If you are an imaging bank that currently has 99% of your customers on check imaging - do you plan on sending the check 21 disclosure information to 100% of your checking account customers - or are you going to send the disclosure / customer education information to only customers that are getting checks back in their statement and also to customers when the situation occurs that they have a charge back that is an IRD.

At this point, we are planning to send an educational piece to all of our customers. The hope is that the educational piece will answer a number of the customer questions / concerns and limit the number of customer calls we get.

I would suggest that when sending info to all customers that you clearly distinguish that the expedited recredit provision only applies to consumer accounts who receive a substitute check in their statement.

Since it is possible that a customer receiving only images will receive an image of a substitute check, I think an education piece is a very good idea. However, I do not think the disclosure authored by the Fed serves that purpose at all. As Bill notes, it does not apply to all customers; i.e. it describes rights that not everyone will have. In addition, it's simply too d*** long for anyone with a life to read on a voluntary basis.

Look for or develop something short and sweet that simply explains why some of their checks may look different or be a different size. Answer the questions they are likely to ask and skip the legal brief.

If a customer receives a copy of substitute check in their Image Statement that they believe is a double post can they still claim under the expedited credit process, even though it is an Image of a substitute check. bevyf@msn.com

It is my understanding that expedited recredit is only available to a consumer who received an actual paper substitute check. An image of a substitute check does not count.

Jill's response is correct. However, if between the time the customer receives the substitute check in the statement and they identify a situation that requires an expedited recredit claim and the substitute check is lost or "the dog ate it", they can still file for an expedited recredit claim. See page 19 of the FRB Request for Comment document. In this case, the bank will know that the customer is a check return customer and can honor the claim without the physical substitute check.

Another reason to notify customers who are currently not receiving checks back in their statements is to put them on notice that checks may clear more quickly. Many customers are going to be surprised that they can no longer float their checks.