Newsroom

July 10, 2012

New bill in Senate to move ATM fix

July 18, 2012 – A new bill, S. 3394, was introduced in the Senate Tuesday by Senate Banking Committee Chairman Tim Johnson, D-S.D., Ranking Member Richard Shelby, R-Ala., and others that combines the NAFCU-sought repeal of the dual ATM disclosure requirement and the financial institution "privileged information" protection bill.

"The hope is that this new bill can be moved by unanimous consent in coming days," said Brad Thaler, NAFCU's vice president of legislative affairs. "Once it is passed, it will have to be sent back to the House for a final vote."

The measure was introduced with Sens. Mike Johanns, R-Neb., Mike Crapo, R-Idaho, Jon Tester, D-Mont., Sherrod Brown, D-Ohio, Claire McCaskill, D-Mo., and Kay Hagan, D-N.C., signed on as original cosponsors. Once through the Senate, it expected to win approval in the House, which has already passed both provisions reflected in the new Senate bill.

Here is a recap of the provisions:

  • The ATM measure would amend the Electronic Funds Transfer Act to eliminate the outdated and unnecessary requirement to post placards on ATMs regarding fees. It would leave intact the requirement to disclose fees on screen at a point that the consumer can still cancel a transaction. Eliminating the placard requirement would end the stream of frivolous lawsuits aimed at ATM owners when placards are stolen or defaced.
  • The privileged information bill adds the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau to the list of federal agencies required to keep confidential sensitive data provided by financial institutions. This requirement already applies to NCUA and banking regulators.