[Code of Federal Regulations]
[Title 12, Volume 2]
[Revised as of January 1, 2002]
From the U.S. Government Printing Office via GPO Access
[CITE: 12CFR205.15]

[Page 139-140]
 
                       TITLE 12--BANKS AND BANKING
 
                   CHAPTER II--FEDERAL RESERVE SYSTEM
 
PART 205--ELECTRONIC FUND TRANSFERS (REGULATION E)--Table of Contents
 
Sec. 205.15  Electronic fund transfer of government benefits.

    (a) Government agency subject to regulation. (1) A government agency 
is deemed to be a financial institution for purposes of the act and this 
part if directly or indirectly it issues an access device to a consumer 
for use in initiating an electronic fund transfer of government benefits 
from an account, other than needs-tested benefits in a program 
established under state or local law or administered by a state or local 
agency. The agency shall comply with all applicable requirements of the 
act and this part, except as provided in this section.
    (2) For purposes of this section, the term account means an account 
established by a government agency for distributing government benefits 
to a consumer electronically, such as through automated teller machines 
or point-of-sale terminals, but does not include an account for 
distributing needs-tested benefits in a program established under state 
or local law or administered by a state or local agency.
    (b) Issuance of access devices. For purposes of this section, a 
consumer is deemed to request an access device

[[Page 140]]

when the consumer applies for government benefits that the agency 
disburses or will disburse by means of an electronic fund transfer. The 
agency shall verify the identity of the consumer receiving the device by 
reasonable means before the device is activated.
    (c) Alternative to periodic statement. A government agency need not 
furnish the periodic statement required by Sec. 205.9(b) if the agency 
makes available to the consumer:
    (1) The consumer's account balance, through a readily available 
telephone line and at a terminal (such as by providing balance 
information at a balance-inquiry terminal or providing it, routinely or 
upon request, on a terminal receipt at the time of an electronic fund 
transfer); and
    (2) A written history of the consumer's account transactions that is 
provided promptly in response to an oral or written request and that 
covers at least 60 days preceding the date of a request by the consumer.
    (d) Modified requirements. A government agency that does not furnish 
periodic statements, in accordance with paragraph (c) of this section, 
shall comply with the following special rules:
    (1) Initial disclosures. The agency shall modify the disclosures 
under Sec. 205.7(b) by disclosing:
    (i) Account balance. The means by which the consumer may obtain 
information concerning the account balance, including a telephone 
number. The agency provides a notice substantially similar to the notice 
contained in paragraph A-5 in Appendix A of this part.
    (ii) Written account history. A summary of the consumer's right to 
receive a written account history upon request, in place of the periodic 
statement required by Sec. 205.7(b)(6), and the telephone number to call 
to request an account history. This disclosure may be made by providing 
a notice substantially similar to the notice contained in paragraph A-5 
in Appendix A of this part.
    (iii) Error resolution. A notice concerning error resolution that is 
substantially similar to the notice contained in paragraph A-5 in 
Appendix A of this part, in place of the notice required by 
Sec. 205.7(b)(10).
    (2) Annual error resolution notice. The agency shall provide an 
annual notice concerning error resolution that is substantially similar 
to the notice contained in paragraph A-5 in appendix A, in place of the 
notice required by Sec. 205.8(b).
    (3) Limitations on liability. For purposes of Sec. 205.6(b)(3), 
regarding a 60-day period for reporting any unauthorized transfer that 
appears on a periodic statement, the 60-day period shall begin with 
transmittal of a written account history or other account information 
provided to the consumer under paragraph (c) of this section.
    (4) Error resolution. The agency shall comply with the requirements 
of Sec. 205.11 in response to an oral or written notice of an error from 
the consumer that is received no later than 60 days after the consumer 
obtains the written account history or other account information, under 
paragraph (c) of this section, in which the error is first reflected.

[Reg. E, 61 FR 19669, May 2, 1996, as amended at 62 FR 43469, Aug. 14, 
1997]