ATLAS/BRIEFINGLaw, organized for consequential decisions.

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Payments compliance

Error resolution, network rules, and money movement duties.

FIN-01 · 01

Regulation E Error Resolution for Digital Wallets and Payment Applications

7 MIN · FIN

Regulation E turns a consumer complaint into a regulated clock. This brief sets out when the clock starts, which investigation window applies, when provisional credit becomes mandatory, and what must be sent in writing.

  • A consumer has 60 days from the periodic statement showing the problem to assert an error; late notice generally ends the institution's resolution duty.
  • The default investigation window is 10 business days, extendable to 45 calendar days only if provisional credit is given and the consumer notified.
  • New accounts, point-of-sale debit transactions, and foreign-initiated transfers use longer windows — 20 business days and 90 calendar days.
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FIN-04 · 02

ACH Authorization, Returns, and Account-Freezing Risk for Payment Platforms

9 MIN · FIN

A debit can be contractually agreed, network-compliant, and still returned. This brief separates the three rulebooks that govern ACH authorization, returns, and funds holds for a platform operator.

  • Nacha rules make the originating bank warrant that each entry is authorized, and require proof of authorization to be retained and produced on request.
  • Retention for consumer debit authorizations generally runs two years from the date the authorization is terminated or revoked.
  • Return-rate levels are measured against the originator: 0.5% unauthorized, 3% administrative, and 15% overall, each triggering network review.
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FIN-07 · 03

Custodial and FBO Account Structures: Whose Money Is It

8 MIN · FIN

An FBO account holds one balance at a bank and many claims outside it. This brief separates legal ownership from operational control, and sets out the titling, records, and disclosure conditions the structure depends on.

  • An FBO account is a single deposit at a bank held by an intermediary for identified end users, whose individual claims exist only in the intermediary's ledger.
  • Pass-through insurance conditions include custodial titling, records identifying the true owners and their interests, and a genuine disclosed agency relationship.
  • The label 'FBO' on an account title creates nothing by itself; the underlying agreements and state law determine whether a trust or agency actually exists.
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