Electronic Fund Transfer Act

At this time last year the Electronic Fund Transfer Act1 had just been enacted into law. In the 1979 survey,2 therefore, the coverage of the Act itself and its legislative background were analyzed. In 1979 the law-making focus shifted from Congress to the Federal Reserve Board. Congress delegated to the Board, as it has in most other titles of the Consumer Credit Protection Act,3 of which the Electronic Fund Transfer Act has become title IX, specific, exclusive, and quite broad authority to publish regulations to implement and to interpret the Act. Similar authority granted under the Truth in Lending Act4 has been construed to allow the Board great, and necessary, flexibility.5 Congress altered the typical delegation of rulemaking authority found in other titles of the Consumer Credit Protection Act, however. Congress attempted to ensure more harmonious and consistent policy formulation among federal agencies charged with enforcement responsibilities by requiring inter-agency consultation.6 Further, as an indication of greater sensitivity on the part of Congress towards the price the consuming public must pay for consumer protection legislation, Congress required the Board to prepare, and to test