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Document
69500
Federal Register / Vol. 71, No. 231 / Friday, December 1, 2006 / Proposed Rules
1
According to one industry estimate, consumers
spent more than $1 trillion on transactions less than
$5 in 2003, with an average payment of $3.72. See
TowerGroup, Making Sense from Cents: Trends in
the Rebirth of Electronic Micropayments (July
2004).
2
See More and More Consumers Use Visa to
Make Small Purchases, Visa Press Release (August
24, 2006) (reporting double digit growth in the use
of payment cards in the first six months of 2006
compared to the same period in 2005); MasterCard
PayPass Increases Customer Loyalty and Moves
Payments Away From Cash, Master Card Press
Release (July 18, 2006). See also TowerGroup,
(c) When performing inspections of
products from sea containers unloaded
directly from sea transportation or when
palletized products unloaded directly
from sea transportation are not offered
for inspection at dock-side, the carlot
fees in a of this section shall apply.
(d) When performing inspections for
Government agencies, or for purposes
other than those prescribed in
paragraphs (a) through (c) of this
section, including weight-only and
freezing-only inspections, fees for
inspections shall be based on the time
consumed by the grader in connection
with such inspections, computed at a
rate of $64 ($74) per hour:
Provided, that:
(1) Charges for time shall be rounded
to the nearest half hour;
(2) The minimum fee shall be two
hours for weight-only inspections, and
one-half hour for other inspections;
(3) When weight certification is
provided in addition to quality and/or
condition inspection, a one-hour charge
shall be added to the carlot fee;
(4) When inspections are performed to
certify product compliance for Defense
Personnel Support Centers, the daily or
weekly charge shall be determined by
multiplying the total hours consumed to
conduct inspections by the hourly rate.
The daily or weekly charge shall be
prorated among applicants by
multiplying the daily or weekly charge
by the percentage of product passed
and/or failed for each applicant during
that day or week. Waiting time and
overtime charges shall be charged
directly to the applicant responsible for
their incurrence.
(e) When performing inspections at
the request of the applicant during
periods which are outside the graders
regularly scheduled work week, a
charge for overtime or holiday work
shall be made at the rate of $33 ($38) per
hour or portion thereof in addition to
the carlot equivalent fee, package
charge, or hourly charge specified in
this subpart. Overtime or holiday
charges for time shall be rounded to the
nearest half hour.
(f) When an inspection is delayed
because product is not available or
readily accessible, a charge for waiting
time shall be made at the prevailing
hourly rate in addition to the carlot
equivalent fee, package charge, or
hourly charge specified in this subpart.
Waiting time shall be rounded to the
nearest half hour.
Dated: November 27, 2006.
Lloyd C. Day,
Administrator, Agriculture Marketing Service.
[FR Doc. E620315 Filed 113006; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 341002P
FEDERAL RESERVE SYSTEM
12 CFR Part 205
[Regulation E; Docket No. R1270]
Electronic Fund Transfers
AGENCY
:
Board of Governors of the
Federal Reserve System.
ACTION
:
Proposed rule; request for
public comment.
SUMMARY
:
The Board is proposing to
amend Regulation E, which implements
the Electronic Fund Transfer Act, and
the official staff commentary to the
regulation, which interprets the
requirements of Regulation E. The
proposed amendments would create an
exception for certain small-dollar
transactions from the requirement that
terminal receipts be made available to
consumers at the time of the transaction.
DATES
:
Comments must be received on
or before January 30, 2007.
ADDRESSES
:
You may submit comments,
identified by Docket No. R1270, by any
of the following methods:
Agency Web Site: http://
www.federalreserve.gov. Follow the
instructions for submitting comments at
http://www.federalreserve.gov/
generalinfo/foia/ProposedRegs.cfm.
Federal eRulemaking Portal: http://
www.regulations.gov. Follow the
instructions for submitting comments.
E-mail:
regs.comments@federalreserve.gov.
Include the docket number in the
subject line of the message.
FAX: (202) 4523819 or (202) 452
3102.
Mail: Jennifer J. Johnson, Secretary,
Board of Governors of the Federal
Reserve System, 20th Street and
Constitution Avenue, NW., Washington,
DC 20551.
All public comments are available
from the Boards Web site at http://
www.federalreserve.gov/generalinfo/
foia/ProposedRegs.cfm as submitted,
unless modified for technical reasons.
Accordingly, your comments will not be
edited to remove any identifying or
contact information. Public comments
may also be viewed electronically or in
paper form in Room MP500 of the
Boards Martin Building (20th and C
Streets, NW.) between 9 a.m. and 5 p.m.
on weekdays.
FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT
:
Ky
Tran-Trong or David A. Stein, Counsels,
or Vivian W. Wong, Attorney, Division
of Consumer and Community Affairs,
Board of Governors of the Federal
Reserve System, Washington, DC 20551,
at (202) 4522412 or (202) 4523667.
For users of Telecommunications
Device for the Deaf (TDD) only, contact
(202) 2634869.
SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION
:
I. Statutory Background
The Electronic Fund Transfer Act (15
U.S.C. 1693 et seq.) (EFTA or Act),
enacted in 1978, provides a basic
framework establishing the rights,
liabilities, and responsibilities of
participants in electronic fund transfer
(EFT) systems. The EFTA is
implemented by the Boards Regulation
E (12 CFR part 205). Examples of the
types of transfers covered by the Act
and regulation include transfers
initiated through an automated teller
machine (ATM), point-of-sale (POS)
terminal, automated clearinghouse
(ACH), telephone bill-payment plan, or
remote banking service. The Act and
regulation provide for the disclosure of
terms and conditions of an EFT service;
documentation of EFTs by means of
terminal receipts and periodic account
activity statements; limitations on
consumer liability for unauthorized
transfers; procedures for error
resolution; and certain rights related to
preauthorized EFTs. Further, the Act
and regulation also restrict the
unsolicited issuance of ATM cards and
other access devices.
The official staff commentary (12 CFR
part 205 (Supp. I)) interprets the
requirements of Regulation E to
facilitate compliance and provides
protection from liability under Sections
915 and 916 of the EFTA for financial
institutions and other persons subject to
the Act. 15 U.S.C. 1693m(d)(1). The
commentary is updated periodically to
address significant questions that arise.
II. Background
Historically, consumers have tended
to use cash to make small-dollar
purchases, for example, to buy food or
beverages from a vending machine or to
pay for a subway fare.
1
Data from the
payment card associations indicates,
however, that in certain market
segments, consumers are increasingly
using credit and debit cards in place of
cash, even for small-dollar
transactions.
2
This shift in consumer
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Federal Register / Vol. 71, No. 231 / Friday, December 1, 2006 / Proposed Rules
Anticipating Micropayment Growth (October
2005) (indicating nearly $3 billion in growth (up to
$13.5 billion) for transactions less than $5 using
debit and credit cards between 2003 and 2004).
3
See Geoffrey Gerdes and Jack Walton II, Trends
in the Use of Payment Instruments in the United
States, Federal Reserve Bulletin 180, 181 (Spring
2005).
4
See Ron Borzekowski, Elizabeth Kiser, and
Shaista Ahmed, Consumers Use of Debit Cards:
Patterns, Preferences, and Price Response, April
2006. Working paper, Federal Reserve Board. See
also Elizabeth Klee, Paper or Plastic? The Effect of
Time on Check and Debit Card Use at Grocery
Stores, February 2006. Working paper, Federal
Reserve Board (concluding that