[Congressional Bills 109th Congress]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office]
[S. 31 Introduced in Senate (IS)]







109th CONGRESS
  1st Session
                                 S. 31

 To amend the Electronic Fund Transfer Act to extend certain consumer 
protections to international remittance transfers of funds originating 
             in the United States, and for other purposes.


_______________________________________________________________________


                   IN THE SENATE OF THE UNITED STATES

                            January 24, 2005

 Mr. Sarbanes (for himself, Mr. Corzine, Mrs. Clinton, Mr. Akaka, Mr. 
  Bingaman, Mr. Schumer, Mr. Dodd, Mrs. Boxer,, Ms. Mikulski, and Mr. 
Reid) introduced the following bill; which was read twice and referred 
        to the Committee on Banking, Housing, and Urban Affairs

_______________________________________________________________________

                                 A BILL


 
 To amend the Electronic Fund Transfer Act to extend certain consumer 
protections to international remittance transfers of funds originating 
             in the United States, and for other purposes.

    Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representatives of the 
United States of America in Congress assembled,

SECTION 1. SHORT TITLE.

    This Act may be cited as the ``International Remittance Consumer 
Protection Act of 2005''.

SEC. 2. TREATMENT OF REMITTANCE TRANSFERS.

    (a) In General.--The Electronic Fund Transfer Act (15 U.S.C. 1693 
et seq.) is amended--
            (1) in section 902(b), by inserting ``and remittance'' 
        after ``electronic fund'';
            (2) by redesignating sections 918, 919, 920, and 921 as 
        sections 919, 920, 921, and 922, respectively; and
            (3) by inserting after section 917 the following:

``SEC. 918. REMITTANCE TRANSFERS.

    ``(a) Disclosures Required for Remittance Transfers.--
            ``(1) In general.--Each remittance transfer provider shall 
        make disclosures to consumers, as specified by this section and 
        augmented by regulation of the Board.
            ``(2) Specific disclosures.--In addition to any other 
        disclosures applicable under this title, a remittance transfer 
        provider shall clearly and conspicuously disclose, in writing 
        and in a form that the consumer may keep, to each consumer 
        requesting a remittance transfer--
                    ``(A) at the time at which the consumer makes the 
                request, and prior to the consumer making any payment 
                in connection with the transfer--
                            ``(i) the total amount of currency that 
                        will be required to be tendered by the consumer 
                        in connection with the remittance transfer;
                            ``(ii) the amount of currency that will be 
                        sent to the designated recipient of the 
                        remittance transfer, using the values of the 
                        currency into which the funds will be 
                        exchanged;
                            ``(iii) the total remittance transfer cost, 
                        identified as the `Total Cost'; and
                            ``(iv) an itemization of the charges 
                        included in clause (iii), as determined 
                        necessary by the Board; and
                    ``(B) at the time at which the consumer makes 
                payment in connection with the remittance transfer, if 
                any--
                            ``(i) a receipt showing--
                                    ``(I) the information described in 
                                subparagraph (A);
                                    ``(II) the promised date of 
                                delivery;
                                    ``(III) the name and telephone 
                                number or address of the designated 
                                recipient; and
                            ``(ii) a notice containing--
                                    ``(I) information about the rights 
                                of the consumer under this section to 
                                resolve errors; and
                                    ``(II) appropriate contact 
                                information for the remittance transfer 
                                provider and its State licensing 
                                authority and Federal or State 
                                regulator, as applicable.
            ``(3) Exemption authority.--The Board may, by rule, and 
        subject to subsection (d)(3), permit a remittance transfer 
        provider--
                    ``(A) to satisfy the requirements of paragraph 
                (2)(A) orally if the transaction is conducted entirely 
                by telephone;
                    ``(B) to satisfy the requirements of paragraph 
                (2)(B) by mailing the documents required under such 
                paragraph to the consumer not later than 1 business day 
                after the date on which the transaction is conducted, 
                if the transaction is conducted entirely by telephone; 
                and
                    ``(C) to satisfy the requirements of subparagraphs 
                (A) and (B) of paragraph (2) with 1 written disclosure, 
                but only to the extent that the information provided in 
                accordance with paragraph (2)(A) is accurate at the 
                time at which payment is made in connection with the 
                subject remittance transfer.
    ``(b) Foreign Language Disclosures.--The disclosures required under 
this section shall be made in English and in the same languages 
principally used by the remittance transfer provider, or any of its 
agents, to advertise, solicit, or market, either orally or in writing, 
at that office, if other than English.
    ``(c) Remittance Transfer Errors.--
            ``(1) Error resolution.--
                    ``(A) In general.--If a remittance transfer 
                provider receives oral or written notice from the 
                consumer within 365 days of the promised date of 
                delivery that an error occurred with respect to a 
                remittance transfer, including that the full amount of 
                the funds to be remitted was not made available to the 
                designated recipient in the foreign country, the 
                remittance transfer provider shall resolve the error 
                pursuant to this subsection.
                    ``(B) Remedies.--Not later than 90 days after the 
                date of receipt of a notice from the consumer pursuant 
                to subparagraph (A), the remittance transfer provider 
                shall, as applicable to the error and as designated by 
the consumer--
                            ``(i) refund to the consumer the total 
                        amount of funds tendered by the consumer in 
                        connection with the remittance transfer which 
                        was not properly transmitted;
                            ``(ii) make available to the designated 
                        recipient, without additional cost to the 
                        designated recipient or to the consumer, the 
                        amount appropriate to resolve the error;
                            ``(iii) provide such other remedy, as 
                        determined appropriate by rule of the Board for 
                        the protection of consumers; or
                            ``(iv) demonstrate to the consumer that 
                        there was no error.
            ``(2) Rules.--The Board shall establish, by rule, clear and 
        appropriate standards for remittance transfer providers with 
        respect to error resolution relating to remittance transfers, 
        to protect consumers from such errors.
    ``(d) Applicability of Other Provisions of Law.--
            ``(1) Applicability of title 18 and title 31 provisions.--A 
        remittance transfer provider may only provide remittance 
        transfers if such provider is in compliance with the 
        requirements of section 5330 of title 31, United States Code, 
        and section 1960 of title 18, United States Code, as 
        applicable.
            ``(2) Applicability of this title.--A remittance transfer 
        that is not an electronic fund transfer, as defined in section 
        903, shall not be subject to any of sections 905 through 913. A 
        remittance transfer that is an electronic fund transfer, as 
        defined in section 903, shall be subject to all provisions of 
        this title that are otherwise applicable to electronic fund 
        transfers under this title.
            ``(3) Rule of construction.--Nothing in this section shall 
        be construed--
                    ``(A) to affect the application to any transaction, 
                to any remittance provider, or to any other person of 
                any of the provisions of subchapter II of chapter 53 of 
                title 31, United States Code, section 21 of the Federal 
                Deposit Insurance Act (12 U.S.C. 1829b), or chapter 2 
                of title I of Public Law 91-508 (12 U.S.C. 1951-1959), 
                or any regulations promulgated thereunder; or
                    ``(B) to cause any fund transfer that would not 
                otherwise be treated as such under paragraph (2) to be 
                treated as an electronic fund transfer, or as otherwise 
                subject to this title, for the purposes of any of the 
                provisions referred to in subparagraph (A) or any 
                regulations promulgated thereunder.
    ``(e) Publication of Exchange Rates.--The Secretary of the Treasury 
shall make available to the public in electronic form, not later than 
noon on each business day, the dollar exchange rate for all foreign 
currencies, using any methodology that the Secretary determines 
appropriate, which may include the methodology used pursuant to section 
613(b) of the Foreign Assistance Act of 1961 (22 U.S.C. 2363(b)).
    ``(f) Agents and Subsidiaries.--A remittance transfer provider 
shall be liable for any violation of this section by any agent or 
subsidiary of that remittance transfer provider.
    ``(g) Definitions.--As used in this section--
            ``(1) the term `exchange rate fee' means the difference 
        between the total dollar amount transferred, valued at the 
        exchange rate offered by the remittance transfer provider, and 
        the total dollar amount transferred, valued at the exchange 
        rate posted by the Secretary of the Treasury in accordance with 
        subsection (e) on the business day prior to the initiation of 
        the subject remittance transfer;
            ``(2) the term `remittance transfer' means the electronic 
        (as defined in section 106(2) of the Electronic Signatures in 
        Global and National Commerce Act (15 U.S.C. 7006(2))) transfer 
        of funds at the request of a consumer located in any State to a 
        person in another country that is initiated by a remittance 
        transfer provider, whether or not the consumer is an account 
        holder of the remittance transfer provider or whether or not 
        the remittance transfer is also an electronic fund transfer, as 
        defined in section 903;
            ``(3) the term `remittance transfer provider' means any 
        person or financial institution that provides remittance 
        transfers on behalf of consumers in the normal course of its 
        business, whether or not the consumer is an account holder of 
        that person or financial institution;
            ``(4) the term `State' means any of the several States, the 
        Commonwealth of Puerto Rico, the District of Columbia, and any 
        territory or possession of the United States; and
            ``(5) the term `total remittance transfer cost' means the 
        total cost of a remittance transfer expressed in dollars, 
        including all fees charged by the remittance transfer provider, 
        including the exchange rate fee.''.
    (b) Effect on State Laws.--Section 919 of the Electronic Fund 
Transfer Act (12 U.S.C. 1693q) is amended--
            (1) in the first sentence, by inserting ``or remittance 
        transfers (as defined in section 918)'' after ``transfers''; 
        and
            (2) in the fourth sentence, by inserting ``, or remittance 
        transfer providers (as defined in section 918), in the case of 
        remittance transfers,'' after ``financial institutions''.

SEC. 3. FEDERAL CREDIT UNION ACT AMENDMENT.

    Paragraph (12) of section 107 of the Federal Credit Union Act (12 
U.S.C. 1757(12)) is amended to read as follows:
            ``(12) in accordance with regulations prescribed by the 
        Board--
                    ``(A) to provide remittance transfers, as defined 
                in section 918(h) of the Electronic Fund Transfer Act, 
                to persons in the field of membership; and
                    ``(B) to cash checks and money orders for persons 
                in the field of membership for a fee;''.

SEC. 4. AUTOMATED CLEARINGHOUSE SYSTEM.

    (a) Expansion of System.--The Board of Governors of the Federal 
Reserve System shall work with the Federal reserve banks to expand the 
use of the automated clearinghouse system for remittance transfers to 
foreign countries, with a focus on countries that receive significant 
remittance transfers from the United States, based on--
            (1) the number, volume, and sizes of such transfers;
            (2) the significance of the volume of such transfers, 
        relative to the external financial flows of the receiving 
        country; and
            (3) the feasibility of such an expansion.
    (b) Report to Congress.--Not later than 180 days after the date of 
enactment of this Act, and on April 30 biannually thereafter, the Board 
of Governors of the Federal Reserve System shall submit a report to the 
Committee on Banking, Housing, and Urban Affairs of the Senate and the 
Committee on Financial Services of the House of Representatives on the 
status of the automated clearinghouse system and its progress in 
complying with the requirements of this section.

SEC. 5. EXPANSION OF FINANCIAL INSTITUTION PROVISION OF REMITTANCE 
              TRANSFERS.

    (a) Provision of Guidelines to Institutions.--Each of the Federal 
banking agencies (as defined in section 3 of the Federal Deposit 
Insurance Act) and the National Credit Union Administration shall 
provide guidelines to financial institutions under the jurisdiction of 
the agency regarding the offering of low-cost remittance transfers and 
no-cost or low-cost basic consumer accounts, as well as agency services 
to remittance transfer providers.
    (b) Content of Guidelines.--Guidelines provided to financial 
institutions under this section shall include--
            (1) information as to the methods of providing remittance 
        transfer services;
            (2) the potential economic opportunities in providing low-
        cost remittance transfers; and
            (3) the potential value to financial institutions of 
        broadening their financial bases to include persons that use 
        remittance transfers.
    (c) Assistance to Financial Literacy Commission.--The Secretary of 
the Treasury and each agency referred to in subsection (a) shall, as 
part of their duties as members of the Financial Literacy and Education 
Commission, assist that Commission in improving the financial literacy 
and education of consumers who send remittances.

SEC. 6. STUDY AND REPORT ON REMITTANCES.

    (a) Study.--The Comptroller General of the United States shall 
conduct a study and analysis of the remittance transfer system, 
including an analysis of its impact on consumers.
    (b) Areas of Consideration.--The study conducted under this section 
shall include, to the extent that information is available--
            (1) an estimate of the total amount, in dollars, 
        transmitted from individuals in the United States to other 
        countries, including per country data, historical data, and any 
        available projections concerning future remittance levels;
            (2) a comparison of the amount of remittance funds, in 
        total and per country, to the amount of foreign trade, 
        bilateral assistance, and multi-development bank programs 
        involving each of the subject countries;
            (3) an analysis of the methods used to remit the funds, 
        with estimates of the amounts remitted through each method and 
        descriptive statistics for each method, such as market share, 
        median transaction size, and cost per transaction, including 
        through--
                    (A) depository institutions;
                    (B) postal money orders and other money orders;
                    (C) automatic teller machines;
                    (D) wire transfer services; and
                    (E) personal delivery services;
            (4) an analysis of advantages and disadvantages of each 
        remitting method listed in subparagraphs (A) through (E) of 
        paragraph (3);
            (5) an analysis of the types and specificity of disclosures 
        made by various types of remittance transaction providers to 
        consumers who send remittances; and
            (6) if reliable data are unavailable, recommendations 
        concerning options for Congress to consider to improve the 
        state of information on remittances from the United States.
    (c) Report to Congress.--Not later than 1 year after the date of 
enactment of this Act, the Comptroller General shall submit a report to 
the Committee on Banking, Housing, and Urban Affairs of the Senate and 
the Committee on Financial Services of the House of Representatives on 
the results of the study conducted under this section.
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