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F E D E R A L D E P O S I T I N S U R A N C E C O R P O R A T I O N

Summer 2011

ALSO INSIDE: Personal Payments by Smartphone and Mobile Computer • Solving Mysteries of Old Bank Accounts

Protecting Your Finances

If a Disaster StrikesARE YOU PREPARED?

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PREPARING FOR A DISASTER

Ferocious storms, earthquakes andother disasters rarely give advance warning and can happen anytime. Whether a natural catastrophe strikesan entire community or a re destroysa single home, the consequencesor the survivors can be traumatic,including severe nancial losses romuninsured property, the destructiono vital documents and temporary disruptions in the ability to work orconduct essential transactions.

“Even i natural disasters have notimpacted your community in recentmemory, it’s important to have a planor what you would do i a tragedy strikes and you couldn’t live in your

home or go to work or quite a while,”said Luke W. Reynolds, Acting Associate Director o the Community Aairs Branch at the FDIC.

What about you? Are your mostimportant possessions insured and your nancial documents protectedrom ruin? And i you had only a ewmoments to evacuate your home andcould not return or several days oreven weeks, would you have access tocash, banking services and the personal

identication you need to conduct yourday-to-day nancial lie? Here are tipsrom FDIC Consumer News .

ANTICIPATE WHAT COULD GO WRONG

Think about the most likely hazardsand plan accordingly. “For example,some communities are more likely tobe aected by a food or an earthquake,and preparing or each situation wouldbe dierent,” said Jo Ann Wilkerson,a Senior Community Aairs Specialistat FDIC.

Your state or local oce o emergency management may be especially helpul.Find out i your city or county oersa service that will send you a textmessage or an e-mail warning at therst sign o an imminent storm orother hazard that might require youto evacuate. Also see what tips andrecommendations they may have onpreparing or a disaster.

Protecting Your Finances If a Disaster Strikes: Are You Prepared?

Periodically review all your insurance coverage. “That includeshomeowner’s or renter’s insurance andcar insurance,” said Wilkerson. “Findout what is and is not covered by yourpolicies.”

For example, the typical homeowner’sinsurance policy does not cover damagecaused by foods or earthquakes, andit may be prudent to purchase extracoverage or hazards such as these,

even i not required by your lender. The idea is to have enough coverageto take care o damage to your house,cars and other valuable property andprovide or temporary lodging.

Keep records o your personalproperty and the estimated value;check with your insurance agent to make sure you have adequatecoverage. Consider taking a videoor photos o your property. Thisdocumentation will come in handy i

you need to le a claim. For additionalguidance on how to create a homeinventory, see suggestions rom theNational Association o InsuranceCommissioners at www.insureuonline.org/home_inventory_page.

Take advantage o direct deposit . Having your paycheck or otherpayments automatically sent to youraccount will ensure that you can accessthe unds quickly, without the risk o having a check lost, delayed or stolen.

Consider establishing computer or smartphone access to your banking account . These services can enable youto manage your nances online romanywhere, without writing checks.

Banks Are Required to PrepareFor Disasters

Federal and state banking regulators

require nancial institutions todevelop and test “disaster recovery”and “business continuity plans.”Each plan must spell out how thebank will recover data, ensure theavailability o cash, continue servingcustomers, and otherwise unctioneciently ater a wide-rangingdisaster — one in which personnelmay be unavailable, key acilities arecrippled, and power and phones areout or an extended period.

According to Michael Jackson, an Associate Director in the FDIC’sDivision o Risk ManagementSupervision, disasters ranging romthe terrorist attacks on September11, 2001, to the deadly tornado thathit Joplin, Missouri, in May o 2011, were reminders that the nancialindustry and its regulators “must beready or disasters o any magnitudeor duration — you cannot just planor something small or brie.”

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PREPARING FOR A DISASTER

Build or maintain an emergency savings und. Because a disaster may aect your ability to earn income,savings can help you through any dicult nancial period withouttaking out a loan or borrowing romretirement savings. Experts say

emergency savings should equal at leastthree to six months o living expenses.“Remember, there is no saer place or your unds than in an FDIC-insuredinstitution,” Reynolds said. (Forinormation about bank preparations torecover rom a disaster, see the box onthe previous page.)

WHAT TO HAVE READY

Consider keeping the ollowing itemsin a secure place and readily available.

• Identifcation and other key documents that may be neededto restore your fnancial records. These include copies o driver’slicenses (or state identication cardsor non-drivers), Social Security cards,passports, birth certicates, insurancecards (or other proo o insurancecoverage), and your inventory o personal property.

• ATM/debit cards and credit cards. You may want to keep copies o the

ront and back o your cards in anemergency evacuation bag or box (seenext column) in case you are unable toaccess your actual cards.

• Phone numbers and account inormation at your fnancialservices providers. This inormationor the bank, credit card companies,brokerage rms and insurancecompanies you do business with willbe helpul i you need to replace lostcards or documents or request otherassistance.

WHAT TO KEEP WHERE

Here is a strategy that works well ormany people:

Make backup copies o important documents. This also includes yourhome inventory records. You canmake paper copies, but also considerscanning these records and storing theimages away rom home, perhaps by e-mailing them to yoursel at a secure

account that you could access anywhereor using a ee-based, online storageservice. Let loved ones know where tolocate originals and copies.

Decide what should or shouldnot be kept in your bank’s sae

deposit box. This service is bestor important documents and itemsthat will be dicult or impossibleto replace, but think twice beoreusing one or anything you may needimmediate access to, such as passportsand originals o powers o attorney.However, be aware that home saes arenot as secure as sae deposit boxes. “A burglar could more easily break into your home, orce you to open the saeor haul o the entire sae and accessthe contents than get inside your sae

deposit box,” Reynolds said. Also, seal any important documents,including those in bank sae depositboxes, in airtight and waterproo plastic bags or containers in case o amajor food or other water damage.For guidance on where to store your original will, check with anattorney about what is required orrecommended under state law.

Consider preparing one or moreemergency evacuation bags or

boxes. Most o what you are likely topack inside will be related to personal

Disaster Preparedness: Sources of Help

The ederal government oers tips and resources. In particular, the FederalEmergency Management Agency (FEMA) publishes consumer inormationabout disaster preparedness, manages the ederal food insurance program, andhelps communities develop strategies to minimize potential losses rom foods,earthquakes, tornadoes and other natural disasters. For emergency preparednesstips rom FEMA or individuals and businesses, visit www.ready.gov. Also check out USA.gov’s “Disasters and Emergencies” Web site at www.usa.gov/Citizen/

Topics/PublicSaety/Disasters.shtml. Your state and local ofces o emergency preparedness can help identiy potential risks in your area and organizations that can be o assistance. Findthem online at www.ready.gov/america/local/index.html.

Mymoney.gov is the the ederal government’s one-stop source or nancialeducation resources online. Search “disasters” to nd resources on disasterplanning and recovery rom nancial agencies or look into specic topicssuch as how to receive ederal benet payments by direct deposit. Check itout at www.mymoney.gov.

For additional resources on how to recover nancially rom a disaster, see thenext article.

saety (fashlights, rst aid kits,prescription medications to last severaldays). Also include essential nancialitems and documents, including somecash and checks, copies o your currentcredit cards and identication cards,a key to your sae deposit box, and

contact inormation or your nancialservices providers. This kit shouldbe waterproo, easy to carry and keptsecure.

Take precautions against identity thet. Start by protecting the debitand credit cards and IDs (or copies)in your evacuation kit. “First, keep your evacuation container in a secureplace in your home,” said Wilkerson.“Second, because a natural disastercan result in everything in your house

getting scattered or miles, thesecontainers should be portable andsecurely locked.”

For additional guidance on how toprepare nancially or many types o disasters, see the resources listed in thebox below. Also see tips rom the FDICon avoiding identity thet in general at www.dic.gov/consumers/consumer/alerts/thet.html.

And or tips on how to protect againstraud ater a disaster strikes, see the

next page. Q

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RECOVERING FROM A DISASTER

Beware of Disaster-Related Financial Scams

Rebounding nancially rom a disastercan take months or years. Here are tipsthat can help speed the recovery.

Report property damage to your property insurance company or

agent as soon as possible. Don’tthrow away damaged goods or makemajor repairs until a claims adjuster visits your residence. Also keep receiptsor emergency repairs.

Look into ederal assistance or survivors o natural disasters. This may include special loans orhomeowners, small business owners orarmers to use to repair orreplace damaged property. Visit www.disasterassistance.gov to learn

more. You can also call the FederalEmergency Management Agency at1-800-621-FEMA (1-800-621-3362).

Immediately contact your creditorsi you don’t think you can pay your bills or make credit card or loan payments on time. Paying your debtslate or not at all can result in penalties,interest charges and damage to yourcredit score. Your creditors will likely work with you on a solution, but it’simportant to contact them as soon as

possible and explain your situation.I you have additional concerns or acomplaint with a business such as afnancial institution or an insurancecompany, be proactive. First contactthe rm directly. I that doesn’tproduce the desired results, you may contact the appropriate ederal or stateregulatory agency or help or guidance.

To locate a bank or other depository institution’s ederal regulator, call theFDIC toll-ree at 1-877-ASK-FDIC,

which is 1-877-275-3342. To locate your state’s insurance regulator, go to www.naic.org/state_web_map.htmon the Web site o the National Association o InsuranceCommissioners (NAIC). You canalso go to another NAIC Website — https://eapps.naic.org/cis/leComplaintMap.do — to le acomplaint with the state.

And, to ollow up on disputes withother entities, such as contractors,

Disaster Recovery and Your Money: A Basic To-Do Listconsider contacting your state Attorney General’s oce (www.naag.org/current-attorneys-general.php) or yourstate or local consumer aairs oce(www.consumeraction.gov/state.shtml).

Seek help rom non-proft organizations in your area. Theirnancial assistance programs may include services such as counseling,ree legal assistance, and low-interest

business loans.Q

Among the sad realities o many naturaldisasters is that as victims struggle,criminals scheme to prot. “Conartists take advantage o people atercatastrophic events by claiming to berom legitimate charitable or assistanceorganizations when, in act, they areattempting to steal money or valuablepersonal inormation,” said Michael

Benardo, manager o the FDIC’s CyberFraud and Financial Crimes Section.

He explained that they typically useraudulent Web sites, phone calls,e-mails and text messages oering to“help” in the rescue eort. “Thesecriminals make their scams seemconvincing and then pocket eitherdonations or ‘down payments’ on akerepair oers,” Benardo said. “In eect,they are urther victimizing people whoare already down.”

How can you avoid becoming a victim?I you’re a disaster survivor, becareul beore accepting unsolicitedoers o repairs or other assistance.Deal only with licensed and insuredhome-repair contractors and getrecommendations rom people youknow and trust. To check out a localbusiness, including complaints againstit, start by contacting your state Attorney General’s oce or yourstate or local consumer aairs oce

(see the previous article). In addition,“get prices and other key details in writing and take your time to read andunderstand anything you are askedto sign,” advised Luke W. Reynolds, Acting Associate Director o theFDIC’s Community Aairs Branch.

He also said to be on guard againstimposters who contact you out o the blue claiming to be governmentemployees or volunteers and who ask or personal nancial inormation or

money to apply or aid that you canrequest on your own or ree.

I you’d like to help out, avoid“charities” or “businesses” that usehigh-pressure tactics to get you toact quickly, perhaps to send money or provide personal inormation on the spot. “Be cautious i someone says you already agreed to donate or pay

money, and you don’t remember doingso,” added Benardo.

Don’t give cash. It’s best to usea credit card or a check becauseeither one provides some consumerprotections, such as being able todispute a transaction with the creditcard company or place a “stoppayment” on a check.

Protect your personal and fnancialinormation. Don’t divulge yourbank or credit card numbers or otherpersonal inormation over the phoneunless you initiated the conversation with the other party and you know thatit’s reputable. Also take precautions when considering an online donation.Go directly to a charity’s Web site by independently conrming the Internetaddress. Don’t ollow a link in ane-mail as it may be to a ake Web site.

Give to charities that you know or have researched. Check with stategovernment oces that regulate

charities (listed on the Web site o the National Association o StateCharity Ocials at www.nasconet.org/documents/u-s-charity-oces).

Report suspected rauds. Go to www.lookstoogoodtobetrue.com/complaint.aspx, a Web siteco-sponsored by the FBI and the U.S.Postal Inspection Service, to le acomplaint. You can also contact theFTC toll-ree at 1-877-FTC-HELP(1-877-382-4357).Q

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Suppose you need to reimburse ariend or lunch but you orgot yourcheckbook and you don’t have enough

cash in your wallet. You can always getmoney rom an ATM or promise topay your riend back some other time,but there’s another option becomingincreasingly common, especially orpeople on the run. It’s the ability tosend a payment using a mobile devicesuch as a smartphone or a “tablet”computer.

This person-to-person or “P2P”payment service is oered by somebanks and non-banks as an alternative

to using cash, checks, debit cards orcredit cards. P2P payment serviceshave grown and are appealing to a widerange o consumers attracted to theability to send and receive money usinga mobile device, but as with any ormo payment, you’ve got to understandthe costs and the potential risks.

How can you protect yoursel whenchoosing and using a P2P paymentservice?

Remember that bank P2P

services can provide clearer legalprotections. First, it’s importantto know what consumer protectionlaws might — or might not — apply.Every P2P provider will have a “useragreement” that should describeits ees, consumer protections,dispute-resolution procedures, andother details required by ederal orstate rules.

The P2P services oered by bankinginstitutions have the same ederal

consumer protections that you get when using your credit or debit card i the payment is unded by linking it to your credit card or checking account,respectively. That means, or example,that i someone steals your smartphoneand uses it to transer money you may have limited or no liability or thatunauthorized transaction provided youreport the problem in a timely manner.

In contrast, mobile payment servicesrom non-banks may not be subject

Person-to-Person Payments by Smartphone and

Mobile Computer Add Convenience and Pose Risks

to the same ederal or state laws that would protect you i you were usinga bank to provide the service. The

protections you will have can vary depending on the terms o the serviceprovider’s contract, how the user’saccount is unded, and other actors.

Luke Brown, an Associate Director inthe FDIC’s Depositor and ConsumerProtection Division, warned, “Don’tpresume that the terms and protectionsor all mobile payment services are thesame because some can have high eesand consumer-unriendly policies. Youshould shop or the best deal with the

strongest consumer protections.”

Be aware that security remainsan issue. A recent study by a privatecompany said that many mobilenancial applications ailed tosaeguard consumers’ personal andsensitive inormation stored on mobiledevices. The rm ound that it couldobtain inormation such as usernames,passwords, and PIN numbers rommobile phones used in nancialtransactions. In the wrong hands, this

inormation could subject a consumerto serious consequences and nanciallosses.

Understand how P2P works. Whileeach P2P service may unction a littledierently, here’s generally how it works. First, you would set up a P2Ppayment account with your bank or anon-bank service provider, such as yourcell phone company. Depending on theservice, the payment could be undedin several ways, perhaps by linking it

to an existing checking account, creditcard, prepaid card, mobile phoneaccount or a special account just orP2P.

Some providers allow customers toonly exchange unds with people whouse the same P2P service, but others will transmit unds to anyone witha deposit account. In the case o thelatter, you may need to provide therecipient’s account number and bank routing number in order to initiate a

transaction — and that is inormation

that people who are not relativesor close riends may be reluctant todisclose. However, many P2P providersare starting to use other alternatives,such as an e-mail address or cell phonenumber. Also, in most cases, a eeper transaction will be charged to thesender or the recipient.

Compare several P2P serviceproviders beore you sign up. “Thebank where you have your checkingaccount is one place to start, but there

are numerous other companies thatprovide these services and will work with your bank to set it up,” noted Je Kopchik, an FDIC Senior Policy Analyst who specializes in technology issues.

It can be helpul to research whatother consumers have said about theirexperiences with a P2P provider.“The Internet provides easy accessto consumer reviews and a wealtho other inormation that can helpconsumers identiy unsatisactory experiences,” said Rob Drozdowski,a Senior Technology Specialist withthe FDIC. “So stay clear o services with questionable reviews andunusually high numbers o consumercomplaints.”

Manage your P2P money wisely.It’s important to monitor your balanceto be sure it has enough to cover thetransactions you are likely to make.

continued on Page 7

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Have you ever ound an old bank statement, passbook, certicate o deposit or receipt or a sae deposit boxand wondered i there is “lost” money

or other assets waiting or you or aloved one? This is especially a commonoccurrence or people who serve as anexecutor o a deceased person’s estateor as a nancial caregiver or an illor elderly riend or relative. To help you research old bank accounts and,perhaps, recover something valuable,

FDIC Consumer News oers thesetips.

First determine whether the bank is open (perhaps under a dierent name), closed or has merged with another bank. The FDIC’s Bank Find,an online database that enables you totrace the history o any FDIC-insuredinstitution, is at www2.dic.gov/idasp/main_banknd.asp. That Web sitealso has contact inormation or openinstitutions.

• I the bank is still open , “ask i itstill has the account or sae depositbox in your name or the name o your loved one,” said Debi Hodes, anFDIC Consumer Aairs Specialist.

Note: I you inquire about someoneelse’s deposit account or sae depositbox, the bank will likely require you toproduce documentation such as a deathcerticate and a court appointmentas executor i the person is dead, or apower o attorney or similar directivegiving you the legal right to handlethese matters or a living person.

The bank may be able to tell you whathappened to the money or property. The owner may have already closed

the account (which FDIC ocials say is requently the case). The assets may still be at the bank. Or, the accountmay have been classied as abandonedater a period o time set by state law.I the latter, the bank would havetranserred any money or valuables tothe unclaimed property oce in thestate o the owner’s last known address.

However, also be prepared or thebank to have no record o the account.“This can occur when the account

Lost and Found or Safe and Sound: How to Solve Mysteries of Old Bank Accounts

was closed or transerred to the stateso long ago that it has been removedrom the bank’s computer system andpaper records,” noted Evelyn Manley,

a Senior Consumer Aairs Specialist atthe FDIC.

To determine whether any money or property is being held by a stategovernment, you can do a ree searchat www.unclaimed.org, a Web siteo the National Association o Unclaimed Property Administrators,or www.missingmoney.com, a databaseo unclaimed property records inmost states.

• I the bank has ailed relatively

recently , the FDIC or anothernancial institution assuming the ailedbank’s business may have possessiono the deposits or valuables (i theaccount owner hasn’t already removedthem). But ollowing a certain periodo inactivity, the FDIC or the otherbank will turn unclaimed property overto the state — ater 18 months in thecase o deposit accounts (under ederallaw) and ater one or more years orthe contents o sae deposit boxes (inaccordance with state law).

For more help or inormation romthe FDIC about ailed banks andunclaimed property, start at www2.dic.gov/unds/index.asp. I you needadditional assistance, you can speak to an FDIC specialist on ailed-bank matters toll-ree at 1-888-206-4662 orll out the Customer Assistance Format www2.dic.gov/starsmail/index.asp.

You can collect the assets by showing satisactory proo o ownership. Sometimes assetstranserred to a state unclaimedproperty oce may have already beensold because there was no space let tostore them. In most cases, the originalowner or heirs still have the right toclaim the proceeds rom that sale.

And i you decide you want someoneelse to guide your search and assist with a claim because your case seemsunusually complex, there are reputablecompanies that will do that or a

ee. “But remember, you don’t needanyone’s help to make a claim, andit costs nothing,” said Hodes. “Mostimportantly, be on guard against

raud or scams. Beware o people who demand money up-ront to help you claim your property by oeringservices that you could perorm on your own or ree.”

Take precautions to keep bank accounts rom getting lost in thefrst place. Doing so can ensure that you or others won’t spend countlesshours on a utile search. Start by keeping good, detailed records. Besure to update them once a year or aschanges occur and include inormationabout which accounts have beencashed, closed or transerred to anotherinstitution.

“It also helps to shred and dispose o documents or accounts that you nolonger own,” Hodes said. “And i youneed to keep some records or tax orother purposes, clearly mark them toindicate that the account itsel has beenclosed.” For more guidance on howto reduce the clutter in your nanciallie, see the Winter 2010/2011 FDIC

Consumer News , which is online at www.dic.gov/consumers/consumer/news/cnwin1011.

Also, make sure that the companiesholding or owing you money have yourcurrent address and accurate name. I you move, write (don’t just call) yourbanks, brokers and other holders o your assets.

Finally, i your bank ails, be mindulo any correspondence rom the FDIC.“We see many examples o ailed-bank customers who were notied by theFDIC o a requirement to conrmthe ownership o their deposits or valuables in a sae deposit box buttook no action,” said David Cooley,an Associate Director o the FDICdivision that handles deposit insuranceclaims. “Now they are having tospend extra eort and time to claimtheir property rom their stategovernment.” Q

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FDICConsumer News

Published by the Federal DepositInsurance Corporation

Martin J. Gruenberg, Acting Chairman

Andrew Gray, Director,

Office of Public Affairs (OPA)

Elizabeth Ford, Assistant Director, OPA

Jay Rosenstein, Senior Writer-Editor, OPA

Mitchell Crawley, Graphic Design

FDIC Consumer News is producedquarterly by the FDIC Oice o Public Aairs in cooperation with otherDivisions and Oices. It is intended topresent inormation in a nontechnical way and is not intended to be a legal

interpretation o FDIC or othergovernment regulations and policies.Due to periodic changes in statutesand agency rules, always check theFDIC Web site — www.dic.gov —or up-to-date inormation. Mentiono a product, service or company does not constitute an endorsement. This publication may be reprinted in whole or in part. Please credit FDIC

Consumer News .

Send your story ideas, comments,and other suggestions or questions to: Jay Rosenstein, Editor,

FDIC Consumer News, 550 17thStreet, NW, Washington, DC 20429 [email protected].

Find current and past issues at www.dic.gov/consumernews orrequest paper copies by contactingthe FDIC Public Inormation Center.Call toll-ree 1-877-ASK-FDIC(1-877-275-3342) or [email protected].

Subscriptions: To receive an e-mail

notice about each new issue with linksto stories, go to www.dic.gov/about/subscriptions/index.html. To receive

FDIC Consumer News in the mail, reeo charge, call or write the FDIC PublicInormation Center as listed above.

For More Help or InformationGo to www.fdic.gov or call the FDIC

toll-free at 1-877-ASK-FDIC

(1-877-275-3342)

Among the steps taken by Congress in2008 to enhance consumer protectionsand reduce raud in the residentialmortgage industry was to pass theSecure and Fair Enorcement or Mortgage Licensing Act o 2008 (theSAFE Act ).

The law also establishes minimumstandards or mortgage loan originators(MLOs) who are state-licensed(primarily independent mortgagebrokers) and requires all MLOsemployed by ederally regulateddepository institutions and FarmCredit System institutions, as well as

certain subsidiaries, to register withthe Nationwide Mortgage LicensingSystem and Registry (NMLS).

Now here’s an update: While the initialregistration o state-licensed mortgageloan originators was completed last year, the initial registration period orederally regulated MLOs (such as loanocers at banks and credit unions) just ended on July 29, 2011. As aresult, the NMLS “Consumer Access” Web site — a ree, searchable service

at www.nmlsconsumeraccess.org —provides useul inormation aboutall licensed and registered MLOs. Inthe uture, the public database willbe expanded to include inormationabout certain relevant disciplinary orenorcement actions taken againstederally registered MLOs.

Each licensed or registered MLO also will be assigned a “unique identier”that consumers may use to nd MLOsin the Consumer Access database. The

unique identier is an identicationnumber that will stay with an MLO orlie. Consumers may nd the identiersespecially useul when searching orinormation about an MLO with acommon name or someone whosename or employer has changed. Theunique identier is made publicly available in a variety o ways and can beobtained rom an MLO upon request.

“The SAFE Act is intended to improvethe accountability and tracking o

New Standards, Disclosures for Mortgage ProfessionalsCan Help Consumers Find a Loan Originator

residential mortgage loan originators, whether they are regulated by the

ederal banking agencies or stateregulators,” said Victoria Pawelski, anFDIC Senior Policy Analyst.

Added Richard Foley, a Counsel inthe FDIC’s Legal Division, “Forconsumers, having some o thisinormation should be a helpul rststep in checking out the credentials o amortgage loan originator.” Q

Luke W. Reynolds, Acting AssociateDirector o the FDIC’s Community Aairs Branch, noted that becauseconsumers can use P2P services to pay or purchases on the Internet, “oneconcern is that the speed o a P2Ptransaction — perhaps just a couple o clicks to send a payment — can makeit easy to make impulse purchases when surng the Web.” But he alsosaid, “whether you write a check ormake an electronic payment, youshould exercise scal discipline when

making purchases and record each P2Ptransaction to avoid overdrawing youraccount.”

To learn more, contact your bank, your Internet or cell-phone serviceprovider, or one o the numerousP2P companies. I you have questionsabout the deposit insurance coverageo a P2P account at an FDIC-insuredinstitution, call 1-877-ASK-FDIC(1-877-275-3342) and ask to speak to adeposit insurance specialist. Q

P2P Payments — continued from Page 5

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News Briefs Interest-Bearing Accountsand FDIC Insurance

As previously reported, the 2010Dodd-Frank nancial reorm law

allows banks, or the rst time, tochoose to pay interest on any type o checking account as o July 21, 2011. A temporary program throughDecember 31, 2012, also providesunlimited deposit insurance or certainchecking accounts that pay no interest. The FDIC wants you to know thatthese two changes could be importantto any depositor who had unlimiteddeposit insurance coverage.

“I your bank on its own converts your non-interest bearing account toan interest-bearing account, you willbe insured up to the basic $250,000limit,” explained Martin Becker, anFDIC Senior Deposit InsuranceSpecialist. “Your bank must notiy youi your account will no longer havethe temporary, unlimited insurancecoverage. I you have unds over the$250,000 limit, you can then decide torestructure your deposits at the bank ormove some unds to another bank to beully insured.”

To learn more, call toll-ree 1-877- ASK-FDIC (1-877-275-3342) or visit www.dic.gov/deposit/deposits.

New Disclosures i a Credit ScoreIs Used in a Loan Decision

Under new ederal rules, i a lenderuses a credit score to help set materialterms (such as the interest rate) whenacting on your application or aloan or credit card, the lender mustdisclose the credit score and relatedinormation to you, ree o charge. The lender also must provide theinormation i it is used in deciding whether to make the loan. You can alsoorder a ree copy o your credit reportrom the credit bureau that providedinormation used to help calculate the

score, so you can review the report orinaccurate inormation.

The new rules rom the FederalReserve Board and the Federal TradeCommission became eective August15, 2011. For answers to commonquestions about credit reports andcredit scores, go to www.ederalreserve.gov/creditreports.

New Rule Targets UnaordableCredit Card Debt

Under a new rule eective October 1,2011, lenders must consider individualincome and not household earnings when considering applications or a

new credit card or an increased creditlimit. The Federal Reserve Board ruleis intended to protect consumers romincurring debts they cannot pay. Formore inormation, start at go.usa.gov/KDN.

Debit Card Fees Capped,Eect on Consumers Uncertain

Ater months o industry advertisingand debate on both sides o theissue, the Federal Reserve Boardhas nalized a rule that caps the ees

paid by merchants to card issuers orevery debit card transaction. Underthe rule, the Fed expects the debitcard transaction ee to drop rom anaverage o 44 cents to about 24 cents. The Dodd-Frank law required theFed to implement the rule. The eecton consumers and bank card issuers isuncertain. The new ee cap will takeeect on October 1, 2011. Q

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