 2010, 124 Stat. 2086, 2107. ) Whenever a credit balance in excess of {$1.00} is created in connection with a consumer credit transaction through ( 1 ) transmittal of funds to a creditor in excess of the total balance due on an account, ( 2 ) rebates of unearned finance charges or insurance premiums, or ( 3 ) amounts otherwise owed to or held for the benefit of an obligor, the creditor shall ( A ) credit the amount of the credit balance to the consumers account ; ( B ) refund any part of the amount of the remaining credit balance, upon request of the consumer ; and ( C ) make a good faith effort to refund to the consumer by cash, check, or money order any part of the amount of the credit balance remaining in the account for more than XXXX months, except that no further action is required in any case in which the consumers current location is not known by the creditor and can not be traced through the consumers last known address or telephone number.

( Pub. L. 90321, title I, 165, as added Pub. L. 93495, title III, 306, Oct. 28, 1974, 88 Stat. 1514 ; amended Pub. L. 96221, title VI, 621 ( a ), XXXX. XXXX, XXXX, XXXX XXXX. XXXX. )