District Circular Letters

August 20, 1997

REGULATION E:
ELECTRONIC FUND TRANSFER ACT

To Member and Nonmember Banks
and Others Concerned
in the Twelfth Federal Reserve District

Amendments Regarding "Needs-Tested" Electronic Benefit Transfer Programs (Docket R-0959)

The Federal Reserve Board has adopted amendments to its Regulation E, Electronic Fund Transfers, to carry out statutory amendments to the Electronic Fund Transfer Act. These changes become effective September 15, 1997. The amendments to the regulation exempt certain "needs-tested" electronic benefit transfer (EBT) programs established or administered by state or local government agencies, such as the food stamp program, from requirements of the Electronic Fund Transfer Act. The modified regulatory requirements that the Board established in its 1994 rulemaking would continue to apply to federally administered EBT programs, as well as to state and local employment-related EBT programs, such as state pension programs. Generally, EBT programs involve the issuance of access cards and personal identification numbers to recipients of government benefits, enabling the recipients to obtain their benefits through automated teller machines and point-of-sale terminals.

Copies

Copies of the Board's notice (Docket R-0959) are available from our Corporate Services Department. To request copies to be sent via mail, please call (415) 974-2748. To request copies to be sent via fax, please call (415) 974-3333, and specify document number 4248.

Additional Information

For additional information regarding these matters, please contact our Banking Supervision and Regulation Department, at (415) 974-2977.

FEDERAL RESERVE BANK OF SAN FRANCISCO