15032 Federal Register / Vol. 60, No. 55 / Wednesday, March 22, 1995 / Rules and Regulations

1Commenters included 39 financial institutions, six trade associations, five Federal Reserve Banks, and two law firms. No consumer groups commented on the interim rule.

the poll. Each CFSA county office shall

transmit the results of the poll in its county to the CFSA State office. Such

report shall include, but not be limited

to, the number of producers registering

to request a refund referendum; the number of requests declared invalid; the number of requests declared ineligible; and the total number of requests declared eligible to conduct a

referendum. The results of the poll in

each county may be made available to

the public after the county has reported

to the State office. A copy of the report of results shall be posted for 30 days in CFSA county office in a conspicuous place accessible to the public, and a

copy shall be kept on file in CFSA

county office for a period of at least 12 months. § 1220.728 CFSA State office report. Each CFSA State office shall transmit

to the Deputy Administrator, CFSA, a written summary of the results of the poll received from all CFSA county

offices within the State. The summary

shall include the information on the poll results contained in the reports

from all county offices within each State

and be certified by the CFSA State Executive Director. The State CFSA

office shall maintain a copy of the

summary where it shall be available for public inspection for a period of not less

that 12 months. § 1220.729 Results of the poll. (a) The Deputy Administrator, CFSA, shall submit to the Administrator, AMS, the results of the poll. The Administrator, AMS, shall prepare and

submit to the Secretary a report of the

results of the poll. The results of the poll shall be issued by the Department

in an official press release and

published in the Federal Register. State

reports and related papers shall be

available for public inspection in the office of the Marketing Programs Branch, Livestock and Seed Division, AMS, USDA, room 2624 South Agriculture Building, 14th and

Independence Avenue SW, Washington, DC.(b) If the Secretary deems it necessary, the report of any State or county will be

reexamined and checked by such

persons who may be designated by the Deputy Administrator, CFSA, or the Secretary. § 1220.730 Disposition of records. Each CFSA CED shall place in sealed

containers marked with the

identification of the soybean producer poll, the request lists and county

summaries. Such records shall be

secured in the custody of the CFSA CED

for a period of not less than 12 months after the poll. If no notice to the contrary

is received from the Deputy Administrator, CFSA, by the end of such time, the records shall be destroyed. § 1220.731 Instructions and forms. The Administrator is hereby

authorized to prescribe additional

instructions and forms not inconsistent with the provisions of this subpart to

govern the conduct of the producer poll. Dated: March 15, 1995. Lon Hatamiya, Administrator. [FR Doc. 95–6910 Filed 3–21–95; 8:45 am] BILLING CODE 3410–02–P

FEDERAL RESERVE SYSTEM

12 CFR Part 205

[Regulation E; Docket No. R–0859] Electronic Fund Transfers AGENCY: Board of Governors of the Federal Reserve System. ACTION: Final rule. SUMMARY: The Board is publishing a

final rule amending Regulation E

(Electronic Fund Transfers). The

amendment eliminates the requirement

that an electronic terminal receipt disclose a number or code that uniquely

identifies the consumer, the consumer’s account, or the access device. This

requirement posed a significant security

risk to consumers and financial

institutions by making information

accessible to criminals that could be used to make fraudulent fund withdrawals. To address this problem, the Board adopted an interim rule

effective December 1, 1994. The Board

also sought comments on the interim

rule and is amending the rule to address

the comments received. EFFECTIVE DATE: April 24, 1995. FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Jane

Jensen Gell, Staff Attorney, Division of Consumer and Community Affairs, Board of Governors of the Federal Reserve System, Washington, DC 20551, at (202) 452–2412 or (202) 452–3667. For the hearing impaired only, contact Dorothea Thompson, Telecommunications Device for the Deaf

(TDD), at (202) 452–3544. SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: I. Background The Board’s Regulation E implements

the Electronic Fund Transfer Act

(EFTA). The EFTA provides a basic

framework establishing the rights,

liabilities, and responsibilities of participants in electronic fund transfer

(EFT) systems. Types of transfers covered by the act and regulation

include transfers initiated through an

automated teller machine (ATM), point- of-sale terminal, automated

clearinghouse, telephone bill-payment system, or home banking program. Regulation E establishes restrictions on

the unsolicited issuance of ATM cards and other access devices; requires disclosure of terms and conditions of an

EFT service; calls for documentation of EFTs through terminal receipts and

periodic account statements; provides

limitations on consumer liability for unauthorized transfers; and establishes procedures for error resolution.

II. Summary of Amendment

In December 1994, the Board adopted

an interim rule amending Regulation E

(59 FR 61787, December 2, 1994). Comment was solicited on making the

rule final; approximately 65 comments were received. All commenters strongly

supported the Board’s proposal.1 Commenters believed that the change would not significantly reduce the level of information provided to consumers

regarding their ATM transactions and would continue to provide enough

information for the consumer (and the

financial institution) to identify the

transaction. Based on the comments received and

further analysis, the Board is adopting

final amendments to Regulation E. Under the final rule, the card or account number identification on the receipt no

longer has to be ‘‘unique’’ among the

institution’s customers and need not exceed four digits or letters. The number or code still has to distinguish the

consumer’s account(s) from other accounts of the same consumer at the

institution, and to distinguish the access device from other access devices of the

same consumer at the institution. Section 205.9—Documentation of Transfers Paragraph (a)—Receipts at Electronic Terminals Under the EFTA, when a consumer

initiates a transfer at an electronic

terminal, the financial institution must make a written receipt available to the

consumer, identifying the consumer’s account with the financial institution

from which or to which funds are

transferred. Under the regulation, institutions can comply with this
Federal Register / Vol. 60, No. 55 / Wednesday, March 22, 1995 / Rules and Regulations 15033

identification requirement by including

a number or code on the receipt that

identifies the access device used to

initiate the transfer, the consumer

initiating the transaction, or the

consumer’s account(s). The Board

specified that the number or code

should be ‘‘unique’’ to ensure that the method used on the receipt adequately

identifies the consumer. Over the years, many financial

institutions met this requirement for unique identification by disclosing

consumers’ card or account numbers on

the receipt, and doing so did not appear

to represent a security risk. Recently, the requirement for a unique

identification has resulted in serious and widespread ATM fraud carried out by individuals who observe—and often

videotape—a consumer entering a personal identification number (PIN) on

the ATM keypad. These persons retrieve

terminal receipts that have been

discarded at ATM locations to obtain

the account or ATM card number. Using

the combination of PIN and number, they then manufacture a counterfeit ATM card and use the card to withdraw

funds from the consumer’s account. To help protect consumers and

financial institutions against this fraud, the Board adopted an interim rule

effective December 1, 1994. The interim

rule eliminated the requirement that an

electronic terminal receipt uniquely

identify the consumer’s account or card. This change has allowed institutions to

truncate the number printed on the

receipt so that it will not contain

enough information for a criminal to duplicate the card. The Board believes that the change does not substantially diminish

consumer protections. The purpose of

the receipt requirement is to allow

consumers to verify transactions. Under

the final rule, the receipt still provides

sufficient information to allow the

consumer to identify transfers: the date of the transfer; the amount of the

transfer; the type of transfer and type of account; the location of the terminal; and the identification of any third party

to or from which funds are transferred. Using this information, a consumer can match each transaction on the periodic

statement with the receipt received at

the time the transaction took place. In

addition, a consumer has the necessary

information to identify and resolve

errors in documentation. Commenters agreed, noting that the amendment would not adversely effect their ability

to comply with the error resolution

procedures of Regulation E.

Standards for Truncation Numerous commenters asked the Board to provide specific guidance to

establish truncation standards for card

number suppression. Several commenters requested that either the

regulation or the Official Staff Commentary should provide a ‘‘safe harbor’’ for institutions, allowing them

to truncate the identifying information

on terminal receipts to as few as four digits or letters. An industry trade

association, along with the major ATM

networks, has developed and proposed

a 4-digit standard for the industry. Although the account number printed

on the receipt would be truncated under

this standard, the necessary information

to support research and reconciliation would be retained in the system. Commenters believed that a 4-digit standard would deter fraud and still provide sufficient identification. Commenters strongly supported

establishing a standard at the network

level. They believed that this standard would assure that cardholders are provided the same level of account protection at any network ATM they use. In addition, commenters noted that a financial institution could provide the

same level of account protection to

cardholders from other institutions who use their ATMs. Other commenters, while not opposing the proposed

standard, asked the Board to provide

flexibility for financial institutions to develop their own receipt identification methodology. The Board is amending

the regulation to provide that

institutions are in compliance with the

terminal receipt account identification

requirement when account numbers are

truncated to four digits. This would

create a safe harbor for compliance, allow for the establishment of an

industry standard, and also allow an

institution to develop its own

requirements. The Board believes that the ATM

fraud addressed by the rule is a serious problem that, absent Board action, would have continued to the detriment of consumers and financial institutions. The final rule reduces fraud without compromising consumers’ ability to document their electronic fund transfers and provides specific guidance

concerning compliance. This amendment to Regulation E

supersedes a proposed change under the

regulatory review project that was published for comment earlier this year

(59 FR 10684, March 7, 1994).

III. Regulatory Flexibility Analysis The Board’s Office of the Secretary has prepared an economic impact

statement on the amendment to Regulation E. A copy of the analysis may be obtained from Publications Services, Board of Governors of the Federal Reserve System, Washington, DC 20551, at (202) 452–3245.

IV. Paperwork Reduction Act

In accordance with section 3507 of

the Paperwork Reduction Act of 1980

(44 U.S.C. Ch. 35; 5 CFR 1320.13), the

information collection has been

reviewed by the Board under the

authority delegated to the Board by the Office of Management and Budget after consideration of the comments received

during the public comment period. The

third party disclosure in this revision of Regulation E is in 12 CFR 205.9. Information is required as confirmation

of transactions consumers perform at electronic terminals. The revision

allows institutions to truncate the

identifying number or code on receipts, thus deterring fraud. The revision is not estimated to change the amount of annual burden associated with Regulation E for state member banks, which is 543,363 hours. List of Subjects in 12 CFR Part 205 Consumer protection, Electronic fund

transfers, Federal Reserve System, Reporting and recordkeeping

requirements. Accordingly, the interim rule

amending 12 CFR part 205 which was published at 59 FR 61787 (December 2, 1994) is adopted as a final rule with the

following changes: PART 205—ELECTRONIC FUND

TRANSFERS (REGULATION E) 1. The authority citation for part 205

continues to read as follows: Authority: 12 U.S.C. 1693. 2. Section 205.9 is amended by

revising paragraph (a)(4), to read as

follows: § 205.9 Documentation of transfers. (a) * * *

(4) A number or code that identifies

the consumer initiating the transfer, the

consumer’s account(s), or the access device used to initiate the transfer. The number or code need not exceed four digits or letters to comply with the

requirements of this paragraph. * * * * * By order of the Board of Governors of the Federal Reserve System. Dated: March 16, 1995. Jennifer J. Johnson, Deputy Secretary of the Board. [FR Doc. 95–6971 Filed 3–21–95; 8:45 am] BILLING CODE 6210–01–P