[Federal Register Volume 84, Number 67 (Monday, April 8, 2019)]
[Notices]
[Pages 13919-13921]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 2019-06797]


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FEDERAL RESERVE SYSTEM


Proposed Agency Information Collection Activities; Comment 
Request

AGENCY: Board of Governors of the Federal Reserve System.

ACTION: Notice, request for comment.

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SUMMARY: The Board of Governors of the Federal Reserve System (Board) 
invites comment on a proposal to extend for three years, without 
revision, the Recordkeeping and Disclosure Requirements Associated with 
Regulation II (Debit Card Interchange Fees and Routing) (FR II; OMB No. 
7100-0349).

DATES: Comments must be submitted on or before June 7, 2019.

ADDRESSES: You may submit comments, identified by FR II, by any of the 
following methods:
     Agency website: http://www.federalreserve.gov. Follow the 
instructions for submitting comments at http://www.federalreserve.gov/apps/foia/proposedregs.aspx.
     Email: [email protected]. Include OMB 
number in the subject line of the message.
     Fax: (202) 452-3819 or (202) 452-3102.
     Mail: Ann E. Misback, Secretary, Board of Governors of the 
Federal Reserve System, 20th Street and Constitution Avenue NW, 
Washington, DC 20551.

All public comments are available on the Board's website at http://www.federalreserve.gov/apps/foia/proposedregs.aspx as submitted, unless 
modified for technical reasons. Accordingly, your comments will not be 
edited to remove any identifying or contact information. Public 
comments may also be viewed electronically or in paper in Room 146, 
1709 New York Avenue NW, Washington, DC 20006, between 9:00 a.m. and 
5:00 p.m. on weekdays. For security reasons, the Board requires that 
visitors make an appointment to inspect comments. You

[[Page 13920]]

may do so by calling (202) 452-3684. Upon arrival, visitors will be 
required to present valid government-issued photo identification and to 
submit to security screening in order to inspect and photocopy 
comments.
    Additionally, commenters may send a copy of their comments to the 
Office of Management and Budget (OMB) Desk Officer--Shagufta Ahmed--
Office of Information and Regulatory Affairs, Office of Management and 
Budget, New Executive Office Building, Room 10235, 725 17th Street NW, 
Washington, DC 20503, or by fax to (202) 395-6974.

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: A copy of the Paperwork Reduction Act 
(PRA) OMB submission, including the proposed reporting form and 
instructions, supporting statement, and other documentation will be 
placed into OMB's public docket files, if approved. These documents 
will also be made available on the Board's public website at http://www.federalreserve.gov/apps/reportforms/review.aspx or may be requested 
from the agency clearance officer, whose name appears below.
    Federal Reserve Board Clearance Officer--Nuha Elmaghrabi--Office of 
the Chief Data Officer, Board of Governors of the Federal Reserve 
System, Washington, DC 20551, (202) 452-3829. Telecommunications Device 
for the Deaf (TDD) users may contact (202) 263-4869, Board of Governors 
of the Federal Reserve System, Washington, DC 20551.

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: On June 15, 1984, OMB delegated to the Board 
authority under the PRA to approve and assign OMB control numbers to 
collection of information requests and requirements conducted or 
sponsored by the Board. In exercising this delegated authority, the 
Board is directed to take every reasonable step to solicit comment. In 
determining whether to approve a collection of information, the Board 
will consider all comments received from the public and other agencies.

Request for Comment on Information Collection Proposal

    The Board invites public comment on the following information 
collection, which is being reviewed under authority delegated by the 
OMB under the PRA. Comments are invited on the following:
    a. Whether the proposed collection of information is necessary for 
the proper performance of the Board's functions, including whether the 
information has practical utility;
    b. The accuracy of the Board's estimate of the burden of the 
proposed information collection, including the validity of the 
methodology and assumptions used;
    c. Ways to enhance the quality, utility, and clarity of the 
information to be collected;
    d. Ways to minimize the burden of information collection on 
respondents, including through the use of automated collection 
techniques or other forms of information technology; and
    e. Estimates of capital or startup costs and costs of operation, 
maintenance, and purchase of services to provide information.

At the end of the comment period, the comments and recommendations 
received will be analyzed to determine the extent to which the Board 
should modify the proposal.

Proposal Under OMB Delegated Authority To Extend for Three Years, 
Without Revision, the Following Information Collection

    Report title: Recordkeeping and Disclosure Requirements Associated 
with Regulation II (Debit Card Interchange Fees and Routing).
    Agency form number: FR II.
    OMB control number: 7100-0349.
    Frequency: On occasion.
    Respondents: State member banks, national banks, insured nonmember 
banks, savings associations, and federally-chartered credit unions.
    Estimated number of respondents: Implement policies and procedures, 
1 respondent; Review and update policies and procedures, 541 
respondents; Annual notification and change in status, 541 respondents.
    Estimated average hours per response: Implement policies and 
procedures, 160 hours; Review and update policies and procedures, 40 
hours; Annual notification and change in status, 1 hour.
    Estimated annual burden hours: Implement policies and procedures, 
160 hours; Review and update policies and procedures, 21,640 hours; 
Annual notification and change in status, 541 hours.
    General description of report: Regulation II, Debit Card 
Interchange Fees and Routing (12 CFR part 235), implements, among other 
things, standards for assessing whether interchange transaction fees 
for electronic debit transactions are reasonable and proportional to 
the cost incurred by the issuer with respect to the transaction, as 
required by section 920(a) of the Electronic Fund Transfer Act (EFTA) 
(15 U.S.C. 1693o-2(a)).
    Regulation II limits the interchange transaction fee that covered 
issuers can charge for debit card transactions. Under the rule a 
covered debit card issuer is allowed to receive or charge an amount of 
no more than 1 cent per transaction for the costs associated with 
preventing fraudulent electronic debit transactions (``fraud-prevention 
adjustment''), if the issuer complies with the standards and 
requirements set forth in the rule. In addition, issuers must retain 
records demonstrating their compliance with the requirements in 
Regulation II for at least five years after the end of the calendar 
year in which the electronic debit transaction occurred, any person or 
issuer subject to an investigation or enforcement proceeding involving 
Regulation II must retain records pertaining to the matter until the 
final disposition of the matter, unless an earlier time is allowed by 
court or agency order. The PRA classifies reporting, recordkeeping, or 
disclosure requirements of a regulation as an information collection.
    Legal authorization and confidentiality: Section 920(a)(3) of the 
EFTA (15 U.S.C. 1693o-2(a)(3)), as added by section 1075 of the Dodd-
Frank Wall Street Reform and Consumer Protection Act, authorizes the 
Board to (1) prescribe regulations regarding interchange transaction 
fees that an issuer may charge with respect to electronic debit 
transactions, and to establish standards to assess whether the amount 
of any such fee is reasonable and proportional; and (2) require any 
issuer or payment card network to provide the Board such information as 
deemed necessary. Section 920(a)(5) of the EFTA (15 U.S.C. 1693o-
2(a)(5)), further provides that the Board may allow for an adjustment 
to the interchange transaction fee amount received or charged by an 
issuer if ``(1) such adjustment is reasonably necessary to make 
allowance for costs incurred by the issuer in preventing fraud in 
relation to electronic debit card transactions involving that issuer; 
and (2) the issuer complies with the fraud-related standards 
established by the Board.'' Section 920(a)(5) also provides detailed 
requirements pertaining to the fraud-related standards to be 
established by the Board and authorizes the Board to promulgate such 
standards by rule. In addition, the EFTA (15 U.S.C. 1693o(a) and 1693o-
2(d)) authorizes enforcement of compliance with the requirements 
implemented under the EFTA by the Board for entities that the Board has 
enforcement authority over under section 8 of the Federal Deposit 
Insurance Act (12 U.S.C. 1818), which covers member banks (other than 
national banks), branches and agencies of foreign banks (other than 
federal

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branches, federal agencies, and insured state branches of foreign 
banks), commercial lending companies owned or controlled by foreign 
banks, and organizations operating under section 25 or 25A of the 
Federal Reserve Act (12 U.S.C. 601 et seq. and 611 et seq.).
    Regulation II's fraud-prevention recordkeeping requirements (12 CFR 
235.4(b)) and disclosure requirements (12 CFR 235.4(c) and (d)) are 
required in order for an issuer to obtain a benefit (i.e., to be 
eligible to receive or charge the fraud-prevention adjustment). 
Regulation II's general recordkeeping requirements for issuers (12 CFR 
235.8(c)) are mandatory. The records and notifications required under 
sections 235.4(b)-(d) and 235.8(c) of Regulation II are generally not 
submitted to the Board or the other federal financial regulatory 
agencies. Accordingly, normally no confidentiality issues arise under 
the Freedom of Information Act (``FOIA'') (5 U.S.C. 552). In the event 
such records or notifications are obtained by the Board through the 
examination or enforcement process, such information may be kept 
confidential under exemption 8 of the FOIA, which protects information 
contained in or related to the examination or supervision of a 
financial institution (5 U.S.C. 552(b)(8)).

    Board of Governors of the Federal Reserve System, April 2, 2019.
Michele Taylor Fennell,
Assistant Secretary of the Board.
[FR Doc. 2019-06797 Filed 4-5-19; 8:45 am]
 BILLING CODE 6210-01-P