NACHA— Electronic Payments Association : NACHA Releases Q4 2015 Government Relations Digest

Posted January 19, 2016

NACHA's quarterly Government Relations Digest reflects current payments system policy issues of potential impact to the ACH Network and other retail payment channels. The following are some highlights most relevant to NACHA Members. Click here for the full Q4 Digest or view the bottom right-hand bar.​

Electronic Payments

• On November 19, 2015, Sen. Robert Menendez (D-NJ) introduced S. 2315, the Prepaid Card and Mobile Account Consumer Protection Act of 2015, which would extend the Electronic Fund Transfer Act coverage to general-purpose reloadable prepaid cards and limited fees that could be charged on them, among other things. (See page 3 for more information.)
• On October 7, 2015, the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau held a field hearing announcing that it is considering proposals to ban consumer financial companies from including arbitration clauses that would block consumers from joining class action lawsuits. (See page 4 for more information.)

Cyber and Data Security

• On December 18, 2015, the Consolidated Appropriations Act of 2016 was signed into law. The bill included negotiated language creating a voluntary cybersecurity threat information sharing process while protecting those who share the threat information from legal liability. (See page 9 for more information.)
• On December 16, 2015, the Federal Financial Institutions Examination Council (FFIEC) issued a request for comment (RFC) about renewing the information collection for its cybersecurity assessment tool. (See page 8 for more information.)
• On December 8, 2015, Rep. Janice Schakowsky introduced H.R. 4187, the Secure and Protect Americans' Data Act, which would require companies to implement policies and procedures to protect consumers' data and to establish prompt disclosure and credit monitoring should a data breach occur. (See page 10 for more information.)
• On November 9, 2015, the New York Department of Financial Services sent a letter to the Financial and Banking Information Infrastructure Committee (FBIIC) members describing regulatory proposals it is considering and emphasizing the need to coordinate its efforts with relevant state and federal agencies to develop a comprehensive cyber security framework. (See page 8 for more information.)
• On November 3, 2015, the Federal Financial Institutions Examination Council (FFIEC) published a press release alerting financial institutions to the increasing frequency and severity of cyber attacks involving extortion. (See page 9 for more information.)

Regulatory Reform

• On November 30, 2015, the Federal Reserve published a final rule specifying and clarifying its procedures for emergency lending under Section 13(3) of the Federal Reserve Act. (See page 16 for more information.)
• On November 4, 2015, Sen. Rand Paul (R-KY) introduced S. 2232, the Federal Reserve Transparency Act of 2015, which would require a full audit of the Federal Reserve Board of Governors and Reserve Banks, including monetary policy decisions.(See page 18 for more information.)
• On November 19, H.R. 3189, the Fed Oversight Reform and Modernization (FORM) Act, introduced by Rep. Bill Huizenga(R-MI), passed in the House by a vote of 241-185. It would require the Fed to adopt a reference monetary policy rule and justify to Congress deviations from that rule, to perform an economic analysis of the costs and benefits of any new rules, and to disclose the salaries of its highly paid employees. (See page 20 for more information.)
• On November 19, 2015, Rep. William Lacy Clay (D-MO) introduced H.R. 4099, the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau Examination and Reporting Threshold Act of 2015, which would modify the Consumer Financial Protection Act of 2010 to increase the threshold figure at which regulated depository institutions are subject to the CFPB's direct examination and reporting requirements. (See page 18 for more information.)
• On October 29, 2015, the CFPB released a request for comment soliciting information about whether the CFPB's information collection from financial services providers is necessary and accurate and to gather feedback about ways to minimize the burden on the collection of information on respondents. (See page 17 for more information.)
• On October 28, 2015, H.R. 2643, the State Licensing Efficiency Act of 2015, introduced by Rep. Roger Williams (R-TX), passed in the House by voice vote. It would give state regulators the authority to use the Nationwide Mortgage Licensing System (NMLS) to process background checks for other types of financial services industries beyond mortgage originators. (See page 24 for more information.)
• On October 7, 2015, Rep. Robert Pittenger (R-NC) introduced H.R. 3705, the Financial Regulatory Clarity Act, which would require financial regulators, namely the FDIC, OCC, Federal Reserve, CFPB, NCUA, SEC, and CFTC, to determine if any existing or proposed regulation is duplicative or conflicts with any other existing regulation. (See page 19 for more information.)
• On October 6, 2015, H.R. 1553, the Small Bank Exam Cycle Reform Act, introduced by Rep. Scott Tipton (R-CO), passed in the House by voice vote. It would increase the threshold under which insured depository institutions qualify for an 18-month examination cycle. (See page 27 for more information.)

Consumer Lending

• On December 3, 2015, Sen. Mark Kirk (R-IL) introduced S. 2355, the Credit Access and Inclusion Act of 2015, which would allow non-financial services providers, including gas, electric, and telecommunications companies, to report their customers'on-time payments to credit reporting agencies. On December 3, 2015, Rep. Keith Ellison (D-MN) introduced an identical bill, H.R. 4172. (See page 38 for more information.)
• On November 24, 2015, the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau published a request for comment about the necessity, accuracy, utility, and ways to minimize the burden for respondents of collecting data on credit pricing and availability so that the Commission can present information to the public on the terms on credit card plans. (See page 37 for more information.)

Access: Public