CFPB Issues Disclosure Guide for Preparing Prepaid Accounts

Consumer Finance CFPB Disclosures Prepaid Rule Regulation E EFTA

On March 7, the CFPB issued a disclosure guide with instructions on how to prepare short form disclosures for prepaid accounts. The guidance provides steps for completing the disclosure but does not address other requirements under Regulation E, as amended by the Prepaid Rule, and is not applicable to government benefit accounts or payroll card accounts. The guide also covers information pertaining to insertion of fee amounts, static fees, additional fee types, statements explaining variable fees, informational statements, and size requirements.

As previously covered in InfoBytes, the Bureau released its final rule (the “Prepaid Rule”) on prepaid financial products in October of last year in order to provide consumers with additional federal protections under the Electronic Fund Transfer Act and to also offer consumers standard, easy-to-understand information about prepaid accounts. However, on March 8, the CFPB announced that it may delay this effective date by six months. If approved, the proposed rule would push back the current October 1 effective date to April 1, 2018. According to the proposed rule filed by the Bureau, the extension comes in response to comments received from “some industry participants” who “believe they will have difficulty complying with certain provisions.” Extending the deadline for compliance “would, among other things, help industry participants address certain packaging related logistical issues for prepaid accounts that are sold at retail locations.” Comments on the Bureau's proposal are due next month.