HELKOWSKI v. SEWICKLEY SAVINGS BANK

Filing 24

MEMORANDUM OPINION and ORDER granting 21 Defendant's Motion to Dismiss Amended Complaint. Signed by Judge Terrence F. McVerry on 10/15/2009. (Attachments: # 1 Attachment A) (cdb)

VI.

EFTA

Electronic Fund Transfer Act '
Introduction

T h e Electronic Fund Transfer Act (EFTA) (15 USC 1693 et
seq.) was enacted on November 10, 1978, and is implemented
by Federal Reserve Regulation E (12 CFR 205). The EFTA
provides a basic framework establishing the rights, liabilities
and responsibilities of consumers who use electronic fund
transfer (EFT) services and financial institutions that offer
these services. Its primary objective is the protection of
individual consumers in their dealings with these services.
Examples of EFTs are automated teller machine (ATM)
transfers, telephone bill-payment transfers, point-of-sale
transfers, preauthorized transfers from or to a consumer's
account (I.e. direct deposits or withdrawals of funds), and
transfers resulting from debit card transactions, whether or not
initiated through an electronic terminal.
As defined in the EFTA, and Section 205.3(b) of Regulation
E, the term "electronic fund transfer," refers to a transaction
initiated through an electronic terminal, telephone, computer,
or magnetic tape that orders, instructs, or authorizes a financial
institution to either credit or debit a consumer's asset account.
T h e term electronic terminal includes point-of-sale terminals,
automated teller machines, and cash dispensing machines.
T h e consumer is usually issued a card or a code (known as
an access device), or both, that may be used to initiate such
transfers.

· Intra-institutional automatic transfers under an agreement between a consumer and a financial institution:
o

between the consumer's account and the institution itself (except that § 205.IO(e) regarding compulsory use and sections 915 and 916 of the EFTA regarding civil and criminal liability are applicable); between two accounts of the consumer within the institution; or from the consumer's account to a family member's account within the institution.

o

o

· Transfers initiated by telephone between a consumer and a financial institution making the transfer and does not take place under a telephone, bill payment, or other plans contemplating periodic or recurring transfers. · Preauthorized transfers to or from an account held at a financial institution with assets of $100 million or less on the preceding December 31 (except that § 205.1 O(e) and sections 915 and 916 ofthe EFTA are applicable).

Special Requirements - §205.4
Section 205.4(a) requires that disclosures be clear and readily understandable, in writing, and in a form the consumer may keep. Section 205.4(b) permits, at the institution's option, the disclosure of additional information, and allows disclosures required by other laws (for example, Truth in Lending disclosures) to be combined with Regulation E disclosures. Section 205.4(d)( I) permits the institution holding an account to combine required disclosures into a single statement if a consumer holds two or more accounts at an institution. Thus, a single periodic statement or error resolution notice is sufficient for multiple accounts. In order to comply with Section 205.4(d)(2), an institution need provide only one set of disclosures for a joint account. Section 205.4(e) permits two or more institutions that jointly provide EFT services to contract among themselves to fulfill the requirements that the regulation imposes on any or all of them. When making disclosures under Section 205.7 (Initial Disclosures) and Section 205.8 (Change in Terms; Error Resolution Notice), an institution in a shared system need only make those required disclosures that are within its knowledge and the purview of its relationship with the consumer for whom it holds an account.

Exemptions

§20S.3(c)

The following types of electronic fund transfers are not covered by the EFTA: · Any transfer of funds originated by check, draft, or similar paper instrument; or any payment made by check, draft, or similar paper instrument at an electronic terminal. · Check guarantee or authorization services that do not directly result in a debit or credit to a consumer's