Montana

Please be sure you have read State-Law Rules the Affect Electronic Funds Transfers before proceeding. The introduction describes the limitations of the following summary.

Also, be aware that Montana has a statute that deems any financial institution that is in compliance with Regulation E to be in compliance with the rules described below. [Montana Rev. Codes Ann. Section 32-6-102(2)] In other words, you can choose to simply comply with Regulation E and ignore these rules if you like.

Customer disclosure

The financial institution must give the customer a disclosure before permitting the customer to engage in any electronic funds transfers. The disclosure must set forth the following:
  1. The types of transactions that may be performed through satellite terminals.
  2. The charges for transactions engaged in through a satellite terminal.
  3. The minimum balance requirements, if any.
  4. The rules concerning liability for unauthorized transfers, with special emphasis upon the liability when the customer makes his or her personal identification number (PIN) readily available for discovery in connection with theft or loss of the card, and the importance of notifying the institution immediately of theft or loss of the card.
  5. The legal status of receipts issued from a satellite terminal.
  6. The customer’s right to descriptions of transactions on periodic statements.
  7. The billing-error rules.
  8. Instructions to help the customer maintain records, reconcile balances, and the importance of retaining receipts from electronic funds transfers.
  9. The economic significance of having no “float” time and no stop-payment authority.

[Montana Rev. Codes Ann. Section 32-6-104]

Restrictions on the release of information

Generally, an institution may not release information about an electronic funds transfer or application to any person or government agency unless the customer consents or in response to a subpoena. Unauthorized release of such information can be a criminal offense. [Montana Rev. Codes Ann. Sections 32-6-105 and 106]

Receipts

Satellite terminals must produce readable receipts of transactions and provide the receipt to the customer at the time of the transaction. [Montana Rev. Codes Ann. Section 32-6-301]

Periodic statements

Financial institutions must provide customers who make electronic funds transfers with periodic account statements. The statements must describe all transfers, so that the customer can relate them to the receipts received at satellite terminals. If nonelectronic transfers are shown on the statement, the electronic transfers must be identified as such. [Montana Rev. Codes Ann. Section 32-6-301]

Billing-error procedures

If a customer believes a periodic statement contains an error with respect to an electronic funds transfer, the customer must notify the institution within 60 days after the delivery of the statement. The institution has ten days after notice to either correct the error or explain to the customer why there is no error or why the amount of the error is different from what the customer believed it to be. The customer may request a written explanation with documentation and the institution must comply. [Montana Rev. Codes Ann. Section 32-6-302]

Unauthorized transfers

Generally, a customer is not liable for unauthorized funds transfers. There are two exceptions, however. First, a customer is liable for the first $50 of transfers made before the customer gives notice to the financial institution of the loss or theft of the access device (card). Second, a customer who is careless with his/her PIN will be liable for one-half of the unauthorized transfers caused by the carelessness and made before the customer gives notice to the financial institution of loss or theft of the access device. A customer would be careless with the PIN if the customer wrote the PIN on the device or made the number readily available in some other way to a person who steals or finds the device. A customer is presumed to have authorized a transfer made by someone to whom the customer gave the access device and PIN. [Montana Rev. Codes Ann. Section 32-6-303]

Limits on numbers used as PINs

A financial institution may not use as a PIN a customer’s social security number, driver’s license number, or any other number used for any other purpose. Receipts produced by satellite terminals may not print the customer’s PIN. [Montana Rev. Codes Ann. Section 32-6-306]