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. 
Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representa-
tives of the United States of America in Congress assembled, 
SECTION 1. SHORT TITLE. 
This Act may be cited as the ‘‘Benefit Card Fairness 
Act of 2010’’. 
SEC. 2. PROTECTION FOR CONSUMERS WHO HAVE GOV-
ERNMENT BENEFIT CARDS. 
(a) GOVERNMENT PAYMENT ACCOUNTS INCLUDED 
IN DEFINITION OF ACCOUNT.—Section 903 of the Elec-
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tronic Fund Transfer Act (15 U.S.C. 1693a) is amend-
ed— 
(1) in paragraph (2), by inserting ‘‘and includes 
a government payment account,’’ before ‘‘but’’; 
(2) by redesignating paragraphs (9) and (10) 
as paragraphs (10) and (11), respectively; and 
(3) by inserting after paragraph (8) the fol-
lowing: 
‘‘(9) the term ‘government payment account’ 
means an account that is directly or indirectly estab-
lished through a government agency and to which 
electronic fund transfers are made by or on behalf 
of a government agency on a recurring basis;’’. 
(b) ELIMINATION OF EXEMPTION FOR GOVERNMENT 
ELECTRONIC BENEFIT TRANSFER SYSTEMS.— 
(1) IN GENERAL.—Section 904(d) of such Act 
(15 U.S.C. 1693b(d)) is amended by striking para-
graph (2) and redesignating paragraph (3) as para-
graph (2). 
(2) CONFORMING AMENDMENTS.— 
(A) Section 905(a)(10)(A) of such Act (15 
U.S.C. 1693c(a)(10)(A)) is amended by striking 
‘‘903(d)(3)(D)(i)’’ 
and 
inserting 
‘‘903(d)(2)(D)(i)’’. 
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(B) Section 910(d) of such Act (15 U.S.C. 
1693h(d)) 
is 
amended 
by 
striking 
‘‘903(d)(3)(B)(i)’’ each place it appears and in-
serting ‘‘903(d)(2)(B)(i)’’. 
(c) CONSUMER PROTECTION.—The Electronic Fund 
Transfer Act (15 U.S.C. 1693–1693r) is amended by add-
ing at the end the following: 
‘‘SEC. 922. GOVERNMENT PAYMENT ACCOUNTS. 
‘‘(a) IN GENERAL.—A financial institution shall not 
offer a government payment account except in compliance 
with this section. 
‘‘(b) CONSUMER CHOICE.—An electronic fund trans-
fer on behalf of a consumer may not be made automati-
cally to a government payment account, unless— 
‘‘(1) the consumer has first been offered and 
has declined the choice of direct deposit to an exist-
ing account chosen by the consumer; 
‘‘(2) the consumer has, when offered the choice 
of direct deposit to an existing account, been pro-
vided a clear and conspicuous list of the types and 
amounts of all fees and charges associated with the 
government payment account; and 
‘‘(3) the consumer has the opportunity, in case 
of hardship, to opt out of electronic transfer of pay-
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ments to the consumer and elect to receive payments 
in the form of a check. 
‘‘(c) ACCESS TO ACCOUNT BALANCE AND TRANS-
ACTION HISTORY.— 
‘‘(1) A financial institution shall provide the 
means for the consumer to access the balance of a 
government payment account through a telephone 
line, online, and at a terminal (such as by providing 
balance information, routinely or on request, on a 
screen or on a receipt from an automated teller ma-
chine). 
‘‘(2) A financial institution shall either provide 
periodic statements pursuant to section 906(c), or 
make available to a consumer at a consumer’s option 
all of the following without a fee, except for the fee 
permitted in subparagraph (E): 
‘‘(A) A written history of the consumer’s 
account transactions that is provided promptly 
in response to an oral or written request and 
that is available for transactions at least 24- 
months preceding the date of the request by the 
consumer. 
‘‘(B) An electronic history of the con-
sumer’s account transactions, such as through 
an Internet Web site, that covers at least 60 
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days preceding the date the consumer electroni-
cally accesses the account. 
‘‘(C) An electronic periodic statement. 
‘‘(D) Electronic mail notification of the 
availability of an electronic history or an elec-
tronic periodic statement at least once each pe-
riod, unless the consumer has declined to pro-
vide an electronic mail address. 
‘‘(E) The choice of receiving a written 
periodic statement upon payment of a nominal 
fee, not to exceed $1 per statement. 
‘‘(3) A history of account transactions provided 
under subparagraphs (A) and (B) of paragraph (1) 
of this subsection shall include the information re-
quired by section 906(c). 
‘‘(d) FEES.— 
‘‘(1) IN GENERAL.—A fee or charge may not be 
assessed on a government payment account except 
as authorized by this section. 
‘‘(2) PROHIBITED FEES.—A fee or charge may 
not be charged on a government payment account 
for any of the following: 
‘‘(A) The first withdrawal from an in-net-
work automated teller machine and the first 
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withdrawal from a bank teller, after each de-
posit. 
‘‘(B) An application. 
‘‘(C) Participation, whether on a one-time 
or periodic basis. 
‘‘(D) An overdraft, including a shortage of 
funds or a transaction processed for an amount 
exceeding the account balance. 
‘‘(E) A purchase. 
‘‘(F) A declined transaction. 
‘‘(G) Inactivity. 
‘‘(H) An inquiry, or balance or transaction 
information, at an automated teller machine or 
through the Internet or an automated system. 
‘‘(I) Customer service. 
‘‘(J) An ad hoc request for a statement. 
‘‘(K) An extension of credit. 
‘‘(L) 1 replacement card each year. 
‘‘(M) Anything for which a fee is not per-
mitted by or under paragraph (3). 
‘‘(3) PERMITTED FEES.— 
‘‘(A) NOMINAL FEE FOR WRITTEN PERI-
ODIC
STATEMENTS.—The consumer may be 
charged a nominal fee not to exceed $1 for 
written periodic statements if the fee is de-
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signed solely to cover the costs of printing and 
mailing the statements, and if other account in-
formation is made available in accordance with 
this section. 
‘‘(B) TRANSACTION
FEES.—Subject to 
subparagraph (C), a consumer may be charged 
a fee for only the following transactions in con-
nection with a government payment account: 
‘‘(i) The second or any subsequent 
withdrawal from an in-network automated 
teller machine and the second or any sub-
sequent withdrawal from a bank teller, 
after each deposit. 
‘‘(ii) A surcharge imposed by a non- 
network automated teller machine in com-
pliance with section 904(d)(3). 
‘‘(iii) A transfer to another account. 
‘‘(iv) Bill payment. 
‘‘(v) A replacement card after the first 
one each year. 
‘‘(vi) Expedited delivery of a replace-
ment card. 
‘‘(vii) International automated teller 
machine withdrawal. 
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‘‘(viii) A purchase or withdrawal in an 
international currency. 
‘‘(C) AUTHORITY
TO
PERMIT
OTHER 
FEES.—The Board may by regulation authorize 
other permissible fees for specific services be-
yond ordinary use of the account. 
‘‘(e) DISCLOSURES.— 
‘‘(1) IN GENERAL.—A financial institution shall 
disclose the following: 
‘‘(A) MEANS
TO
OBTAIN
ACCOUNT
BAL-
ANCE.—The means by which the consumer may 
obtain information without a fee concerning the 
account balance, including a telephone number 
and Web site. 
‘‘(B) WRITTEN
ACCOUNT
HISTORY.—A 
summary of the consumer’s right to receive a 
written account history on request and other 
means to obtain transaction information. 
‘‘(C) FEE INFORMATION.— 
‘‘(i) Any fee or charge associated with 
the account shall be disclosed in a promi-
nent location on or in conjunction with any 
application or solicitation, or other applica-
ble document, and in the form of a table 
with headings, content, and format sub-
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stantially similar to the tables required 
pursuant to section 127(c)(1)(A) of the 
Truth in Lending Act and regulations 
under that section. 
‘‘(ii) The card or device used to access 
the account shall display a toll-free number 
and Web site at which a clear and con-
spicuous list of fees and charges may be 
obtained. 
‘‘(iii) The initial disclosure of fees and 
charges shall include a wallet-sized sum-
mary of the fees and charges, the Web site 
where fee information can be found, and 
the telephone number for customer service. 
‘‘(2) 
MODIFIED
REQUIREMENTS.—The 
fol-
lowing requirements shall apply to financial institu-
tions that do not furnish periodic statements for the 
transfers referred to in subsection (c): 
‘‘(A) ERROR RESOLUTION.—The financial 
institution shall provide a notice to consumers 
concerning error resolution as prescribed in reg-
ulations of the Board. 
‘‘(B) LIMITATIONS
ON
LIABILITY.—For 
purposes of section 909(a), the 60-day period 
for reporting an unauthorized transfer that ap-
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pears on a periodic statement shall begin with 
transmittal of a written account history or 
other account information, provided to or 
accessed by the consumer under subsection (c) 
of this section, in which the unauthorized trans-
fer is first reflected. 
‘‘(C) ERROR RESOLUTION.—If a financial 
institution receives oral or written notice of an 
error from the consumer within 60 days after 
the consumer, under subsection (c) of this sec-
tion, obtains a written account history or other 
account information in which the error is first 
reflected, the financial institution shall comply 
with section 908. 
‘‘(f) FDIC INSURANCE.—A financial institution shall 
not offer electronic fund transfer services in connection 
with a government payment account unless the account 
complies with requirements of the Federal Deposit Insur-
ance Corporation for the provision of insurance by the 
Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation to the consumer 
on either a direct or pass-through basis. 
‘‘(g) STANDARD STATE CONTRACTS.—The Secretary 
of the Treasury, in consultation with the Secretary of 
Labor and the Secretary of Health and Human Services, 
shall promulgate a request for proposals from financial in-
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