[Federal Register Volume 84, Number 44 (Wednesday, March 6, 2019)]
[Rules and Regulations]
[Pages 7979-7980]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 2019-03852]
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Rules and Regulations
Federal Register
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This section of the FEDERAL REGISTER contains regulatory documents
having general applicability and legal effect, most of which are keyed
to and codified in the Code of Federal Regulations, which is published
under 50 titles pursuant to 44 U.S.C. 1510.
The Code of Federal Regulations is sold by the Superintendent of Documents.
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Federal Register / Vol. 84, No. 44 / Wednesday, March 6, 2019 / Rules
and Regulations
[[Page 7979]]
BUREAU OF CONSUMER FINANCIAL PROTECTION
12 CFR Part 1005
RIN 3170-AA87
Technical Specifications for Submissions to the Prepaid Account
Agreements Database
AGENCY: Bureau of Consumer Financial Protection.
ACTION: Notification of technical specifications.
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SUMMARY: Beginning on April 1, 2019, prepaid account issuers are
required to submit their currently-offered prepaid account agreements
to the Bureau of Consumer Financial Protection (Bureau), to be posted
on the Bureau's website. The Bureau is issuing technical specifications
for those submissions, including the URL for the website at which
issuers (or their designees) can register and submit their prepaid
account agreements. This document relates to a final rule published in
the Federal Register on November 22, 2016, as amended on April 25, 2017
and February 13, 2018, regarding prepaid accounts under Regulations E
and Z.
DATES: The requirement to submit prepaid account agreements on a
rolling basis to the Bureau becomes effective on April 1, 2019. Issuers
must submit to the Bureau no later than May 1, 2019 all prepaid account
agreements they offer as of April 1, 2019.
FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: For inquiries regarding the prepaid
account agreement submission requirement, contact Kristine M.
Andreassen and Thomas L. Devlin, Senior Counsels, Office of
Regulations, at 202-435-7700 or https://reginquiries.consumerfinance.gov. For technical assistance regarding
the Collect submission system, contact [email protected]. If you
require this document in an alternative electronic format, please
contact [email protected].
SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION:
I. Background
On October 5, 2016, the Bureau issued a final rule titled ``Prepaid
Accounts Under the Electronic Fund Transfer Act (Regulation E) and the
Truth In Lending Act (Regulation Z)'' (2016 Final Rule).\1\ The Bureau
subsequently amended the 2016 Final Rule twice, in 2017 and 2018.\2\
The 2016 Final Rule, as subsequently amended, is referred to herein as
the Prepaid Accounts Rule. Among other things, the Prepaid Accounts
Rule added Sec. 1005.19 to Regulation E, which requires prepaid
account issuers to submit their currently-offered prepaid account
agreements to the Bureau, post those agreements on their websites, and
make account agreements for open prepaid accounts available to
consumers upon request. Specifically, Sec. 1005.19(b) requires an
issuer to make submissions of prepaid account agreements on a rolling
basis, in the form and manner specified by the Bureau. Section
1005.19(b) also describes in detail the information that must be
submitted to the Bureau; the requirements for submitting amended
agreements and withdrawing agreements that are no longer offered; the
terms of de minimis and product testing exceptions to the submission
requirement; and the form and content of agreements that must be
submitted to the Bureau.
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\1\ 81 FR 83934 (Nov. 22, 2016).
\2\ See 82 FR 18975 (Apr. 25, 2017) and 83 FR 6364 (Feb. 13,
2018). These amendments, among other things, extended the effective
date of the Prepaid Accounts Rule to April 1, 2019.
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In the 2016 Final Rule, the Bureau stated that it would issue
technical specifications addressing the form and manner for submission
of agreements, and publish a notice in the Federal Register when its
streamlined electronic submission process is operational.\3\
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\3\ 81 FR 83934, 84151 (Nov. 22, 2016).
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The Prepaid Accounts Rule becomes effective on April 1, 2019.
Section 1005.19(f) states that an issuer must submit to the Bureau no
later than May 1, 2019 all prepaid account agreements it offers as of
April 1, 2019. Following that, Sec. 1005.19(b) requires an issuer to
make rolling submissions to the Bureau no later than 30 days after an
issuer offers, amends, or ceases to offer any prepaid account
agreement.
II. Technical Specifications
A. Collect Website
The Bureau has established the Collect website for submitting
prepaid account agreements and agreement information to the Bureau
pursuant to Sec. 1005.19.\4\ The Collect website can be accessed at
https://collect.consumerfinance.gov. To register, submitters will
complete and submit a registration form to [email protected].\5\
The Collect website registration form is available at https://www.consumerfinance.gov/data-research/prepaid-accounts/issuer-instructions/. Once submitters receive their login credentials, they
will be able to add, amend, or withdraw prepaid account agreement
information in the future.\6\
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\4\ Pursuant to comment 19(a)(4)-2, while the issuer has the
legal obligation to comply with the requirements of Sec. 1005.19,
an issuer generally may use a third-party service provider (such as
a program manager) to satisfy its obligations under Sec. 1005.19,
provided that the issuer acts in accordance with regulatory guidance
regarding use of third-party service providers and other applicable
regulatory guidance.
\5\ For questions concerning the registration form, please
contact the Collect Support Team at [email protected].
\6\ Prepaid account issuers and other submitters are encouraged
to register as early as possible, to confirm that they can
successfully access the system. Submitters who preregister will
receive a notification when the Collect website is available to
receive submissions.
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The Collect website will use interactive forms to guide submitters
through the submission process. After issuers have submitted certain
identifying information required by Sec. 1005.19(b)(1)(i), issuers
will be prompted to upload the documents that are required to be
submitted through the Collect website.
B. File Format
Documents submitted through the Collect website must be in the
Portable Document Format (PDF) file format, and must be text-
searchable, digitally-created PDFs.\7\ These PDF files should not be
scanned documents, otherwise known as ``image-only'' PDFs, as these are
not text-searchable. For questions
[[Page 7980]]
about file formats, please contact the Bureau at
[email protected].
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\7\ An issuer can make its agreement submission: As a single
document (i.e., one file that contains all of the prepaid agreement,
the short form disclosure, and the long form information); with
three separate files, each containing one of the required pieces; or
with two files, one of which contains two of the required pieces and
the other, one.
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C. Compliance Assistance
The Bureau has made a number of compliance resources available to
assist issuers in using the Collect website, including a user guide, a
quick reference guide, frequently asked questions, and a recorded
webinar.\8\ These resources will be available on the Bureau's website
at https://www.consumerfinance.gov/data-research/prepaid-accounts/. For
technical assistance, issuers can also contact the Bureau at
[email protected].
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\8\ The Bureau has previously issued various implementation
tools regarding the Prepaid Accounts Rule, including a small entity
compliance guide, executive summary of the rule, summaries of key
changes for payroll card accounts and government benefit accounts, a
prepaid account coverage chart, a summary of the rule's effective
date provisions, and a guide to preparing the short form disclosure,
among others. These materials can be found on the Bureau's guidance
and implementation website at https://www.consumerfinance.gov/policy-compliance/guidance/prepaid-rule/.
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III. Legal Authority
The Bureau is issuing this procedural rule pursuant to its
authority under section 1022(b)(1) of the Dodd-Frank Act, which
authorizes the Bureau to prescribe rules as may be necessary or
appropriate to enable the Bureau to administer and carry out the
purposes and objectives of Federal consumer financial law.\9\ The
Bureau is also issuing this procedural rule pursuant to section 904 of
the Electronic Fund Transfer Act (EFTA), which authorizes the Bureau to
prescribe regulations necessary to carry out the purposes of EFTA.\10\
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\9\ 12 U.S.C. 5512(b)(1).
\10\ 15 U.S.C. 1693b.
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IV. Regulatory Requirements
The Bureau has concluded that these technical specifications
constitute a rule of agency organization, procedure, or practice exempt
from the notice and comment rulemaking requirements under the
Administrative Procedure Act (APA), pursuant to 5 U.S.C. 553(b).
Because the procedural rule relates solely to agency procedure and
practice, it is not substantive, and therefore is not subject to the
30-day delayed effective date for substantive rules under section
553(d) of the APA. Because no notice of proposed rulemaking is
required, the Regulatory Flexibility Act does not require an initial or
final regulatory flexibility analysis.
V. Paperwork Reduction Act
Under the Paperwork Reduction Act of 1995 (PRA),\11\ Federal
agencies are generally required to seek Office of Management and Budget
(OMB) approval for information collection requirements prior to
implementation. The collections of information related to the account
agreement submission requirements in Sec. 1005.19 were previously
submitted to OMB in accordance with the PRA under OMB Control Number
3170-0014. Under the PRA, the Bureau may not conduct or sponsor and,
notwithstanding any other provision of law, a person is not required to
respond to an information collection unless the information collection
displays a valid control number assigned by OMB. The Bureau has
determined that these technical specifications do not introduce any new
or revised collections of information; therefore, the Bureau does not
intend to submit a separate request to OMB regarding these technical
specifications.
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\11\ 44 U.S.C. 3501 et seq.
Dated: February 22, 2019.
Kathleen L. Kraninger,
Director, Bureau of Consumer Financial Protection.
[FR Doc. 2019-03852 Filed 3-5-19; 8:45 am]
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