An example to make this point directly will add clarity to the proposed rule. An individual should not be considered a consumer simply because she received a payment from a financial institution. The payment of money is not obtaining a financial service. In addition, third party beneficiaries or payees under a financial product or other third parties who claim a benefit under a financial product purchased by a consumer from a financial institution are not themselves consumers because they have not obtained a financial product or service from a financial institution. They are merely claiming proceeds of a product that another individual has obtained.
Third parties have no direct relationship with the institution.
The relationship is temporary and can be changed by the employer. Factors beyond the control of the consumer and the financial institution control the duration of the relationship. Generally, group contracts are issued on an annually renewable basis and the group has the opportunity to decide whether to maintain the group contract. The group often choose to contract with a different financial institution and to terminate the existing group contract, which terminates the individual's relationship with the financial institution. You provide a financial product to the consumer, but you have not communicated with the consumer, have no direct contractual relationship with the consumer or the consumer's continued eligibility for such financial product is contingent upon continued membership in a group.