Sec. 230.11 Additional disclosure requirements for institutions advertising the payment of overdrafts.
(a) Periodic statement disclosures.
(1) Disclosure of Total Fees. (i) Except as provided in paragraph (a)(2) of this section, if
a depository institution promotes the payment of overdrafts in an advertisement, the institution
must separately disclose on each periodic statement:
(A) The total dollar amount for all fees or charges imposed on the account for paying
checks or other items when there are insufficient funds and the account becomes overdrawn; and
(B) The total dollar amount for all fees imposed on the account for returning items
unpaid.
(ii) The disclosures required by this paragraph must be provided for the statement period
and for the calendar year to date, for any account to which the advertisement applies.
(2) Communications not triggering disclosure of total fees. The following
communications by a depository institution do not trigger the disclosures required by paragraph
(a)(1) of this section:
(i) Promoting in an advertisement a service for paying overdrafts where the institution’s
payment of overdrafts will be agreed upon in writing and subject to the Board’s Regulation Z (12
CFR part 226);
(ii) Communicating (whether by telephone, electronically, or otherwise) about the
payment of overdrafts in response to a consumer-initiated inquiry about deposit accounts or
overdrafts. Providing information about the payment of overdrafts in response to a balance
inquiry made through an automated system, such as a telephone response machine, an automated
teller machine (ATM), or an institution’s Internet site, is not a response to a consumer-initiated
inquiry for purposes of this paragraph;
(iii) Engaging in an in-person discussion with a consumer;
(iv) Making disclosures that are required by federal or other applicable law;
(v) Providing a notice or including information on a periodic statement informing a
consumer about a specific overdrawn item or the amount the account is overdrawn;
(vi) Including in a deposit account agreement a discussion of the institution’s right to pay
overdrafts;
(vii) Providing a notice to a consumer, such as at an ATM, that completing a requested
transaction may trigger a fee for overdrawing an account, or providing a general notice that items
overdrawing an account may trigger a fee; or
(viii) Providing informational or educational materials concerning the payment of
overdrafts if the materials do not specifically describe the institution’s overdraft service.
(3) Time period covered by disclosures. An institution must make the disclosures
required by paragraph (a)(1) of this section for the first statement period that begins after an
institution advertises the payment of overdrafts. An institution may disclose total fees imposed
for the calendar year by aggregating fees imposed since the beginning of the calendar year, or
since the beginning of the first statement period that year for which such disclosures are required.
(4) Termination of promotions. Paragraph (a)(1) of this section shall cease to apply with
respect to a deposit account two years after the date of an institution’s last advertisement
promoting the payment of overdrafts applicable to that account.
(5) Acquired accounts. An institution that acquires an account must thereafter provide
the disclosures required by paragraph (a)(1) of this section for the first statement period that
begins after the institution promotes the payment of overdrafts in an advertisement that applies to
the acquired account. If disclosures under paragraph (a)(1) of this section are required for the
acquired account, the institution may, but is not required to, include fees imposed prior to
acquisition of the account.
(b) Advertising disclosures for overdraft services.
(1) Disclosures. Except as provided in paragraphs (b)(2),(b)(3), and (b)(4) of this
section, any advertisement promoting the payment of overdrafts shall disclose in a clear and
conspicuous manner:
(i) The fee or fees for the payment of each overdraft;
(ii) The categories of transactions for which a fee for paying an overdraft may be
imposed;
(iii) The time period by which the consumer must repay or cover any overdraft; and
(iv) The circumstances under which the institution will not pay an overdraft.
(2) Communications about the payment of overdrafts not subject to additional
advertising disclosures. Paragraph (b)(1) of this section does not apply to:
(i) An advertisement promoting a service where the institution’s payment of overdrafts
will be agreed upon in writing and subject to the Board’s Regulation Z (12 CFR part 226);
(ii) A communication by an institution about the payment of overdrafts in response to a
consumer-initiated inquiry about deposit accounts or overdrafts. Providing information about the
payment of overdrafts in response to a balance inquiry made through an automated system, such
as a telephone response machine, ATM, or an institution’s Internet site, is not a response to a
consumer-initiated inquiry for purposes of this paragraph;
(iii) An advertisement made through broadcast or electronic media, such as television or
radio;
(iv) An advertisement made on outdoor media, such as billboards;
(v) An ATM receipt;
(vi) An in-person discussion with a consumer;
(vii) Disclosures required by federal or other applicable law;
(viii) Information included on a periodic statement or a notice informing a consumer
about a specific overdrawn item or the amount the account is overdrawn;
(ix) A term in a deposit account agreement discussing the institution’s right to pay
overdrafts;
(x) A notice provided to a consumer, such as at an ATM, that completing a requested
transaction may trigger a fee for overdrawing an account, or a general notice that items
overdrawing an account may trigger a fee; or
(xi) Informational or educational materials concerning the payment of overdrafts if the
materials do not specifically describe the institution’s overdraft service.
(3) Exception for ATM screens and telephone response machines. The disclosures
described in paragraphs (b)(1)(ii) and (b)(1)(iv) of this section are not required in connection
with any advertisement made on an ATM screen or using a telephone response machine.
(4) Exception for indoor signs. Paragraph (b)(1) of this section does not apply to
advertisements for the payment of overdrafts on indoor signs as described by § 230.8(e)(2) of
this part, provided that the sign contains a clear and conspicuous statement that fees may apply
and that consumers should contact an employee for further information about applicable fees and
terms. For purposes of this paragraph (b)(4), an indoor sign does not include an ATM screen.
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