Recommendations The continued record profits for banks ‹even in the face of a sluggish economy‹shows that consumers need protections in the form of state and federal legislation and aggressive oversight of the financial services industry. Unfortunately for consumers, there are huge obstacles to realizing these protections. The first obstacle is the clout of the powerful banking lobby; the second the recent overreaching by federal bank regulators, who are attempting to preempt virtually all meaningful regulation of nationally chartered banks by states. Nonetheless, the following consumer protections would go a long way to protect consumers and help generate real competition in the financial services industry. Credit Cards Consumers need to shop smart of credit cards to ensure that they get the best rates and fees available to them and that the card¹s features fit their needs. Congress should require that credit card issuers conspicuously print on billing statements the amount of time and interest that would be paid over time if the cardholder pays off the balance by paying only the minimum payment each month. ATM/Debit Cards Congress should pass legislation to require that consumers get information at the point of sale about the costs of using the fees for using their ATM card for online and offline transactions. Moreover, Congress should require that consumers get a rolling and end-of-year tally of their ATM surcharge and debit card fees so they can keep track of their card usage in a meaningful way. Regulation of Non-bank ATMs New York must follow Illinois, Maine, New Hampshire, Vermont, Wyoming and Washington, D.C. and close the private ATM loophole. Legislation introduced in the New York State Legislature by Assembly Banking Committee Chair Cathy Nolan (A.9654-A) offers a promising start. New York must pass licensing and registration legislation, including requiring criminal background checks of private ATM owners/operators and the unregulated companies that service ISOs; require disclosures on ATMs of the networks that can be accessed at the ATM, the amount of the surcharge; the name and telephone number of the owner/operator for consumer complaints; mandate confirmation of licensing before allowing an ATM to hook up to the banking network; and require display of annual Banking Department stickers to provide consumer with some assurance that an ATM is registered with the state. Gift Cards
New York should follow Connecticut and outlaw expiration dates and dormancy fees for retail gift cards (
52). Current legislation introduced in New York by Senator Charles Fuschillo (S.5860) would mirror California law by prohibiting dormancy and other fees, except when a card was unused for 24 consecutive months and had only a minimal amount of money left on the card. Congress should pass similar legislation to sharply curtail bank gift card fees and expiration dates. Introduction | ATMs-Always Taking Money | Debit Card Confusion | Pre-paid Cards-The Priciest Plastic of All |
The Credit Card Trap
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