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[Federal Register Volume 78, Number 214 (Tuesday, November 5, 2013)]
[Rules and Regulations]
[Pages 66251-66252]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Printing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 2013-25754]

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BUREAU OF CONSUMER FINANCIAL PROTECTION

12 CFR Part 1005

[Docket No. CFPB-2013-0032]
RIN 3170-AA33

Electronic Fund Transfers (Regulation E)

AGENCY: Bureau of Consumer Financial Protection.

ACTION: Notice of publication of remittance rule safe harbor list.

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SUMMARY: On September 26, 2012, the Bureau of Consumer Financial 
Protection (Bureau) issued a safe harbor list of countries that qualify 
for an exception in subpart B of Regulation E, which implements the 
Electronic Fund Transfer Act, and published this list on its Web site. 
The Bureau is now publishing the current list, which is unchanged from 
the prior release, in the Federal Register. The Bureau recognizes that 
the list may change, and it intends to revise the list periodically.

DATES: This list is effective on October 28, 2013. The Bureau will next 
consider suggestions and input on additions or deletions made on or 
before March 17th, 2014. However, to facilitate compliance, the Bureau 
will not remove a country from the list before July 1st, 2014.

ADDRESSES: The Bureau welcomes your input related to whether it has 
included the appropriate countries and areas on the list. To provide 
input, please send your feedback and any supporting materials (in 
English) to:

_CFPB_CountriesList@cfpb.gov or
--Office of the Executive Secretary, Bureau of Consumer Financial 
Protection, 1700 G Street NW., Washington, DC 20552.

    In general, all comments received will be posted without change to 
regulations.gov, including any personal information provided. Sensitive 
personal information, such as account numbers or social security 
numbers, should not be included.

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Eric Goldberg or Lauren Weldon, 
Counsels, Division of Research, Markets, and Regulations, Bureau of 
Consumer Financial Protection, 1700 G Street NW., Washington, DC 20552, 
at (202) 435-7700 or at CFPB_RemittanceRule@cfpb.gov. The Bureau also 
allows interested parties to sign up to receive an alert by email any 
time the list changes. To receive an alert when the Bureau releases a 
revised countries list, please sign up for email updates on the 
Bureau's Web site at http://www.consumerfinance.gov/remittances-transfer-rule-amendment-to-regulation-e/.

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: The Bureau published its remittance rule on 
February 7, 2012 (77 FR 6194) implementing section 1073 of the Dodd-
Frank Wall Street Reform and Consumer Protection Act. The remittance 
rule, which includes several additional revisions and amendments 
published in the Federal Register on July 10, 2012 (77 FR 40459), 
August 20, 2012 (77 FR 50244), May 22, 2013 (78 FR 30662), and August 
14, 2013 (78 FR 49365) (collectively the Final Rule), takes effect on 
October 28, 2013. Pursuant to the Final Rule, the Bureau determined it 
would publish a safe harbor list of countries that qualify for an 
exception in the rule.
    That exception permits estimates of certain disclosures in lieu of 
exact amounts, unless the provider has information that a country's 
laws, or the method by which transactions are conducted in that 
country, permits a determination of the exact disclosure amount. The 
Final Rule, which goes into effect on October 28, 2013, generally 
requires remittance transfer providers to give consumers sending 
remittance transfers certain specified disclosures. Among other 
requirements, a provider generally must disclose the applicable 
exchange rate, any fees imposed and taxes collected by the provider, 
and covered third-party fees.\1\ In particular circumstances, the Final 
Rule permits providers to estimate certain amounts that the rule 
requires them to disclose.
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    \1\ As described in the Final Rule, the term ``covered third 
party fees'' includes all fees charged by persons other than the 
provider except for fees imposed by the designated recipient's 
institution for receiving a remittance transfer into an account 
unless the institution acts as an agent of the remittance transfer 
provider. 12 CFR 1005.30(h)(1).
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    As it relates to this notice, a permanent exception in the Final 
Rule permits estimates of certain disclosures when, among other 
circumstances, a remittance transfer provider cannot determine the 
exact amounts it must disclose at the time the disclosures are required 
because the laws of the recipient country do not permit such 
determinations. See 12 CFR 1005.32(b)(1)(i)(A).\2\ The Bureau stated in 
the Federal Register notice published on February 7, 2012 (77 FR 6194) 
that it would provide a list of countries that qualify for this 
permanent exception to facilitate providers' compliance with the rule. 
The Bureau issued this list on its Web site on September 26, 2012.\3\
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    \2\ See generally 12 CFR 1005.32 for the Final Rule's provisions 
on providing estimates for required disclosures.
    \3\ Working to Help Industry Understand and Comply with the New 
Remittance Rule: Countries List and Webinar, available at: http://www.consumerfinance.gov/blog/working-to-help-industry-understand-and-comply-with-the-new-remittance-rule-countries-list-and-webinar/ 
(last visited October 22, 2013).
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    The Bureau is now publishing the list in the Federal Register. The 
list is unchanged from the list first released in September 2012.
    The current list of countries and other areas contains: Aruba, 
Brazil, China, Ethiopia and Libya. This list is current as of the date 
of its publication in the Federal Register.
    As noted in the Final Rule, the list contains countries and other 
areas whose laws the Bureau believes, based on its interpretation of 
the permanent exception and relevant countries' laws,

[[Page 66252]]

prevent providers from determining, at the time the required 
disclosures must be provided, the exact exchange rate on the date of 
availability for a transfer involving a currency exchange.
    The Final Rule explains that a remittance transfer provider may 
rely on this list, unless the provider has information that a country's 
laws or the method by which transactions are conducted in that country 
permits a determination of the exact disclosure amount. See 12 CFR 
1005.32(b)(1)(ii) and comment 32(b)(1)-2 (containing examples of when 
this exception does and does not apply). For example, for transfers to 
Aruba and Brazil, the Bureau believes that a remittance transfer 
provider can only rely on the list when the sender funds a transfer in 
a currency other than the local currency (i.e., not the Aruban florin 
and the Brazilian real, respectively), and the transfer is exchanged 
into the local currency in the foreign country as opposed to being 
exchanged in the United States. The Bureau believes that exception is 
limited to such scenarios because under Brazil's and Aruba's laws the 
exchange rate is set when a transfer is picked up only where the 
transfer is funded in a foreign currency and is then exchanged into the 
local currency in Brazil or Aruba, respectively. In addition to the 
Bureau's list, the Final Rule permits providers to make their own 
determinations that the laws of other recipient countries or the method 
of sending transfers to recipient countries, which are not on the list, 
do not permit a determination of exact amounts. See 12 CFR 
1005.32(b)(1)(i).
    This list is subject to change. As applicable, the Bureau will 
publish revisions to the list on its Web site and in the Federal 
Register. To facilitate compliance when the Final Rule goes into 
effect, the Bureau will not remove any countries on this version of the 
list before July 1, 2014. Furthermore, if the Bureau believes that it 
may be appropriate to remove a country or area from the list, the 
Bureau will provide 90-days advance notice.
    The Bureau will next review the list in spring 2014. To have your 
suggestions or input considered for the Bureau's next review, please 
send your feedback on whether the Bureau should make changes to the 
list and any supporting materials (in English) on or before March 17, 
2014 to:

_CFPB_CountriesList@CFPB.gov or
--Office of the Executive Secretary, Bureau of Consumer Financial 
Protection, 1700 G Street NW., Washington, DC 20552.

    To receive an alert when the Bureau releases a revised countries 
list, please sign up for email updates at http://www.consumerfinance.gov/remittances-transfer-rule-amendment-to-regulation-e/.

    Dated: October 24, 2013.
Christopher D'Angelo,
Chief of Staff, Bureau of Consumer Financial Protection.
[FR Doc. 2013-25754 Filed 11-4-13; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 4810-AM-P
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