I 

111TH CONGRESS 

2D SESSION H. R. 4552 

To amend the Electronic Fund Transfer Act to provide protection for 

consumers who have government benefit cards. 

IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES 

JANUARY 29, 2010 

Mr. LEVIN (for himself and Mr. MCDERMOTT) introduced the following bill; 

which was referred to the Committee on Financial Services 

A BILL 

To amend the Electronic Fund Transfer Act to provide 

protection for consumers who have government benefit cards. 

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 ‘‘Benefit Card Fairness 

5 Act of 2010’’. 

6 SEC. 2. PROTECTION FOR CONSUMERS WHO HAVE GOV7 ERNMENT BENEFIT CARDS. 

8 (a) GOVERNMENT PAYMENT ACCOUNTS INCLUDED

9 IN DEFINITION OF ACCOUNT.—Section 903 of the ElecVerDate Nov 24 2008 22:00 Jan 29, 2010 Jkt 089200 PO 00000 Frm 00001 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H4552.IH H4552

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1 tronic Fund Transfer Act (15 U.S.C. 1693a) is amend2 ed— 

3 (1) in paragraph (2), by inserting ‘‘and includes 

4 a government payment account,’’ before ‘‘but’’; 

5 (2) by redesignating paragraphs (9) and (10) 

6 as paragraphs (10) and (11), respectively; and 

7 (3) by inserting after paragraph (8) the fol8 lowing: 

9 ‘‘(9) the term ‘government payment account’ 

10 means an account that is directly or indirectly estab11 lished through a government agency and to which 

12 electronic fund transfers are made by or on behalf 

13 of a government agency on a recurring basis;’’. 

14 (b) ELIMINATION OF EXEMPTION FOR GOVERNMENT

15 ELECTRONIC BENEFIT TRANSFER SYSTEMS.— 

16 (1) IN GENERAL.—Section 904(d) of such Act 

17 (15 U.S.C. 1693b(d)) is amended by striking para18 graph (2) and redesignating paragraph (3) as para19 graph (2). 

20 (2) CONFORMING AMENDMENTS.— 

21 (A) Section 905(a)(10)(A) of such Act (15 

22 U.S.C. 1693c(a)(10)(A)) is amended by striking 

23 ‘‘903(d)(3)(D)(i)’’ and inserting 

24 ‘‘903(d)(2)(D)(i)’’. 


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1 (B) Section 910(d) of such Act (15 U.S.C. 

2 1693h(d)) is amended by striking 

3 ‘‘903(d)(3)(B)(i)’’ each place it appears and in4 serting ‘‘903(d)(2)(B)(i)’’. 

5 (c) CONSUMER PROTECTION.—The Electronic Fund 

6 Transfer Act (15 U.S.C. 1693–1693r) is amended by add7 ing at the end the following: 

8 ‘‘SEC. 922. GOVERNMENT PAYMENT ACCOUNTS. 

9 ‘‘(a) IN GENERAL.—A financial institution shall not 

10 offer a government payment account except in compliance 

11 with this section. 

12 ‘‘(b) CONSUMER CHOICE.—An electronic fund trans13 fer on behalf of a consumer may not be made automati14 cally to a government payment account, unless— 

15 ‘‘(1) the consumer has first been offered and 

16 has declined the choice of direct deposit to an exist17 ing account chosen by the consumer; 

18 ‘‘(2) the consumer has, when offered the choice 

19 of direct deposit to an existing account, been pro20 vided a clear and conspicuous list of the types and 

21 amounts of all fees and charges associated with the 

22 government payment account; and 

23 ‘‘(3) the consumer has the opportunity, in case 

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1 ments to the consumer and elect to receive payments 

2 in the form of a check. 

3 ‘‘(c) ACCESS TO ACCOUNT BALANCE AND TRANS4 ACTION HISTORY.— 

5 ‘‘(1) A financial institution shall provide the 

6 means for the consumer to access the balance of a 

7 government payment account through a telephone 

8 line, online, and at a terminal (such as by providing 

9 balance information, routinely or on request, on a 

10 screen or on a receipt from an automated teller ma11 chine). 

12 ‘‘(2) A financial institution shall either provide 

13 periodic statements pursuant to section 906(c), or 

14 make available to a consumer at a consumer’s option 

15 all of the following without a fee, except for the fee 

16 permitted in subparagraph (E): 

17 ‘‘(A) A written history of the consumer’s 

18 account transactions that is provided promptly 

19 in response to an oral or written request and 

20 that is available for transactions at least 24- 

21 months preceding the date of the request by the 

22 consumer. 

23 ‘‘(B) An electronic history of the con24 sumer’s account transactions, such as through 

25 an Internet Web site, that covers at least 60 


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1 days preceding the date the consumer electroni2 cally accesses the account. 

3 ‘‘(C) An electronic periodic statement. 

4 ‘‘(D) Electronic mail notification of the 

5 availability of an electronic history or an elec6 tronic periodic statement at least once each pe7 riod, unless the consumer has declined to pro8 vide an electronic mail address. 

9 ‘‘(E) The choice of receiving a written 

10 periodic statement upon payment of a nominal 

11 fee, not to exceed $1 per statement. 

12 ‘‘(3) A history of account transactions provided 

13 under subparagraphs (A) and (B) of paragraph (1) 

14 of this subsection shall include the information re15 quired by section 906(c). 

16 ‘‘(d) FEES.— 

17 ‘‘(1) IN GENERAL.—A fee or charge may not be 

18 assessed on a government payment account except 

19 as authorized by this section. 

20 ‘‘(2) PROHIBITED FEES.—A fee or charge may 

21 not be charged on a government payment account 

22 for any of the following: 

23 ‘‘(A) The first withdrawal from an in-net24 work automated teller machine and the first 


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1 withdrawal from a bank teller, after each de2 posit. 

3 ‘‘(B) An application. 

4 ‘‘(C) Participation, whether on a one-time 

5 or periodic basis. 

6 ‘‘(D) An overdraft, including a shortage of 

7 funds or a transaction processed for an amount 

8 exceeding the account balance. 

9 ‘‘(E) A purchase. 

10 ‘‘(F) A declined transaction. 

11 ‘‘(G) Inactivity. 

12 ‘‘(H) An inquiry, or balance or transaction 

13 information, at an automated teller machine or 

14 through the Internet or an automated system. 

15 ‘‘(I) Customer service. 

16 ‘‘(J) An ad hoc request for a statement. 

17 ‘‘(K) An extension of credit. 

18 ‘‘(L) 1 replacement card each year. 

19 ‘‘(M) Anything for which a fee is not per20 mitted by or under paragraph (3). 

21 ‘‘(3) PERMITTED FEES.— 

22 ‘‘(A) NOMINAL FEE FOR WRITTEN PERI23 ODIC STATEMENTS.—The consumer may be 

24 charged a nominal fee not to exceed $1 for 

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1 signed solely to cover the costs of printing and 

2 mailing the statements, and if other account in3 formation is made available in accordance with 

4 this section. 

5 ‘‘(B) TRANSACTION FEES.—Subject to 

6 subparagraph (C), a consumer may be charged 

7 a fee for only the following transactions in con8 nection with a government payment account: 

9 ‘‘(i) The second or any subsequent 

10 withdrawal from an in-network automated 

11 teller machine and the second or any sub12 sequent withdrawal from a bank teller, 

13 after each deposit. 

14 ‘‘(ii) A surcharge imposed by a non15 network automated teller machine in com16 pliance with section 904(d)(3). 

17 ‘‘(iii) A transfer to another account. 

18 ‘‘(iv) Bill payment. 

19 ‘‘(v) A replacement card after the first 

20 one each year. 

21 ‘‘(vi) Expedited delivery of a replace22 ment card. 

23 ‘‘(vii) International automated teller 

24 machine withdrawal. 


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1 ‘‘(viii) A purchase or withdrawal in an 

2 international currency. 

3 ‘‘(C) AUTHORITY TO PERMIT OTHER

4 FEES.—The Board may by regulation authorize 

5 other permissible fees for specific services be6 yond ordinary use of the account. 

7 ‘‘(e) DISCLOSURES.— 

8 ‘‘(1) IN GENERAL.—A financial institution shall 

9 disclose the following: 

10 ‘‘(A) MEANS TO OBTAIN ACCOUNT BAL11 ANCE.—The means by which the consumer may 

12 obtain information without a fee concerning the 

13 account balance, including a telephone number 

14 and Web site. 

15 ‘‘(B) WRITTEN ACCOUNT HISTORY.—A 

16 summary of the consumer’s right to receive a 

17 written account history on request and other 

18 means to obtain transaction information. 

19 ‘‘(C) FEE INFORMATION.— 

20 ‘‘(i) Any fee or charge associated with 

21 the account shall be disclosed in a promi22 nent location on or in conjunction with any 

23 application or solicitation, or other applica24 ble document, and in the form of a table 

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1 stantially similar to the tables required 

2 pursuant to section 127(c)(1)(A) of the 

3 Truth in Lending Act and regulations 

4 under that section. 

5 ‘‘(ii) The card or device used to access 

6 the account shall display a toll-free number 

7 and Web site at which a clear and con8 spicuous list of fees and charges may be 

9 obtained. 

10 ‘‘(iii) The initial disclosure of fees and 

11 charges shall include a wallet-sized sum12 mary of the fees and charges, the Web site 

13 where fee information can be found, and 

14 the telephone number for customer service. 

15 ‘‘(2) MODIFIED REQUIREMENTS.—The fol16 lowing requirements shall apply to financial institu17 tions that do not furnish periodic statements for the 

18 transfers referred to in subsection (c): 

19 ‘‘(A) ERROR RESOLUTION.—The financial 

20 institution shall provide a notice to consumers 

21 concerning error resolution as prescribed in reg22 ulations of the Board. 

23 ‘‘(B) LIMITATIONS ON LIABILITY.—For 

24 purposes of section 909(a), the 60-day period 

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1 pears on a periodic statement shall begin with 

2 transmittal of a written account history or 

3 other account information, provided to or 

4 accessed by the consumer under subsection (c) 

5 of this section, in which the unauthorized trans6 fer is first reflected. 

7 ‘‘(C) ERROR RESOLUTION.—If a financial 

8 institution receives oral or written notice of an 

9 error from the consumer within 60 days after 

10 the consumer, under subsection (c) of this sec11 tion, obtains a written account history or other 

12 account information in which the error is first 

13 reflected, the financial institution shall comply 

14 with section 908. 

15 ‘‘(f) FDIC INSURANCE.—A financial institution shall 

16 not offer electronic fund transfer services in connection 

17 with a government payment account unless the account 

18 complies with requirements of the Federal Deposit Insur19 ance Corporation for the provision of insurance by the 

20 Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation to the consumer 

21 on either a direct or pass-through basis. 

22 ‘‘(g) STANDARD STATE CONTRACTS.—The Secretary 

23 of the Treasury, in consultation with the Secretary of 

24 Labor and the Secretary of Health and Human Services, 

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1 stitutions for a standard contract into which a State or 

2 local government agency may enter for government pay3 ment account services in compliance with this section. 

4 ‘‘(h) DEFINITION OF FINANCIAL INSTITUTION.—In 

5 this section, the term ‘financial institution’ means any 

6 provider of a government payment account.’’. 

7 (d) EFFECTIVE DATE.— 

8 (1) IN GENERAL.—Except as provided in para9 graph (2), the amendments made by this section 

10 shall take effect 1 year after the date of the enact11 ment of this Act. 

12 (2) INAPPLICABILITY TO SERVICES PROVIDED

13 UNDER CONTRACTS ENTERED INTO BEFORE ENACT14 MENT.—The amendments made by this section shall 

15 not apply with respect to the provision of goods or 

16 services under a contract entered into before the 

17 date of the enactment of this Act. 

Æ 


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