ICBA Commends House Passage of ATM Disclosure Bill

July 10 - The Independent Community Bankers of America has expressed support for House passage of bipartisan legislation to eliminate an unnecessary and burdensome ATM fee disclosure requirement. Under H.R. 4367, ATM operators would no longer have to post a sign on their ATMs stating that a fee may be imposed, which has led to a number of frivolous lawsuits. Operators would continue to be required to disclose potential fees in an onscreen prompt.

“ICBA is pleased that members of the House have come together to advance legislation to overturn this duplicative ATM disclosure requirement,” ICBA President and CEO Cam Fine said. “This requirement has led to baseless and frivolous lawsuits that threaten the viability of ATM operators, which would only harm consumers.”

The disclosure requirement is redundant because a similar and more effective fee notice is provided on ATM video monitors and offers a choice to either consent to the fee or cancel the transaction. The requirement also is costly to operators because if the placard notice is not attached, plaintiffs may recover the lesser of $500,000 or one percent of the net worth of the ATM operator. This bounty has led to situations in which litigants have removed the placard, photographed the ATM and filed a lawsuit before the ATM operator is aware of the missing sign.

ICBA has been a consistent, leading supporter of the legislation and will continue advocating its full passage. For more information, visit www.icba.org.