New York Enacts Consumer Protections for Convenience Checks

Credit Cards

On November 13, New York Governor Andrew Cuomo signed AB 3601, a bill intended to protect payment card holders from liability for unauthorized use of unsolicited convenience checks. Effective immediately, cardholders are held harmless for unauthorized use of unsolicited convenience checks associated with their account. The New York Bankers Association opposed the bill because its title and the accompanying sponsor’s memo misstate the purpose of the bill as being an outright ban on the unsolicited mailing of convenience checks to consumers when, in fact, the bill does not ban the practice.