The Federal Communications Commission has published in the Federal Register a final rule to implement the Pallone-Thune Telephone Robocall Abuse Criminal Enforcement and Deterrence Act (TRACED Act). The rule:
 codifies the Telephone Consumer Protection Act (TCPA) exemptions for calls to wireless numbers into the rules to make those exemptions more clear and understandable for both callers and consumers
 amends the TCPA exemptions for artificial or prerecorded voice calls made to residential telephone lines so each satisfies the TRACED Act's requirements to identify who can call, who can be called, and any call limits
 adopts limits on the number of calls that can be made under the exemptions for—
o non-commercial calls to a residence
o commercial calls to a residence that do not include an advertisement or constitute telemarketing
o tax-exempt nonprofit organization calls to a residence
o Health Insurance Portability and Accountability Act (HIPPA)-related calls to a residence

In addition, callers must have mechanisms in place to allow consumers to opt out of any future calls.

Can someone explain to me what all this means to banks?? We have automated calls that go out to customers (3 times a week) for those customers who have given us express consent under TCPA.

What are the nature of those 3 calls a week?

There are two directions the calls can go: either someone answering the phone or an answering machine/voicemail picking up the call.
1. If someone answers the phone they get the options to hear the important message in English or Spanish. Once they have selected a language, they have to select whether or not they are the customer. If they are the customer, it continues on to advise their payment was due on X date for X amount and gives them options to make the payment (including the option to be directed to our 24 hour automated system) as well as our contact number to discuss with an account rep. If they are not our customer, it apologizes for the inconvenience and thanks them before the call is disconnected.
2. If an answering machine or voicemail picks up, they get a generic message stating that this is a courtesy call from the bank regarding important information regarding their accounts.