5438 South Prairie View Drive West Des Moines, IA 50266
On January 31st, the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau (CFPB) published in the Federal Register a proposed rule that would prohibit financial institutions from charging an NSF fee in connection with instantaneously declined transactions.
Under the proposed rule, when a consumer attempts a transaction using his/her ATM or debit card or through a P2P service, and that transaction is instantaneously (or near instantaneously) declined due to insufficient funds, it would be considered an abusive act or practice for the financial institution to assess an NSF fee.
The rule provides that the CFPB has preliminarily determined that charging an NSF fee in connection with an instantaneously declined transaction would take unreasonable advantage of a consumer's lack of understanding of the material risks, costs, or conditions associated with their deposit account, thus constituting an abusive act or practice. This is based on the argument that if the consumer knew he/she lacked available funds to complete the transaction and would be charged an NSF fee in connection with the attempt, they would have opted for a different payment method.
It's curious to see the CFPB acknowledge in its proposed rule that "many financial institutions have oriented their practices to not charge fees when ATM and/or debit card transactions are declined" and is proposing this rule primarily as a preventative measure.
Comments are due on or before March 25th. You can access a copy of the proposed rule here.
Michael Christians Consulting, LLC