I 

115TH CONGRESS 

2D SESSION H. R. 4999 

To amend the Truth in Lending Act to address certain issues relating to 

the extension of consumer credit, and for other purposes. 

IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES 

FEBRUARY 13, 2018 

Ms. BONAMICI (for herself, Mr. CUMMINGS, Mr. BLUMENAUER, Ms. JUDY

CHU of California, Ms. DELAURO, Mr. ELLISON, Mr. GRIJALVA, Ms. 

JAYAPAL, Ms. NORTON, Mr. RASKIN, Ms. SCHAKOWSKY, and Ms. 

SLAUGHTER) introduced the following bill; which was referred to the 

Committee on Financial Services 

A BILL 

To amend the Truth in Lending Act to address certain 

issues relating to the extension of consumer credit, and 

for other purposes. 

1 Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representa2 tives of the United States of America in Congress assembled, 

3 SECTION 1. SHORT TITLE. 

4 This Act may be cited as the ‘‘Stopping Abuse and 

5 Fraud in Electronic Lending Act of 2018’’ or the ‘‘SAFE 

6 Lending Act of 2018’’. 


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1 SEC. 2. CONSUMER CONTROL OVER BANK ACCOUNTS. 

2 (a) PROHIBITING UNAUTHORIZED REMOTELY CRE3 ATED CHECKS.—Section 905 of the Electronic Fund 

4 Transfer Act (15 U.S.C. 1693c) is amended by adding at 

5 the end the following: 

6 ‘‘(d) LIMITATIONS ON REMOTELY CREATED

7 CHECKS.— 

8 ‘‘(1) DEFINITION.—In this subsection— 

9 ‘‘(A) the term ‘remotely created check’ 

10 means a check, including a paper or electronic 

11 check and any other payment order that the 

12 Bureau, by rule, determines is appropriately 

13 covered under this subsection, that— 

14 ‘‘(i) is not created by the financial in15 stitution that holds the customer account 

16 from which the check is to be paid; and 

17 ‘‘(ii) does not bear a signature ap18 plied, or purported to be applied, by the 

19 person from whose account the check is to 

20 be paid; and 

21 ‘‘(B) the term ‘Federal consumer financial 

22 law’ has the meaning given the term in section 

23 1002 of the Consumer Financial Protection Act 

24 of 2010 (12 U.S.C. 5481). 

25 ‘‘(2) LIMITATIONS.—Subject to the limitations 

26 in paragraph (3) and any additional limitations that 


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1 the Bureau may establish, by rule, a remotely cre2 ated check may only be issued by a person des3 ignated in writing by a consumer with that written 

4 designation specifically provided by the consumer to 

5 the insured depository institution at which the con6 sumer maintains the account from which the check 

7 is to be drawn. 

8 ‘‘(3) ADDITIONAL LIMITATIONS.— 

9 ‘‘(A) IN GENERAL.—A designation pro10 vided by a consumer under paragraph (2) may 

11 be revoked at any time by the consumer. 

12 ‘‘(B) CONSUMER FINANCIAL PROTECTION

13 LAWS.—No payment order, including a re14 motely created check, may be issued by any per15 son in response to the exercise of, or attempt to 

16 exercise, any right by a consumer under— 

17 ‘‘(i) any Federal consumer financial 

18 law; or 

19 ‘‘(ii) any other provision of any law or 

20 regulation within the jurisdiction of the 

21 Bureau.’’. 

22 (b) CONSUMER PROTECTIONS FOR CERTAIN ONE23 TIME ELECTRONIC FUND TRANSFERS.—Section 913 of 

24 the Electronic Fund Transfer Act (15 U.S.C. 1693k) is 

25 amended— 


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1 (1) in the matter preceding paragraph (1), by 

2 inserting ‘‘(a) IN GENERAL.—’’ before ‘‘No person’’; 

3 (2) in subsection (a)(1), as so designated, by 

4 striking ‘‘preauthorized electronic fund transfers’’ 

5 and inserting ‘‘an electronic fund transfer’’; and 

6 (3) by adding at the end the following: 

7 ‘‘(b) TREATMENT FOR ELECTRONIC FUND TRANS8 FERS IN CREDIT EXTENSIONS.—If a consumer voluntarily 

9 agrees to repay an extension of a small-dollar consumer 

10 credit transaction, as defined in section 110(a) of the 

11 Truth in Lending Act, by means of an electronic fund 

12 transfer, the electronic fund transfer shall be treated as 

13 a preauthorized electronic fund transfer subject to the pro14 tections of this title.’’. 

15 SEC. 3. TRANSPARENCY AND CONSUMER EMPOWERMENT 

16 IN SMALL-DOLLAR LENDING. 

17 (a) SMALL-DOLLAR CONSUMER CREDIT TRANS18 ACTIONS.— 

19 (1) IN GENERAL.—The Truth in Lending Act 

20 (15 U.S.C. 1601 et seq.) is amended— 

21 (A) by inserting after section 109 (15 

22 U.S.C. 1608) the following: 


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1 ‘‘SEC. 110. REGISTRATION REQUIREMENT FOR SMALL-DOL2 LAR LENDERS. 

3 ‘‘(a) DEFINITION.—In this section, the term ‘small4 dollar consumer credit transaction’— 

5 ‘‘(1) means any transaction that extends credit 

6 that is— 

7 ‘‘(A) made to a consumer in an amount 

8 that— 

9 ‘‘(i) is not more than— 

10 ‘‘(I) $5,000; or 

11 ‘‘(II) such greater amount as the 

12 Bureau may, by rule, determine; and 

13 ‘‘(ii) shall be adjusted annually to re14 flect changes in the Consumer Price Index 

15 for all urban consumers published by the 

16 Department of Labor; and 

17 ‘‘(B) extended pursuant to an agreement 

18 that is— 

19 ‘‘(i)(I) other than an open end credit 

20 plan; and 

21 ‘‘(II) payable in one or more install22 ments of less than 12 months (or such 

23 longer period as the Bureau may, by rule, 

24 determine); 

25 ‘‘(ii) an open end credit plan in which 

26 each advance is fully repayable within a 


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1 defined time or in connection with a de2 fined event, or both; or 

3 ‘‘(iii) any other plan as the Bureau 

4 determines, by rule; and 

5 ‘‘(2) includes any action that facilitates, bro6 kers, arranges, or gathers applications for a trans7 action described in paragraph (1). 

8 ‘‘(b) REGISTRATION REQUIREMENT.—A person shall 

9 register with the Bureau before issuing credit in a small10 dollar consumer credit transaction.’’; and 

11 (B) in section 173 (15 U.S.C. 1666j), by 

12 adding at the end the following: 

13 ‘‘(d) Notwithstanding any other provisions of this 

14 title, any small-dollar consumer credit transaction, as de15 fined in section 110(a), shall comply with the laws of the 

16 State in which the consumer to which the transaction is 

17 made resides with respect to annual percentage rates, in18 terest, fees, charges, and such other similar or related 

19 matters as the Bureau may, by rule, determine if the 

20 small-dollar consumer credit transaction is— 

21 ‘‘(1) made over— 

22 ‘‘(A) the Internet; 

23 ‘‘(B) telephone; 

24 ‘‘(C) facsimile; 

25 ‘‘(D) mail; 


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1 ‘‘(E) electronic mail; or 

2 ‘‘(F) other electronic communication; or 

3 ‘‘(2) conducted by a national bank.’’. 

4 (2) TECHNICAL AND CONFORMING AMEND5 MENT.—The table of sections for chapter 1 of the 

6 Truth in Lending Act (15 U.S.C. 1601 et seq.) is 

7 amended by inserting after the item relating to sec8 tion 109 the following: 

‘‘110. Registration requirement for small-dollar lenders.’’. 

9 (b) PROHIBITION ON CERTAIN FEES.—Section 915 

10 of the Electronic Fund Transfer Act (15 U.S.C. 1693l– 

11 1) is amended— 

12 (1) in subsection (a)(2)(A), in the matter pre13 ceding clause (i), by striking ‘‘The term’’ and insert14 ing ‘‘Subject to subsection (d)(1), the term’’; 

15 (2) by redesignating subsection (d) as sub16 section (e); and 

17 (3) by inserting after subsection (c) the fol18 lowing: 

19 ‘‘(d) ADDITIONAL FEES PROHIBITED.— 

20 ‘‘(1) DEFINITION.—In this subsection, the term 

21 ‘prepaid account’ has the meaning given the term by 

22 rule of the Bureau. 

23 ‘‘(2) PROHIBITION.—With respect to the use of 

24 a prepaid account by a consumer— 


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1 ‘‘(A) it shall be unlawful for any person to 

2 charge the consumer a fee for an overdraft, in3 cluding a shortage of funds or a transaction 

4 processed for an amount exceeding the account 

5 balance of the prepaid account; 

6 ‘‘(B) any transaction for an amount ex7 ceeding the account balance of the prepaid ac8 count may be declined, except that the con9 sumer may not be charged a fee for that pur10 pose; and 

11 ‘‘(C) the Bureau may, by rule, prohibit the 

12 charging of any fee so that the Bureau may— 

13 ‘‘(i) prevent unfair, deceptive, or abu14 sive practices; and 

15 ‘‘(ii) promote the ability of the con16 sumer to understand and compare the 

17 costs of prepaid accounts.’’. 

18 SEC. 4. RESTRICTIONS ON LEAD GENERATION IN SMALL19 DOLLAR CONSUMER CREDIT TRANSACTIONS. 

20 (a) IN GENERAL.—Chapter 2 of the Truth in Lend21 ing Act (15 U.S.C. 1631 et seq.) is amended by adding 

22 at the end the following: 


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1 ‘‘SEC. 140B. RESTRICTIONS ON LEAD GENERATION IN 

2 SMALL-DOLLAR CONSUMER CREDIT TRANS3 ACTIONS. 

4 ‘‘(a) DEFINITIONS.—In this section— 

5 ‘‘(1) the terms ‘Internet access service’ and 

6 ‘Internet information location tool’ have the mean7 ings given those terms in section 231(e) of the Com8 munications Act of 1934 (47 U.S.C. 231(e)); 

9 ‘‘(2) the term ‘sensitive personal financial infor10 mation’ means a Social Security number, financial 

11 account number, bank routing number, bank ac12 count number, or security or access code that is im13 mediately necessary to permit access to the financial 

14 account of an individual; and 

15 ‘‘(3) the term ‘small-dollar consumer credit 

16 transaction’ has the meaning given the term in sec17 tion 110(a). 

18 ‘‘(b) IDENTIFICATION INFORMATION.—Any person 

19 facilitating, brokering, arranging for, or gathering applica20 tions for, the distribution of sensitive personal financial 

21 information in connection with a small-dollar consumer 

22 credit transaction shall prominently disclose information 

23 by which the person may be contacted or identified, includ24 ing for service of process and for identification of the reg25 istrant of any domain name registered or used. 


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1 ‘‘(c) PROHIBITION ON LEAD GENERATION IN SMALL2 DOLLAR CONSUMER CREDIT TRANSACTIONS.—No person 

3 may facilitate, broker, arrange for, or gather applications 

4 for the distribution of sensitive personal financial informa5 tion in connection with a small-dollar consumer credit 

6 transaction, unless the person is directly providing the 

7 small-dollar consumer credit to a consumer. 

8 ‘‘(d) RULE OF CONSTRUCTION.— 

9 ‘‘(1) IN GENERAL.—Nothing in this section 

10 may be construed to limit the authority of the Bu11 reau to further restrict activities covered by this sec12 tion. 

13 ‘‘(2) CLARIFICATION.—For the purposes of this 

14 section, it shall not be considered facilitating the dis15 tribution of sensitive personal financial information 

16 in connection with a small-dollar consumer credit 

17 transaction to be engaged solely in one of the fol18 lowing activities: 

19 ‘‘(A) The provision of a telecommuni20 cations service, an Internet access service, or an 

21 Internet information location tool. 

22 ‘‘(B) The transmission, storage, retrieval, 

23 hosting, formatting, or translation (or any com24 bination thereof) of a communication, without 

25 selection or alteration of the content of the 


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1 communication, except the deletion of a par2 ticular communication or material made by an3 other person in a manner that is consistent 

4 with section 230(c) of the Communications Act 

5 of 1934 (47 U.S.C. 230(c)).’’. 

6 (b) TECHNICAL AND CONFORMING AMENDMENT.— 

7 The table of sections for chapter 2 of the Truth in Lend8 ing Act (15 U.S.C. 1631 et seq.) is amended by adding 

9 at the end the following: 

‘‘140B. Restrictions on lead generation in small-dollar consumer credit transactions.’’. 

10 SEC. 5. STUDIES. 

11 (a) DEFINITIONS.—In this section— 

12 (1) the term ‘‘appropriate committees of Con13 gress’’ means— 

14 (A) the Committee on Banking, Housing, 

15 and Urban Affairs of the Senate; 

16 (B) the Committee on Indian Affairs of the 

17 Senate; 

18 (C) the Committee on Financial Services of 

19 the House of Representatives; and 

20 (D) the Committee on Natural Resources 

21 of the House of Representatives; and 

22 (2) the term ‘‘Indian tribe’’ has the meaning 

23 given the term in section 4 of the Indian Self-DeterVerDate Sep 11 2014 01:58 Feb 15, 2018 Jkt 079200 PO 00000 Frm 00011 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H4999.IH H4999

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1 mination and Education Assistance Act (25 U.S.C. 

2 5304). 

3 (b) STUDY REQUIRED.—Not later than 180 days 

4 after the date of enactment of this Act, the Comptroller 

5 General of the United States shall conduct a study regard6 ing— 

7 (1) the availability of capital on reservations of 

8 Indian tribes; and 

9 (2) the impact that small-dollar consumer credit 

10 extended through Internet and non-Internet means 

11 to members of Indian tribes has had on economic 

12 opportunity and wealth for members of Indian 

13 tribes. 

14 (c) CONSULTATION.—In conducting the study re15 quired under subsection (b), the Comptroller General of 

16 the United States shall consult, as appropriate, with— 

17 (1) the Bureau of Consumer Financial Protec18 tion; 

19 (2) the Board of Governors of the Federal Re20 serve System; 

21 (3) the Director of the Bureau of Indian Af22 fairs; 

23 (4) federally recognized Indian tribes; and 

24 (5) community development financial institu25 tions operating in Indian lands. 


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1 (d) CONGRESSIONAL CONSIDERATION.—The Comp2 troller General of the United States shall submit to the 

3 appropriate committees of Congress the study required 

4 under subsection (b). 

5 SEC. 6. RULEMAKING. 

6 Not later than 1 year after the date of enactment 

7 of this Act, the Bureau of Consumer Financial Protection 

8 shall adopt any final rules necessary to implement the pro9 visions of this Act and the amendments made by this Act. 

Æ 


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