On October 5, the CFPB released its final rule for prepaid accounts under the Electronic Fund Transfer Act (Regulation E) and the Truth in Lending Act (Regulation Z). The rule, which is nearly 1700 pages, provides sweeping consumer protections that impact all aspects of the prepaid industry.
The rule, which generally becomes effective on October 1, 2017, will require prepaid providers to include detailed “know before you owe” disclosures in packaging, provide easy and free access to account information, limit consumers’ losses when funds are stolen or cards lost, and follow rules designed for credit cards when offering credit in connection with a prepaid account.
The final rule includes general-purpose reloadable cards; non-reloadable prepaid cards; payroll cards; student financial aid disbursement cards; tax refund cards; government benefit cards; mobile wallets; person-to-person payment products; and other electronic prepaid accounts that can store funds as prepaid accounts. The rule excludes from coverage gift cards and gift certificates; accounts used for savings or reimbursements related to certain health, dependent care, and transit or parking expenses; and certain limited government program accounts.

A prepaid product must include “Know Before You Owe” disclosures with standard, easy-to-understand information about the product. The rule requires financial institutions to provide both a “short form” and a “long form” disclosure before a consumer acquires a prepaid account, such as by purchasing, opening, or choosing to be paid via a prepaid account.

• Short Form– The short form disclosure sets forth the prepaid account’s most important fees and certain other key terms. If provided in writing, it must be in a format the consumer can keep, such as on the product’s packaging or on a separate written statement visible through the packaging. The final rule includes several model short form disclosures that provide a safe harbor if used accurately and appropriately.
• Long Form– The long form disclosure provides a table listing all of the fees associated with the prepaid account and detailed information on how those fees are assessed, as well as certain other information about the prepaid program. Unless acquired through a retail transaction or orally by telephone, the long form must be provided prior to the consumer acquiring a prepaid account. For retail transactions, the long form may be provided after the consumer acquires the prepaid account if the short form is provided on or is visible through the packaging materials for the prepaid account. For transactions by telephone, the long form may be provided after the consumer acquires the account if the long form is disclosed orally to the consumer and is available by telephone and on a website.

Access to Account Information. The final rule adopts an alternative to Regulation E’s periodic statement requirement by permitting issuers to make available to consumers certain methods for accessing information about their prepaid accounts in lieu of sending periodic statements.

Limited Liability and Error Resolution. The rule extends Regulation E’s limited liability and error resolution requirements to all prepaid accounts. As a result, credit unions must cooperate with its members who find unauthorized or fraudulent charges, or other errors, on their accounts by investigating and resolving these incidents in a timely way and, where appropriate, restore missing funds. If the credit union cannot do so within a certain period of time, it will generally be required to provisionally credit the disputed amount to the consumer while it finishes its investigation. The rule limits a consumer’s liability for unauthorized charges to $50, provided the consumer promptly notifies his or her credit union of the unauthorized charges.

Submission and Posting of Prepaid Account Agreements. Prepaid account issuers will be required to submit their agreements to the Bureau for posting on the Bureau’s website. Issuers will also be required to post agreements on their own websites, but this requirement does not take effect until October 2018.

Overdraft and Credit. The rule applies Regulation Z’s credit rules to credit features offered with a prepaid account where (1) the credit feature is offered by the prepaid account issuer, its affiliate, or its business partner; and (2) the credit can be accessed in the course of a transaction conducted with the prepaid card to obtain goods or services, obtain cash, or conduct P2P transfers. The rule generally requires that such credit features be distinct from the asset portion of the prepaid account to facilitate transparency and compliance with various Regulation Z requirements. The final rule uses the term “hybrid prepaid-credit card” to refer to a prepaid card that can access both a credit feature that is subject to the Regulation Z credit card rules and the asset portion of a prepaid account.

• Credit Solicitations – The final rule requires issuers to wait at least 30 days after a prepaid account is registered before soliciting a consumer to link a covered credit feature to the prepaid account, and issuers must obtain consumer consent before linking such a credit feature to a prepaid account.
• Ability to Repay – Prepaid companies, like credit card issuers, must determine consumers have the ability to repay the debt before offering credit by considering at least one of the following: the consumer’s debt-to-income ratio, debt-to-assets ratio, or residual income after making minimum payments.
• Monthly Credit Billing Statement – Prepaid companies must give consumers regular statements with details on fees, and, if applicable, the interest rate, what they have borrowed, how much they owe, and other key information about repaying the debt.
• Offsets and Late Fees – The final rule prohibits prepaid companies from automatically pulling funds from a prepaid account to repay debts on a linked credit feature. Issuers may deduct all or a part of the cardholder’s debt automatically from the prepaid account or other deposit account held by the card issuer once per month, and only pursuant to a signed, written authorization by the cardholder. The rule requires that issuers allow consumers to have at least 21 days to repay any debt incurred in connection with using such features. Late fees must be “reasonable and proportional” to the violation of the account terms.
• Compulsory Use – The final rule amends the compulsory use provision under Regulation E so that prepaid account issuers (like other creditors) are prohibited from requiring consumers to set up preauthorized electronic fund transfers (EFTs) to repay credit extended through an overdraft credit feature accessible by a hybrid prepaid-credit card.

CFPB Implementation and Guidance on the Prepaid Rule Page