Title 31—Money and Finance: Treasury--Volume 1
PART 370—ELECTRONIC TRANSACTIONS AND FUNDS TRANSFERS RELATING TO UNITED STATES SECURITIES
§ 370.0   What does this part cover?
(a) Scope. This part applies to the transfer of funds by the Automated Clearing House method as used by us in connection with United States securities. This part also provides regulations for the electronic submission of transaction requests through us, except as varied by agreement or as otherwise provided. This part does not apply to transactions for the sale of United States Savings Bonds accomplished through savings bond issuing agents generally, except and to the extent we direct otherwise.
(b) Operating Rules of the National Automated Clearing House Association and Regulations of the Financial Management Service. The Operating Rules of the National Automated Clearing House Association generally apply to these transactions. However, the Operating Rules do not apply to the extent that the Operating Rules are preempted entirely and excluded specifically by application of Financial Management Service regulations in part 210 of this chapter. In the event of any inconsistencies between this part 370 and either the Operating Rules or part 210, this part 370 applies.
(c) Regulations of the Board of Governors of the Federal Reserve. To the extent that Regulation E (12 CFR part 205) and Regulation Z (12 CFR part 226) of the Board of Governors of the Federal Reserve System apply to transactions authorized by this part, those Federal laws are unaffected by this part 370.
(d) Variance by agreement. The terms of this part may be varied by agreement.
§ 370.1   What special terms do I need to know to understand this part?
Automated Clearing House (ACH) entry means a transaction in accordance with the Operating Rules of the National Automated Clearing House Association, as modified by these regulations and other law. The regulations in this part control in the event of any inconsistencies with the applicable Operating Rules.
Credit entry means an ACH entry for the payment of money to a deposit account.
Debit entry means an ACH entry for the collection of money from a deposit account.
Deposit account means a demand deposit (checking), savings, or asset account (other than an occasional or incidental credit balance in a credit plan) held directly or indirectly by a financial institution.
Digital signature means a type of electronic signature. A signer creates a digital signature by using public-key encryption to transform a message digest of an electronic message. If a recipient of the digital signature has an electronic message, message digest function, and the signer's public key, the recipient can verify:
(1) Whether the transformation was accomplished with the private key that corresponds to the signer's public key; and
(2) Whether the electronic message has been altered since the transformation was made.
Electronic message means information that is stored in an electronic medium and is retrievable in perceivable form.
Electronic signature means a signature of an electronic message that:
(1) Identifies and authenticates a particular person as the source of the electronic message; and
(2) Indicates such person's approval of the information contained in the electronic message.
Financial institution means:
(1) Any insured bank as defined in section 3 of the Federal Deposit Insurance Act (12 U.S.C. 1813) or any bank that is eligible to make application to become an insured bank under section 5 of such Act (12 U.S.C. 1815);
(2) Any mutual savings bank as defined in section 3 of the Federal Deposit Insurance Act (12 U.S.C. 1813) or any bank that is eligible to make application to become an insured bank under section 5 of such Act (12 U.S.C. 1815);
(3) Any savings bank as defined in section 3 of the Federal Deposit Insurance Act (12 U.S.C. 1813) or any bank that is eligible to make application to become an insured bank under section 5 of such Act (12 U.S.C. 1815);
(4) Any insured credit union as defined in section 101 of the Federal Credit Union Act (12 U.S.C. 1752) or any credit union that is eligible to make application to become an insured credit union pursuant to section 201 of such Act (12 U.S.C. 1781);
(5) Any savings association as defined in section 3 of the Federal Deposit Insurance Act (12 U.S.C. 1813) that is an insured depository institution as defined in that act or is eligible to apply to become an insured depository institution under that act; and
(6) Any Federal branch or agency of a foreign bank as defined in section 1(b) of the International Banking Act, as amended (12 U.S.C. 3101).
Investor account is our record of your TreasuryDirect holdings, including a list of your total security holdings, the exact form of registration of your account, your mailing address, your TreasuryDirect account number, your social security account number or employer identification number, and your deposit account instructions.
Message digest function means an algorithm that transforms an electronic message into a seemingly unintelligible, generally smaller, result called the message digest. A message digest function has these qualities:
(1) The same electronic message yields the same message digest every time the algorithm is executed;
(2) It is computationally infeasible that an electronic message can be derived from the message digest result produced by the algorithm; and
(3) it is computationally infeasible that two electronic messages can be found that produce the same message digest using the algorithm.
Payment means, for the purpose of this part, funds paid by us to you.
Person means any natural person or organization.
Public-key encryption means a cryptographic process which generates and employs a key pair, consisting of a public key and a different but mathematically related private key. One use of the public key is to verify a digital signature created by the private key.
Security means an obligation offered by the Secretary of the Treasury.
Settlement date means the date an exchange of funds with respect to an ACH entry is reflected on the books of the Federal Reserve Bank(s).
Signature means any symbol or method executed or adopted by a person with present intention to be bound.
We (or “us”) refers to the Secretary of the Treasury and the Secretary's delegates at the Treasury Department and Bureau of the Fiscal Service. The term also extends to any fiscal or financial agent acting on behalf of the United States when designated to act by the Secretary or the Secretary's delegates. The term does not extend to United States Savings Bond issuing and paying agents.
You means a deposit account owner, in subparts B and C, unless stated otherwise. The word “you” means a person who electronically submits transaction requests through us, in subpart D.
§ 370.5   How can I appoint a financial institution to receive payments on my behalf?
You must name a financial institution to receive payments through credit entries using the ACH method. You also must identify the deposit account to which payments are to be made. To do this, you must use a form approved by us.
§ 370.6   What requirements apply to a financial institution that handles a credit entry?
A financial institution that accepts and handles a credit entry initiated by us agrees to the provisions of this subpart, and warrants that it will comply with all requirements imposed upon Receiving Depository Financial Institutions under the Operating Rules of the National Automated Clearing House Association, as modified by these regulations and other law.
§ 370.7   How can my financial institution change my designated deposit account?
If your financial institution requests us to make a change in your deposit account number or type of your account, we will change the information without requiring any confirmation from you. The request from the financial institution must be made following the Operating Rules of the National Automated Clearing House Association. The financial institution's request will be deemed an agreement by the institution to indemnify us and you for any loss resulting from the requested change.
§ 370.8   Are there any requirements related to a prenotification entry?
(a) Use of prenotification in our discretion. In our discretion, we may initiate a prenotification entry to a financial institution before we send a credit entry. We may also send a prenotification message whenever there is a change in the payment instructions. If we send a prenotification message, we will follow the time frames as established by the Operating Rules of the National Automated Clearing House Association. A prenotification is a zero-dollar ACH entry that can help us determine whether there might be problems with sending a subsequent credit entry.
(b) Requirements placed upon financial institution that receives a prenotification. A financial institution must respond to a prenotification within the time frame for such responses as established by the Operating Rules of the National Automated Clearing House Association. If the receiving financial institution does not respond to the prenotification message within the specified time period, we may interpret the nonresponsiveness as the financial institution's agreement to this subpart. Furthermore, a financial institution warrants by its nonresponsiveness that the deposit account number and the type of account contained in the prenotification entry message was accurate as of the moment the financial institution received it.
§ 370.9   How can my payment instructions be changed?
Your payment instructions will continue to apply until either you or your financial institution requests us to make a change.
§ 370.10   What can cause my payments to be suspended?
(a) Change in deposit account. We will suspend payments if we receive notice that your deposit account has been closed, that someone named on your deposit account is dead or has been declared legally incompetent, that there is a change in the title of your deposit account that alters your interests; or, if a corporation is the owner, that it has been dissolved.
(b) Change in status of owner. We will suspend payments when we receive notice that an owner of a bond, security, or investor account is dead or has been declared legally incompetent, or in any case where we receive notice of a change in the name or status of an organization or representative named on a bond, security, or investor account.
(c) Continuation of suspension. Payments will continue to be suspended until we receive satisfactory evidence as to who is authorized or entitled to receive payments.
§ 370.11   What must my financial institution do when it receives a payment?
An institution which receives a payment on behalf of its customer must:
(a) Upon receipt, make the payment available to you on the payment date. If a scheduled payment date is not a business day for the Federal Reserve Bank of the district in which the institution is located, payment will be made on the next-succeeding business day. If the institution is unable to make a credit entry to the designated account, it must return the payment in accordance with the Operating Rules of the National Automated Clearing House Association.
(b) Promptly notify us when your account has been closed, or when it is on notice of the death or legal incapacity of you or any other individual named on your account, or when it is on notice of the dissolution of a corporation in whose name the deposit account is held. The institution must return all payments received along with an explanation for the return.
§ 370.12   What happens if an error is made in a credit entry, or if a duplicate credit entry is made?
If we make an erroneous credit entry under this part, we will make a corrected credit entry to your account. We will then take action to recover the erroneous credit entry, or any duplicate credit entry, as follows:
(a) Return of amount of erroneous or duplicate credit entry by financial institution. We will send a notice to the financial institution to which the erroneous or duplicate credit entry was sent. When it receives this notice, the financial institution must immediately return to the appropriate Federal Reserve Bank an amount equal to the credit entry. If the institution is unable to do this, the institution must immediately notify us, and provide any information that it has about the matter. We reserve the right to request the return of a partial amount of an erroneous or duplicate credit entry.
(b) Collection of amount of unreturned erroneous or duplicate credit entry. Where the erroneous or duplicate credit entry has not been returned, we will undertake any other actions that are appropriate. To the extent permitted by law, the collection action may include deducting the amount owed from future credit entries made to the deposit account to which the erroneous or duplicate credit entry was made.
(c) Authorization of Debit to collect unreturned dulicate or erroneous credit entry. If a financial institution has not responded within 60 calendar days of the notice, its acceptance of the credit entry will be considered an authorization for a debit in the amount of the entry. The debit will be made from the account maintained or utilized by the financial institution at the Federal Reserve Bank to which the entry was made. An institution designated by a financial institution to receive payment on its behalf, in permitting the usage, is deemed to have authorized a debit. The debit will be made from its account maintained at the Federal Reserve Bank to which the entry was made. The institution to which the credit entry has been directed is deemed to have agreed to provide information and assistance to recover any erroneous or duplicate entry. You are also deemed to have agreed to provide information and assistance, and to take any action provided by law to recover an erroneous or duplicate credit entry.
§ 370.13   Can time limits for taking an action on a credit entry be extended?
If we or your financial institution are delayed beyond applicable time limits in taking any action with respect to a credit entry because of circumstances beyond our control, then the time for taking that action will be extended as necessary until the cause of the delay ends.
§ 370.14   Can substitute payment procedures be used?
We may use substitute payment procedures, instead of ACH, if we consider it to be necessary. Any such action is final.
§ 370.15   What limitations exist on liability?
(a) We may rely on the information provided by you or anyone else authorized to provide information concerning your financial institution or deposit account to which payments are to be made. We do not need to verify this information. We are not liable for any action we may take in reliance on the information furnished.
(b) Our liability does not extend beyond the amount of the payment due.
(c) When you name a financial institution to receive payments on your behalf, you are appointing that institution as your agent for the receipt of payments. When a credit entry is made to your financial institution for deposit to your account following your instructions, we no longer have any further responsibility for that payment. Where your financial institution has arranged with the Federal Reserve Bank to have payments made through another financial institution, the crediting of your payment to that institution relieves us of any further responsibility for that payment.
§ 370.20   What requirements apply if I want to authorize a debit entry to my deposit account?
(a) General. You may pay for a security and related fees by authorizing us to initiate one or more debit entries to your deposit account. For a purchase of a book-entry security to be held in an investor account maintained by us, you must be named on the investor account. The authorization must be accomplished only through forms or means approved by us.
(b) Single-entry and recurring debit entries. You only may authorize single-entry debits for purchases of book-entry securities held in TreasuryDirect. You only may authorize recurring debit entries for purchases of definitive savings bonds.
(c) Credit entries to be made to same deposit account. To the extent that payments by us with respect to a security are to be made through credit entries, you must receive debit and credit entries in the same deposit account.
(d) Signature. The authorization must have your signature and that of any other person whose signature is required to withdraw funds from the deposit account. We need not verify your identity or the authenticity of your signature.
§ 370.21   Are there any requirements related to a prenotification entry?
(a) Use of prenotification in our discretion. In our discretion, we may initiate a prenotification entry to a financial institution prior to sending a debit entry. A prenotification is a zero-dollar ACH entry that can help us determine whether there might be problems with sending a subsequent debit entry.
(b) Requirements placed upon financial institution that receives a prenotification. If sent, a financial institution must respond to a prenotification within the time frame for such responses as established by the National Automated Clearing House Association. If the receiving financial institution does not respond to the prenotification message within the specified time period, we may interpret the nonresponsiveness as the financial institution's agreement to this subpart. Furthermore, a financial institution warrants by its nonresponsiveness that the deposit account number and the type of account contained in the prenotification entry message was accurate as of the moment the financial institution received it.
§ 370.22   What requirements apply to a financial institution that debits a deposit account?
A financial institution that debits a deposit account upon receiving a debit initiated by us agrees to the provisions of this subpart. A financial institution that does so also warrants that it has the authority to receive debit entries.
§ 370.23   What other requirements apply to a financial institution?
The financial institution warrants that it will comply with all requirements imposed upon Receiving Depository Financial Institutions under the Operating Rules of the National Automated Clearing House Association, as modified by these regulations and other law.
§ 370.24   What right does the Bureau of the Fiscal Service have to terminate or suspend debit entries?
We may terminate or suspend the availability of one or more debit entries in any case or class of cases, and may do so without notice at any time. A decision to terminate or suspend the availability of debit entries is in our sole discretion and is final.
§ 370.25   What rights do I have to terminate or suspend debit entries?
(a) General. If you are an investor account owner or deposit account owner, you generally may terminate or suspend one or more debit entries by notifying us orally or in writing at least three business days before the scheduled date of a transfer. In response to an oral notice, we may require you to give written notice, to be received by us within fourteen days of an oral notice. An oral notice ceases to be binding after fourteen days if you fail to provide the required written confirmation. A suspension will remain in effect for the duration you specify, but for no more than six months. The termination and suspension methods need not be recited in the authorization. These termination or suspension rights are in addition to those that you may have through your financial institution under Regulation E of the Board of Governors of the Federal Reserve System (12 CFR part 205).
(b) Exception. If you submit a debit entry authorization in conjunction with a Treasury auction tender for the purchase of a book-entry security, you cannot terminate or suspend a debit entry after the auction closes.
§ 370.26   What limitations exist on liability?
If we sustain a loss because a financial institution fails to handle an entry in accordance with this part, the financial institution is liable to us for the loss, but not beyond the amount of the debit entry. In no instance does our liability extend beyond the amount of the debit entry.
§ 370.35   Does the Bureau of the Fiscal Service accept all electronically signed transaction requests?
An electronic signature will not be accepted if it has not been accomplished through a method that has been approved for specific purposes by us.
§ 370.36   When does a transaction request become effective?
Except for auction bids of U.S. securities or unless otherwise agreed, a transaction request becomes effective at the moment we send a confirmation message. In no instance does a transaction request become effective before we actually receive the request.
§ 370.37   Where is the point of transaction for an electronically submitted transaction request?
For jurisdiction and venue purposes, the point of transaction for a transaction request handled pursuant to this subpart is Parkersburg, West Virginia, regardless of from where the transaction request is transmitted or where the transaction request is actually processed.
§ 370.38   What is the legal effect of an electronic signature?
An electronic signature and any electronic message to which it is affixed or attached may not be denied legal effect, including legal effect as a signature, a writing, or an original, solely because the signature or record is in electronic form.
§ 370.39   To what extent is a digital signature admissible in any civil litigation or dispute?
In asserting a digital signature against you in any civil litigation or dispute, extrinsic evidence of authenticity as a condition precedent of admissibility (such as testimony about the scientific validity of digital signatures) is not necessary to establish:
(a) That a digital signature corresponds to a specific public key pair, and;
(b) That an electronic message to which the digital signature is affixed has not been altered from its original form.
§ 370.40   Can I be held accountable if my negligence contributes to a forged signature?
(a) General. If your failure to exercise ordinary care substantially contributes to the submission of a forged signature, then you cannot claim that the signature is a forgery. However, we cannot invoke this section against you if we cannot first establish that we were reasonable in relying upon the signature. If we can do so, you bear the burden of production and the burden of persuasion in establishing your exercise of ordinary care. If you cannot do so, then you cannot claim that the signature is a forgery.
(b) Exception. This section has no application in any dispute involving a debit authorization or credit card transaction.
§ 370.41   What limitations exist on liability?
In no instance does our liability extend beyond the amount of the transaction.
§ 370.45   What is the status of a security if the remittance cannot be collected?
If we cannot promptly collect all of the remittance for a security, we may in our discretion cancel the security unless it has been legally transferred for value to a third person who had no knowledge of the improper debit entry at the time of the transfer.
§ 370.46   Are there any situations in which the Bureau of the Fiscal Service may waive these regulations?
We reserve the right, in our discretion, to waive any provision of these regulations in any case or class of cases. We may do so if such action is not inconsistent with law and will not subject the United States to substantial expense or liability.
§ 370.47   To what extent may the Bureau of the Fiscal Service change these regulations?
Any aspect of this part may be changed at any time and without notice. You assume the risk that a change may terminate a provision that was to your advantage. Nothing in this part creates vested rights in your favor.