Electronic Payment Fees

Out for Comment: Attributes for ETAs

To help individuals comply with the requirements of EFT 99, the Department of the Treasury designed Electronic Transfer Accounts (ETAs). These accounts, which only federally insured financial institutions can offer, allow individuals required to receive federal payments electronically to have access to an account at a reasonable cost. They are intended for use by individuals without an account at a financial institution. The decision to offer ETAs is voluntary on the part of a financial institution.

On Nov. 23, the Treasury published for comment a notice proposing features for ETAs that financial institutions would be required to include. The 45-day comment period closes Jan. 7, 1999. As proposed, ETAs would:

• accept only electronic federal salary, wage, benefit and retirement payments;
• be subject to a maximum price of $3 per month;
• have a minimum of four cash withdrawals per month, to be included in the monthly fee, through any combination of proprietary Automated Teller Machine transactions and/or over-the-counter transactions;
• provide the same consumer protections that are available to other account holders at the financial institution;
• allow access to the financial institution's point-of-sale network, if available;
• require no minimum balance, except as required by federal or state law; and
• provide a monthly statement.

ditional deposits; and 3) providing for third-party debit transactions or electronic bill payment.

Comments can be submitted electronically via e-mail to eta.comments@fms.sprint.com or by filling out the ETA comment form that is available on the EFT web site at www.fms.treas.gov/eft/eta/.

Comments also may be sent to Cynthia L. Johnson, Director, Cash Management Policy and Planning Division, Financial Management Service, U.S. Department of Treasury, Room 420, 401 14th St., S.W., Washington, D.C., 20227.