Amending EFTA Would Have Huge Financial Impact on Credit Unions

Dear Credit Union Leaders,

We are facing a new risk to credit unions and member services. Proposed legislation aimed at amending the Electronic Fund Transfer Act (EFTA) could have far-reaching and massive financial impact on credit unions.

We need your voice to help ensure lawmakers understand the implications of this bill. Share your concerns and opposition to this legislation with federal legislators using the easy-to-use tool: Grassroots Action Center.

This legislation shifts the burden to credit unions and other financial institutions to reimburse consumers for fraudulent transfers, undelivered goods, and even consumer errors in payment. As member-owned cooperatives, protecting consumers is at our core. This proposal, however, doesn’t achieve that aim.

Why this matters:

• Increased costs: Reimbursing consumers for these losses, at the same time credit card interchange is under attack, shifts costs from liable parties such as merchants to financial institutions would increase costs.
• Operational burdens: Implementing procedures to comply with these new requirements diverts valuable resources.
• Increased fraud risk: This legislation could incentivize fraudulent activity, leaving consumers vulnerable to third party attacks and scams.

Credit unions already bear the brunt of data breaches and consumer fraud protection, and Congress needs to hear how severely this bill would impact credit unions.

If you have any questions, please reach out to Adrian Velazquez, Esq., Chief Advocacy Officer at avelazquez@ccua.org or our Director of Advocacy, Jessica Avery at javery@ccua.org.