Visa® Changes Fee Policy on International Transactions

Visa® has announced changes to its International Service Assessment (ISA), effective April 2008. The changes involve charging an ISA on all international transactions, regardless of whether there is a currency conversion. Previously, Visa only charged the ISA when there was a conversion.

These changes will affect the currency conversion text offered in our Reg E disclosures for Visa-branded debit cards, and—because the fee will be charged in new circumstances—will require a change notice for institutions that pass the fee on to their consumer account owners. A change notice needs to be sent to consumer cardholders because the fee being passed on will be charged in more instances than it was previously. Reg E provides that the change notice must be provided 21 days in advance.

Institutions that absorb the ISA do not have to change their documentation or provide change notices (unless they change their policy and stop absorbing the fee).

Recommended Action Steps

Institutions that are passing the ISA on to cardholders have two options:

• Update your cardholder agreement (Reg E disclosure) at your earliest opportunity and—in the meantime—purchase an insert to be mailed as a change notice.
• Purchase an insert only, which can be used as a change notice and as an insert to your current cardholder agreement (Reg E disclosure) until your inventory runs out.

Reg E disclosures affected:

• Electronic Funds Transfers—ETM-BRO
• Account Services Kit/Electronic Funds Transfers—ASK-ETM-BRO
• Electronic Programs Brochures—CARD-BRO
• Business Debit Card Brochures—CARD-BRO-B
• HSA Electronic Programs Brochures—HSA-CARD-BRO

Inserts affected:

• VISACCINSERT—Use if you’re passing on the fee “as is”
• VISACCINSRT2—Use if you’re passing on the fee, but always charging 1%
• VISACCINSRT3—Use to customize the amount of the fee you’re passing on