14. Credit Information
We may investigate your credit standing and request credit 
reports about you in connection with your application and 
updates,  renewals,  extensions  and  collection  activity  and 
as otherwise permitted by law. At your request, we will tell 
you  whether  we  requested  a  report  and,  if  so  the  name 
and address of the credit reporting agency which provided 
it.  We  may  disclose  information  about  your  account  to 
credit bureaus and creditors who inquire about your credit 
standing.

15. Returns and Credit Balances
Merchants and others who honor the Card may give credit 
for  returns  or  adjustments  by  sending  a  credit  transaction 
which will post to your account. The credit will be applied 
first to pay what you owe us under this Agreement. If there is 
a credit balance (i.e. a balance in your favor) on your account, 
we will hold it and apply it to future amounts owed but will 
not pay you interest on it. We will refund a credit balance to 
you if you ask. If the credit balance is greater than $50, your 
request must be in writing. If a credit balance greater than $1 
remains in your account for six months, we will automatically 
refund it to you. We may charge to your account or you will 
pay us any amount that we refund in error.

16. Exchange Rates for Foreign Transactions
Purchases and Cash Advances made in foreign countries and 
foreign currencies will be billed to you in U.S. Dollars. 

The  exchange  rate  between  the  transaction  currency  and 
the  billing  currency  used  for  processing 
international 
transactions is a rate selected by Visa from the range of rates 
available  in  wholesale  currency  markets  for  the  applicable 
central processing date, this rate may vary from the rate Visa 
itself  receives,  or  the  government-mandated  rate  in  effect 
for the applicable central processing date, plus 1%.

17. Monitoring Telephone Calls
By  using  your  Card  the  first  time,  you  authorize  ESL  and 
its servicer to record and monitor your calls regarding this 
account.

18. Responsibility for Use of Card/Notices
Each person who has accepted and agreed to the terms of 
this  Agreement  is  individually  responsible  for  all  amounts 
owed  on  the  account  and  all  are  jointly  responsible  for  all 
amounts owed. This means ESL can enforce this Agreement 
against any of you individually or all of you together. You are 

responsible  for  advances  obtained  by  anyone  that  one  of 
you authorizes to use the account. Each of you remains fully 
responsible even if another agreement, a divorce decree, or 
a court order directs only one of you or a third party to pay. 
Statements  and  notices  addressed  and  mailed  to  any  one 
of  you  at  the  most  recent  address  we  have  for  you  in  our 
records will be considered to have been sent to all of you.

19. Liability for Unauthorized Use
You  may  be  liable  for  the  unauthorized  use  of  your  Card. 
You will not be liable for unauthorized use that occurs after 
you notify us orally or in writing at Cardholder Service, P.O. 
Box  31112, Tampa,  FL  33631-3112  or  at  800.449.7728  (or 
from  outside  the  United  States  at  727.571.2200)  of  the 
loss,  theft  or  possible  unauthorized  use.  Notwithstanding 
the above, you may be liable for any amount to the extent 
allowed  under  applicable  law  if  we  determine  that  you 
were grossly negligent or fraudulent in the handling of your 
account.

20. Governing Law
Any legal question under this Agreement will be decided in 
accordance with applicable federal and New York State law 
without regard to the laws of any other state. This Agreement 
is made, and credit is extended in New York.

21. Change in Terms
A  change  in  terms  notice  regarding  this  account  will  be 
made in accordance with applicable regulation.

YOUR BILLING RIGHTS  
KEEP THIS NOTICE FOR FUTURE USE

This  notice  contains  important  information  about  your 
rights  and  our  responsibilities  under  the  Fair  Credit  Billing 
Act.

NOTIFY  US  IN  CASE  OF  ERRORS  OR  QUESTIONS  ABOUT 
YOUR  STATEMENT—If  you  think  your  statement  is  wrong, 
or  if  you  need  more  information  about  a  transaction  on 
your statement, write to Cardholder Service, P.O. Box 31112, 
Tampa, FL 33631-3112. We must hear from you no later than 
60  days  after  we  sent  you  the  FIRST  statement  on  which 
the  error  or  problem  appeared.  You  can  telephone  us  at 
800.820.6039, but doing so will not preserve your rights.

In your letter, give us the following information:

•  Your name and account number.

•  The dollar amount of the suspected error.
•  Describe  the  error  and  explain  if  you  can,  why  you 
believe there is an error. If you need more information, 
describe the item you are not sure about.

2. The purchase price must have been more than $50. 

These limitations do not apply if ESL owns or operates the 
merchant,  or  if  ESL  mailed  you  the  advertisement  for  the 
property or services.

Accepted by:
ESL Federal Credit Union
Corporate Headquarters
225 Chestnut Street
Rochester, NY 14604

YOUR  RIGHTS  AND  OUR  RESPONSIBILITIES  AFTER  WE 
RECEIVE YOUR WRITTEN  NOTICES—We  must  acknowledge 
your  letter  within  30  days,  unless  we  have  corrected  the 
error  by  then.  Within  90  days,  we  must  either  correct  the 
error or explain why we believe the statement was correct.

After  we  receive  your  letter,  we  cannot  try  to  collect  any 
amount  you  question,  or  report  you  as  delinquent.  We 
can  continue  to  bill  you  for  the  amount  you  question, 
including  finance  charges,  and  we  can  apply  any  unpaid 
amount against your credit limit. You do not have to pay any 
questioned amount while we are investigating, but you are 
still obligated to pay the parts of your statement that are not 
in question.

If we find that we made a mistake on your statement, you 
will  not  have  to  pay  any  finance  charges  related  to  any 
questioned  amount.  If  we  didn’t  make  a  mistake,  you  may 
have to pay finance charges, and you will have to make up 
any missed payments on the questioned amount. In either 
case, we will send you a statement of the amount you owe 
and the date that is due.

If you fail to pay the amount that we determine you owe, we 
may report you as delinquent. However, if our explanation 
does not satisfy you and you write to us within 10 days telling 
us that you still refuse to pay, we must tell anyone we report 
you to that you have a question about your statement. And, 
we must tell you the name of anyone we reported you to. 
We must tell anyone we report you to that the matter has 
been settled between us when it finally is. If we don’t follow 
these rules, we cannot collect the first $50 of the questioned 
amount, even if your statement was correct. 

Special Rule for Credit Card Purchases
If you have a problem with the quality of property or services 
that you purchased with the ESL Credit Card, and you have 
tried in good faith to correct the problem with the merchant, 
you  may  have  the  right  not  to  pay  the  remaining  amount 
due  on  the  property  or  services. There  are  two  limitations 
to this right.

1. You must have made the purchase in your home state 
or, if not within your home state, within 100 miles of 
your current mailing address; and

ESL Federal Credit Union

ESL Visa® 
Credit Card 
Agreement

M-115272 (06/15)

RETAIL INSTALLMENT CREDIT AGREEMENT

1. Agreement
This Agreement is between ESL Federal Credit Union (called 
“ESL”, “us”  or “we”)  and  each  person  who  accepts  the  Visa 
account  (called  “you”).  The  word  “Card”  refers  to  any  Visa 
Card(s) or Card number and the word “Check” refers to any 
Check we issue under this Agreement. Sign your Card before 
you  use  it.  The  first  use  of  your  Card,  Check,  or  the  Card 
number means that you accept and agree to be bound by all 
the terms of this Agreement.

2. Using the Card/Account
You  may  use  the  Card  or  a  Check  to  make  purchases  in 
person,  by  mail,  electronically  (through  the  Internet)  or 
by  telephone  from  merchants  and  the  others  who  accept 
Visa  Cards  or  Checks.  Any  financial  service  provided  by 
ESL  Federal  Credit  Union  may  be  used  for  any  transaction 
permitted  by  law.  You  agree  that  the  illegal  use  of  any 
financial  service  will  be  deemed  an  action  of  default  
and/or  breach  of  contract  and  such  service  and/or  other 
related services may be terminated at the discretion of ESL. 
You further agree, should illegal use occur, to waive the right 
to sue ESL for such illegal activity directly or indirectly related 
to  it.  You  also  agree  to  indemnify  and  hold  ESL  harmless 
from  any  suits  or  other  legal  action  or  liability,  resulting 
from such illegal use. ESL is not responsible if any merchant 
refuses  to  accept  the  Card  or  Check. You  may  also  obtain 
cash  advances  from  ESL,  from  other  financial  institutions 
participating in the Visa program, and from automated teller 
machines  which  display  the  PLUS  or  VISA  network  logos. 
(Not all ATMs provide such access and you will need to use 
your Personal Identification Number at those that do.) Cash 
advances can be used to make balance transfers.

3. Credit Limit
When  we  send  you  the  Card,  and  on  each  Monthly 
Statement, we will tell you your credit limit. You may request 
an increase in your credit limit by a written application or a 
telephone request. The portion of your payments applied to 
the principal may be re-borrowed, up to your current credit 
limit.  We  may  reduce  your  credit  limit  or  terminate  your 
borrowing  privileges  at  any  time  without  prior  notice  to 
you. You may not allow the balance outstanding under this 
Agreement to exceed your credit limit. We may, however, at 
our discretion, honor your request for an advance that will 
exceed  your  credit  limit.  If  we  do,  all  the  provisions  of  this 

Agreement  will  apply  to  that  excess,  you  will  be  charged 
finance  charges  on  the  advance,  and  you  must  pay  the 
entire excess to us on demand.

4. Convenience Checks
If you are permitted to obtain cash advances on your account, 
we may from time to time issue convenience checks to you 
that  may  be  drawn  on  your  account.  Convenience  checks 
may not be used to make a payment on any of your credit 
union  accounts.  If  you  use  a  convenience  check  it  will  be 
posted  to  your  account  as  a  cash  advance. We  reserve  the 
right  to  refuse  to  pay  a  convenience  check  drawn  on  your 
account for any reason and such refusal shall not constitute 
wrongful dishonor.

5. Payments
You agree to repay all advances made under this Agreement 
in response to a request by you or anyone you authorize and 
all finance charges and all other charges and amounts owed 
under  this  Agreement. Within  25  days  after  the  statement 
closing  date  each  month,  you  must  make  a  minimum 
payment. The minimum payment will be equal to the sum 
of: (i) the greater of 2.7% of your Total New Balance or $25; 
(ii)  any  amounts  that  are  past  due;  (iii)  the  portion  of  your 
balance  that  exceeds  your  credit  limit;  (iv)  any  applicable 
rebate participation fee then due; (v) any late fees that you 
owe; and (vi) any other fees you may owe. You may pay more 
than  the  minimum  due  or  your  entire  indebtedness  in 
full at any time. We may allocate payments to amounts due 
in any manner or order chosen by us, provided we comply 
with any applicable laws or regulations.

6. Receipt of Payment
If  we  receive  your  payment,  with  a  payment  stub,  at  the 
address indicated on the front of your monthly statement by 
5:00 p.m., Monday through Friday (excluding legal holidays) 
we will credit it to your account the same day. If your payment 
is received later in the day, it will be credited to your account 
the next business day. If we receive your payment at another 
location or without the payment stub, we will credit it within 
five business days. We may return without presentment or 
protest and without credit to your account any check which 
is: (i) missing a signature; (ii) drawn with different numeric 
and written amounts; (iii) postdated; (iv) not payable to ESL; 
(v) not paid upon presentment; (vi) drawn on a bank outside 
the United States; (vii) a Check provided to you for use under 
this Agreement.

7. Irregular Payments
We will not lose any rights if we accept late payments, partial 
payments, checks or money orders marked “payment in full” 
or with similar words or phrases or other irregular payments.

8. Payment Holidays
From  time  to  time,  we  may  offer  you  a  payment  holiday 
allowing you to skip a minimum payment. Finance charges, if 
any, will continue to accrue on your balance at the applicable 
periodic  rate  and  the  period  within  which  you  must  pay 
the Total  New  Balance  to  avoid  paying  finance  charges  on 
purchases will not be extended. The regular payment terms 
will resume at the end of the payment holiday.

9. Finance Charge
The total finance charge you owe for a billing cycle will be 
equal  to  the “Periodic  Rate  Finance  Charge.” The  minimum 
finance  charge  is  $.50  in  any  billing  cycle  during  which 
there is an outstanding balance in your account subject to 
a finance charge. You will continue to pay a finance charge 
at  a  periodic  rate  calculated  as  described  in  and  under 
this  Agreement  until  what  you  owe  is  paid  in  full.  Finance 
charges can continue to accrue after the date your monthly 
statement is generated. Therefore, even if you pay the Total 
New Balance shown on your monthly statement and do not 
take  any  additional  advances  after  that  date,  you  may  still 
owe  additional  finance  charges  which  accrued  after  that 
Total New Balance was determined.

A.  Periodic  Rate  Finance  Charge–We  calculate  the 
Periodic  Rate  Finance  Charge  by  (i)  multiplying  the 
applicable daily periodic rate by (a) the “purchase average 
daily  balance”  and  (b)  the “Cash  Advance  average  daily 
balance”;  (ii)  adding  those  amounts  together;  and  
(iii)  multiplying  the  sum  by  the  number  of  days  in  the 
billing cycle.

(1) Amount to Which Periodic Rate is Applied

To  get  the  “purchase  average  daily  balance,”  each 
day  we  take  the  beginning  balance  of  your  account 
attributable  to  purchases  that  day,  add  any  new 
purchases  or  purchase  debits  that  day  and  subtract 
any payments or credits attributable to purchases that 
day. We do not include any unpaid finance charges. This 
gives us the “purchase daily balance.” Then we add up 
all  the “purchases  daily  balances”  for  the  billing  cycle 
and divide the total by the number of days in the billing 

cycle. This gives us the “purchase average daily balance.” 
However, the “purchase average daily balance” will be 
considered $0 if you pay your Total New Balance in full 
by  the  billing  cycle  date  and  you  paid  your  previous 
balance in full by the billing cycle date. 

To get the “Cash Advance average daily balance,” each 
day  we  take  the  beginning  balance  of  your  account 
attributable  to  Cash  Advances  that  day,  add  any  new 
Cash  Advances  or  Cash  Advance  debits  that  day  and 
subtract  any  payments  or  credits  attributable  to  Cash 
Advances  that  day.  We  do  not  include  any  unpaid 
finance charges. This gives us the “Cash Advance daily 
balance.” Then  we  add  up  all  the “Cash  Advance  daily 
balances”  for  the  billing  cycle  and  divide  the  total  by 
the  number  of  days  in  the  billing  cycle. This  gives  us 
the “Cash  Advance  average  daily  balance.” There  is  no 
“grace” period for Cash Advances.

(2) Determination of the Daily Periodic Rate
The  daily  periodic  rate  equals  the  Annual  Percentage 
Rate (APR) divided by 365.

Introductory Rate–An introductory daily periodic rate 
of .01093% which is equivalent to an APR of 3.99% will 
be used for the first six monthly billing cycles following 
the  date  on  which  your  account  is  opened  unless  the 
Past Due Rate applies (see below).

Base  Rate  for  Gold  Card–After  the  introductory  rate 
period  ends,  and  provided  the  Past  Due  Rate  does 
not  apply,  the  APR  will  be  variable  and  will  equal  the 
highest  domestic  Prime  Rate  published  in  the  Money 
Rates  section  of  The  Wall  Street  Journal  as  of  five 
business  days  prior  to  the  first  day  of  the  calendar 
month  in  which  the  billing  cycle  begins  (called  the 
“Index”)  plus  6.73  to  14.74  percentage  points  based 
on your creditworthiness (6.73% to 14.74%) (called the 
“Base Rate”). The Base Rate can change on the first day 
of each billing cycle. 

Past Due Rate–The APR applicable starting on the first 
day of the first billing cycle after your account becomes 
“past due” and continuing until the billing cycle after the 
“past due” status is corrected will be 18%. Your account 
will be “past due” if the minimum monthly payment is 
not made for two consecutive billing cycles.

Effect  of  an  Increase–An  increase  in  the  APR  will 
result in an increase in the finance charge, the monthly 
payment, and the outstanding balance of your account.

B. Cash Advance Fee–there is no Cash Advance Fee.

C. Balance Transfer Fee–there is no Balance Transfer Fee.

D.  Convenience  Check  Fee–there  is  no  Convenience 
Check Fee.

E. Maximum Rate–The APR will not exceed the maximum 
rate allowed by applicable law.

10. Other Charges
You will pay the following other charges as applicable.

A.  Annual  Membership  Fee–there 
Membership Fee.

is  no  Annual 

B.  Documentary  Evidence  Charge–If  you  request 
documentary  evidence  of  a  transaction  (for  example,  a 
copy  of  a  sales  draft  or  a  duplicate  monthly  statement) 
other than in connection with a billing error inquiry, you 
will pay a Documentary Evidence Charge of $2.50 for each 
document.  The  charge  will  be  added  to  your  Purchase 
Balance.

C.  Late Fee–You  will  pay  a  Late  Fee  of  up  to  $25  if  your 
Total  New  Balance  on  the  last  day  of  the  billing  cycle 
exceeds  $25  and  your  minimum  payment  has  not  been 
received  within  three  days  following  the  payment  due 
date. The fee will be charged after the third day and added 
to your Purchase Balance.

D.  Returned  Payment  Charge–You  will  pay  a  Returned 
Payment Charge of up to $25 if you pay us with a check 
that your bank will not honor or that is incomplete or if we 
return a check unpaid. The charge will be added to your 
Purchase Balance.

E. Over the Credit-Limit Fee–there is no Over the Credit-
Limit Fee.

11. Default
You will be in default if: (i) you fail to make any minimum or 
other required payment by the date it is due; (ii) you violate 
any  of  the  other  terms  of  this  Agreement;  (iii)  you  default 
in the payment of any other loan account with ESL; (iv) you 
die; (v) you file for bankruptcy or become insolvent (unable 
to pay your obligations as they become due); (vi) you make 
any false or misleading statement on any credit application 

or  credit  update  or  fail  to  provide  complete  and  accurate 
financial information within 30 days after a request from ESL 
for  the  information;  (vii)  any  judgment  is  entered  against 
you or any of your deposit accounts at ESL are attached or 
levied upon; or (viii) something happens which ESL believes 
may substantially reduce your ability to repay what you owe. 

When  you  are  in  default,  ESL  has  the  right  to  demand 
immediate  payment  for  your  full  account  balance  without 
prior notice. To the extent permitted by law, you will also be 
required  to  pay  collection  expenses,  including  court  costs 
and reasonable attorney’s fees, incurred by ESL.

12. Checks and Balance Transfers
We will not process a Check or Balance Transfer if: (i) you do 
not  have  enough  available  credit  in  your  account  to  cover 
the Check or Balance Transfer in full; (ii) your account or your 
right to obtain advances has been suspended or terminated; 
(iii) your Card or Checks have been reported stolen; (iv) your 
Check is postdated (shows a future date), although we may 
pay postdated Checks as if they had a current date; or (v) you 
are in default under this Agreement. We will not return to you 
the Checks that are paid but will keep them on microfilm or 
another storage medium. There is no finance charge grace 
period for Checks and Balance Transfers.

13. How to Stop Payment of a Check or Balance Transfer
You  may  request  a  stop  payment  on  a  Check  or  Balance 
Transfer by notifying us by telephone at the number shown 
on your monthly statement. The request will only be effective 
for 14 days unless during that period you confirm, in writing, 
which describes with certainty the item on which payment 
is  to  be  stopped.  Notice  must  be  received  by  us  at  ESL, 
Cardholder Service, P.O. Box 31112, Tampa, FL 33631-3112 in 
a timely manner so as to afford us a reasonable opportunity 
to  act  upon  it.  In  any  event,  we  may  disregard  any  stop 
payment request six months after we receive it unless you 
renew it in writing within the six month period. We will use 
commercially  reasonable  efforts  to  stop  payment  of  the 
Check or Balance Transfer. However, you agree that we will 
not be responsible in any way if a Check or Balance Transfer 
is processed or otherwise presented for payment after you 
have requested us to stop payment and, using commercially 
reasonable efforts, we are unable to stop the payment.