HELP! I need an answer quickly, please

Would we run into a regulatory issue if we did not allow customers to access their accounts electronically (through their Debit or ATM card) over the weekend of our conversion? We are looking at cutting off access to all customers that have a current balance of $50 or less as the close of business on the Friday of conversion until the following Monday.

I can't speak to a regulatory issue but I can imagine it would be a customer service nightmare. What about people that are traveling or don't know their cards won't be working? In the conversions I managed, we went into "stand-in" during those times so that the cards would still work and the customers would only be mildly impacted.

We had a conversion (purchasing a small bank location) just a few weeks ago and we also chose the "stand in" option. We did discuss that at certain times it might be necessary to turn-off electronic access, but only as a last resort and you would want to give your customers as much notice as possible. We had a few problems with our existing customers being impacted by the stand in limit, but the new customers we were acquiring did appreciate having access to their funds over the weekend. That being said, I always tell my customers never be completely dependent on their debit card - too many things can go wrong.