Disclosures
Take a closer look at the fine print that explain various elements of our products, services, and special offers.
Quickly find the information you need.
- Membership and Account Agreement
- Membership and Accounts
- Truth-In-Savings Disclosures
- Loan Disclosures
- Funds Availability
- Fee Schedule
- Electronic Funds Transfer (EFT) Transactions
- Tower Talk 24 and Digital Banking Agreement
- Terms and conditions that apply to Tower Talk 24 and all Digital Banking Services
- Additional Terms that apply only to the Mobile Banking Service
- Additional Terms that apply only to Mobile Deposit Services
- Additional Terms that apply only to eStatements
- Additional Terms that apply only to Inter-Institution Transfer Service (Funds Transfer)
- Additional Terms that apply only to Cross Account Transfers
- Additional Terms that apply only to Bill Payment Service
- Digital Wallet Services
- Debit Card Agreement
- EFT Disclosures
- Use of ATMs and Deposit Facilities
- Preauthorized Deposits and Payments
- Electronic Funds Transfer and Automated Clearing House (ACH) Transactions
- Electronic Records Disclosure
Membership and Account Agreement
THIS AGREEMENT CONTAINS AN ARBITRATION AGREEMENT (IMMEDIATELY FOLLOWING SECTION 34 BELOW) THAT IMPACTS YOUR RIGHT TO A JURY TRIAL FOR DEPOSIT ACCOUNT RELATIONSHIPS, OR OTHER RELATED PRODUCTS/SERVICES. IT IS IMPORTANT THAT YOU READ IT CAREFULLY. YOU MAY OPT-OUT AND REJECT THE ARBITRATION AGREEMENT WITHIN 60-DAYS OF BECOMING SUBJECT TO THE TERMS OF THIS AGREEMENT. SEE THE ARBITRATION AGREEMENT BELOW FOR MORE INFORMATION.
This Agreement covers your and our rights and responsibilities concerning Accounts the Credit Union (Credit Union) offers. In this Agreement, the words “you” and “yours” mean anyone who signs a Signature Card, which is any membership application recorded with the credit union, including any Account Update. The words “we,” “us,” and “our” mean the Credit Union. The word “account” means any one or more share or other accounts you have with the Credit Union.
Your account type(s) and ownership features are designated on your Signature Card. By signing a Signature Card, each of you, jointly and severally, agree to the terms and conditions in this Agreement, Signature Card, the Funds Availability Disclosure, Rate Sheet, Fee Schedule, if applicable, Electronic Funds Transfer Transaction Disclosure, and any Account Receipt accompanying this Agreement, and the Credit Union’s Bylaws and policies, and any amendments of these documents from time to time which collectively govern your Membership and Accounts.
Membership Eligibility and Information To join the Credit Union you must meet the membership requirements including purchase and maintenance of at least one (1) share (“membership share”) as set forth in the Credit Union’s Bylaws. You authorize us to check your account, credit, and employment history, and obtain reports from third parties, including credit reporting agencies, to verify your identity and/or eligibility for the accounts and services you request. You authorize us to contact your employer and obtain information we need and you consent to release of that information to us.
Important Information about Opening a New Account To help the government fight the funding of terrorism and money laundering activities, Federal law requires all financial institutions to obtain, verify, and record information that identifies each person who opens an account.
What this means for you: When you open an account, we will ask for your name, address, date of birth, and other information that will allow us to identify you. We will also ask to see your driver’s license and/or other identifying documents.
Identification As a credit union responsible for the safety and security of members’ funds, Tower may require at least two forms of acceptable identification to conduct financial transactions. Circumstances may further require that the identification presented be approved by management.
Identification As a credit union responsible for the safety and security of members’ funds, Tower may require at least two forms of acceptable identification to conduct financial transactions. Circumstances may further require that the identification presented be approved by management.
Telephone Calls, Call Monitoring, and Recording When you give a phone number to us or our agents, you authorize us or our agents to place calls to you at that number for our business purposes in accordance with applicable law. You understand that a “phone number” includes a home phone number (including any home phone number that is later converted to a cell phone number) and/or a cell phone number. You also agree that “calls” include both telephone calls and text messages to or from your home phone number, cell phone number, or using VoIP technology. As examples, we may place calls to you about fraud alerts, deposit holds, collection of amounts due to us on your deposit and loan accounts, and other transactional messages. When we or our agents make calls to you, we may use automatic dialers and/or text, or prerecorded messages. You agree that this authorization applies to each phone number that you provide to us now or in the future. You agree to notify us immediately of any change in your telephone number(s). You understand and agree that you may revoke this consent at any time by calling us at 866-56-TOWER, submitting your request via email through the Message Center in Digital Banking at towerfcu.org, or any other reasonable method that gives us a reasonable opportunity to update our records.
You authorize us and our agents to monitor and record phone conversations and other electronic communications you have with us and with our agents for reasonable business purposes, such as security and quality assurance. We may not remind you that we may be monitoring or recording a call at the beginning of the call unless required by law to do so.
Membership and Accounts
- Individual Accounts – An individual account is an account owned by one member (individual, corporation, partnership, trust or other organization) qualified for credit union membership. If the account owner dies, the interest passes, subject to applicable law, to the decedent's estate or Payable on Death (POD) beneficiary/payee or trust beneficiary (see POD/Trust Account Designations in Joint Accounts below), subject to other provisions of this Agreement governing our protection for honoring transfer and withdrawal requests of an owner or owner's agent prior to notice of an owner's death. The account is subject to the terms of the Maryland Multiple-Party Accounts law.
- Joint Accounts – A Joint Account is subject to the Maryland Multiple-Party Accounts Law and includes joint accounts, POD accounts, and some trust accounts. An account owned by two or more persons is a joint account. A "party" is a person who possesses a present right to draw on funds in a joint account.
- Rights of Survivorship. Unless otherwise stated on the Signature Card, a joint account includes rights of survivorship. This means when one party dies, all sums in the account will pass to the surviving party(ies). For an account without rights of survivorship, the deceased party's interest passes to his or her estate. A surviving party's interest is subject to the Credit Union's statutory lien for the deceased party's obligations, and to any security interest or pledge granted by a deceased party, even if a surviving party did not consent to it.
- Control of Accounts. Any party is authorized and deemed to act for any other party(ies) and may instruct us regarding transactions and other account matters. Each party guarantees the signature of any other party(ies). Subject to other provisions in this Agreement, any party may withdraw all funds, stop payment on items, transfer, or pledge to us all or any part of the shares (except the membership share) without the consent of the other party(ies). We have no duty to notify any party(ies) about any transaction. We reserve the right to require written consent of all parties for any change to or termination of an account. If we receive written notice of a dispute between parties or inconsistent instructions from them, we may suspend or terminate the account, but are not required to, and require a court order or written consent from all parties to act before we take further action.
- Liability of Parties on an Account. If a deposited item in a joint account is returned unpaid, an account is overdrawn, if we do not receive final payment on a transaction, or otherwise suffer a loss on an account, the parties, jointly and severally, are liable to us for the amount of the returned item, overdraft, unpaid amount, or loss and any charges, regardless of who initiated or benefited from the transaction. We may charge any account in which any party has an ownership interest, including individual accounts and joint owner accounts with other persons, for the amount of such liability. If any party is indebted to us for any reason, including, but not limited to, as borrower, drawer, guarantor, endorser, or otherwise, we may apply funds in or charge the joint account for the amount of the indebtedness and any charges, regardless of who contributed funds to the joint account and even if such charge creates an overdraft in the joint account. This means that if one party overdraws his or her individual account, the overdraft may be charged to any joint account in which he or she is a party, and, if funds are not available in the joint account to pay the overdraft, we may apply funds in or charge any individual account of any other party, or any joint account of any other party and another person or persons, for the amount of the joint account overdraft.
- POD/Trust Account Designations. A Payable on Death (POD) account or trust account designation is an instruction to the Credit Union that a single or joint account so designated is payable to the party(ies) during his, her, or their lifetimes and, when the last party on an account dies, payable to any named and surviving POD payee or trust beneficiary. When there is more than one surviving beneficiary/payee the amounts in the account are owned jointly in equal shares by such beneficiaries/payees. Any POD or trust beneficiary/payee designation shall not apply to Individual Retirement Accounts (IRAs) which are governed by a separate beneficiary/payee designation. We are not obligated to notify any beneficiary/payee of the existence of any account or the vesting of the beneficiary/payee's interest in any account, except as otherwise provided by law.
- Death of a Party. If the primary member on the account dies, the account must be closed by the surviving parties or we will close it within a reasonable period after the primary member's death. After the death of the primary member, surviving parties have unrestricted rights to access the account and funds in the account as noted in subsection (b) above and we have no liability whatsoever to any surviving parties in connection with the actions of other surviving parties. If two or more parties survive the primary member, we will pay the then current balance in equal shares to the surviving parties when the account is closed. If only one party survives the primary member, we will pay the then current balance to the surviving party when the account is closed. If a party other than the primary member on the account dies, the account will continue as a joint account if there are additional parties on the account. If the primary member is the sole surviving party on the account, the account will become an individual ownership account.
- Accounts for Minors – We may require any account established by a minor to be a joint account with a member who has reached the age of majority under state law and who shall be jointly and severally liable to us for any returned item, overdraft, or unpaid charges, or losses or amounts on such account. We may take deposits from and pay funds directly to the minor without regard to his or her minority. Unless a guardian or parent is an account owner, the guardian or parent shall not have any account access rights. We have no duty to inquire about the use or purpose of any transaction, except as required by applicable law. We will not change the account status when the minor reaches the age of majority, unless authorized in writing by the member account owner. New accounts for minors may not be opened online.
- Uniform Transfers to Minors Account – A Uniform Transfers to Minors Account (UTMA) Custodial Account is an individual account created by a custodian who deposits funds as an irrevocable gift to a minor. The minor to whom the gift is made is the beneficiary of the custodial property in the account. The custodian has possession and control of the account for the exclusive right and benefit of the minor and, barring a court order otherwise, is the only party entitled to make withdrawals or close the account. We have no duty to inquire about the use or purpose of any transaction, except as required by applicable law. If the custodian dies, we may suspend the account, until we receive instructions from any person authorized by law to withdraw funds or a court order authorizing withdrawal. Subject to applicable law and at our sole discretion, two persons may be designated as custodians of the custodial property for the benefit of the same minor and that arrangement shall constitute a single custodianship.
- Agency Designation on an Account (Convenience Account) – A Convenience Account is an instruction to us that the owner authorizes another person (Convenience Person) to make transactions as agent for the account owner regarding the accounts designated. A Convenience Person has no ownership interest in the account(s) or Credit Union voting rights. We have no duty to inquire about the use or purpose of any transaction made by the Convenience Person, except as required by applicable law.
- Fiduciary Designation on an Account – guardian, custodian, trustee, representative payee, administrator, executor, personal representative, or similar fiduciary (collectively "Fiduciary") acts in that capacity pursuant to contract, state, or federal law, regulation, or judicial authority for the benefit of the named minor, ward, person under disability, trust beneficiary, or estate decedent named on the account. The account is subject to the order of the Fiduciary, subject to the limitations imposed by any judicial order of which we have had prior notice and a reasonable opportunity to act. If a Fiduciary executes a power of attorney to appoint another person to act as the attorney-in-fact for the Fiduciary, we have the right, in our sole discretion, not to accept the power of attorney until the Fiduciary proves to our satisfaction that the Fiduciary has the right to delegate authority to others through a power of attorney. The Fiduciary certifies that any funds deposited into or withdrawn from the account are properly within the Fiduciary's custody and may be lawfully deposited into or withdrawn from the account in accordance with authority duly vested in the Fiduciary and that we have no duty to verify the authority of the Fiduciary to make particular deposits or withdrawals (except as expressly provided otherwise by judicial order of which we have had prior notice and a reasonable opportunity to act). The Fiduciary promises to keep records in good faith and in the ordinary course of business which detail the interests of the true beneficial owner(s) of the account at all times. All draws and transfers made to the account must be signed for by the Fiduciary.
- Deposit of Funds Requirements – Funds may be deposited to any account, in any manner approved by the Credit Union, in accordance with the requirements set forth in this agreement. We reserve the right to refuse any deposit in our sole discretion.
- Endorsements. We may accept transfers, checks, drafts, and other items for deposit into any of your accounts if they are made payable to, or to the order of, one or more account owners even if they are not endorsed by all payees. You authorize us to supply missing endorsements of any owners if we choose. If a check, draft, or item that is payable to two or more persons is ambiguous as to whether it is payable to either or both, we may process the check, draft, or item as though it is payable to either person. If an insurance, government, or other check or draft requires an endorsement as set forth on the back of the check or draft, we may require endorsement as set forth on the item. Endorsements must be made on the back of the share draft or check within 1½ inches from the top edge, although we may accept endorsements outside this space. However, any loss we incur from a delay or processing error resulting from an irregular endorsement or other markings by you or any prior endorser will be your responsibility. By giving, whether orally or in writing, a third party information about your account (for example, your account number or the MICR information appearing at the bottom of your checks), you are authorizing those parties to generate withdrawal items withdrawing money from your account in the amounts they draw payable to whom they identify. All withdrawal items generated by third parties who have your account information are deemed to be authorized by you. You authorize us to honor those withdrawal items and we have no obligation to recredit your account.
- Collection of Items. We act only as your agent and we are not responsible for handling items for deposit or collection beyond the exercise of ordinary care. Deposits made by mail or at unstaffed facilities are not our responsibility until we receive them. We are not liable for the negligence of any correspondent or for loss in transit, and each correspondent will only be liable for its own negligence. We may send any item for collection. Items drawn on an institution located outside the United States are handled on a collection basis only. You waive any notice of nonpayment, dishonor, or protest regarding items we purchase or receive for credit or collection to your account.
- Final Payment. All items or Automated Clearing House (ACH) transfers credited to your account are provisional until we receive final payment. If final payment is not received, we may charge your account for the amount of such items or ACH transfers and impose a return item charge on your account. Any collection fees we incur may be charged to your account. We reserve the right to refuse or return any item or funds transfer.
- Direct Deposits. We may offer preauthorized deposits (e.g., payroll checks, Social Security or retirement checks, or other government checks) or preauthorized transfers from other accounts. You must authorize each direct deposit or preauthorized transfer by filling out a separate form. You must notify us at least thirty (30) days in advance to cancel or change a direct deposit or transfer option. Upon a bankruptcy filing, unless you cancel an authorization we will continue making direct deposits in accordance with your authorization on file with us. If we are required to reimburse the U.S. Government for any benefit payment directly deposited into your account, we may deduct the amount returned from any of your accounts, unless prohibited by law.
- Crediting of Deposits. Deposits made after the deposit cutoff time and deposits made on either holidays or days that are not our business days will be credited to your account on the next business day.
- Account Access
- Authorized Signature. Your signature on the Signature Card authorizes your account access. We will not be liable for refusing to honor any item or instruction if we believe the signature is not genuine. If you have authorized the use of a facsimile signature, we may honor any draft that appears to bear your facsimile signature even if it was made by an unauthorized person. You authorize us to honor transactions initiated by a third person to whom you have given your account number even if you do not authorize a particular transaction.
- Access Options. You may withdraw or transfer funds from your account(s) in any manner we permit (e.g., at an automated teller machine, in person, by mail, automatic transfer, or telephone, as applicable). We may return as unpaid any draft drawn on a form we do not provide, and you are responsible for any loss we incur handling such a draft. We have the right to review and approve any form of power of attorney and may restrict account withdrawals or transfers. We are under no obligation to honor any power of attorney.
- ACH & Wire Transfers. If we provide the service, you may initiate or receive credits or debits to your account through wire or Automated Clearing House (ACH) transfer. You agree that if you receive funds by a wire or ACH transfer, we are not required to notify you at the time the funds are received. Instead, the transfer will be shown on your periodic statement. We may provisionally credit your account for an ACH transfer before we receive final settlement. We may reverse the provisional credit or you will refund us the amount if we do not receive final settlement. When you initiate a wire transfer, you may identify either the recipient or any financial institution by name and by account or identifying number. The Credit Union (and other institutions) may rely on the account or other identifying number as the proper identification even if it identifies a different party or institution.
- Credit Union Examination. We may disregard information on any draft or check, other than the signature of the drawer, the amount and any magnetic encoding. You agree we do not fail to exercise ordinary care in paying an item solely because our procedures do not provide for sight examination of items.
- Account Rates and Fees – We pay account earnings and assess fees against your account as set forth in the Rate Sheet and Fee Schedule. We may change the Rate Sheet and Fee Schedule at any time and will notify you as required by law.
- Transaction Limitations
- Withdrawal Restrictions. We permit withdrawals only if your account has sufficient available funds to cover the full amount of the withdrawal or you have an established overdraft protection plan. Drafts or other transfer or payment orders which are drawn against insufficient funds may be subject to a service charge set forth in the Fee Schedule. If there are sufficient funds to cover some, but not all, of your withdrawal, we may allow those withdrawals for which there are sufficient funds in any order at our discretion. We may refuse to allow a withdrawal in some situations, and will advise you accordingly; for example: (1) a dispute between account owners (unless a court has ordered the Credit Union to allow the withdrawal); (2) a legal garnishment or attachment is served; (3) the account secures any obligation to us; (4) required documentation has not been presented; and (5) you fail to repay a Credit Union loan on time. We may require you to give written notice of seven (7) days to sixty (60) days before any intended withdrawals.
- Transfer Limitations. If we have been notified, or we reasonably believe there is a legitimate dispute among any parties who have or claim an interest in your account, including the Credit Union, we may, at our discretion: (i) continue to rely on the signature cards, resolutions, and other account documents in our possession, (ii) freeze all or any portion of the funds we deem appropriate until the dispute is resolved; (iii) pay the funds into an appropriate court of law or equity for resolution; (iv) honor the competing claim upon receipt of evidence we deem satisfactory to justify such claim; or (v) close the account and pay any proceeds to: (a) all who have or claim an interest in the account, or (b) the account owner(s) as indicated in our records. In addition, we may, at our option, commence a lawsuit to determine the ownership of your account. The Credit Union's right to freeze or place a hold on your account includes prohibiting any type of withdrawal or transfer from the account and/or preventing any deposits or credits from being made to the account. The Credit Union's right to freeze or place a hold on your account shall also apply if the Credit Union, in good faith, believes: (i) it has a claim against the account owner(s) or the funds in the account or something has occurred or is reasonably expected to occur which will result in the Credit Union having a claim or dispute against the account owner(s) or the funds in the account; or (ii) that placing a hold on the account will best protect the interest of any one of the members or signers on the account; or (iii) placing a hold on the account would protect the Credit Union from any claims regarding disposition of the funds in the account. You further agree that, as a result of a hold placed on an account, the Credit Union shall have no liability based on any item which is returned unpaid, causes the account to go into overdraft status, results in any item being declared "NSF" or causes any other loss or damage to you.
- Certificate Accounts – Any time deposit, term share, share certificate, or certificate of deposit account allowed by state law (Certificate Account), whichever we offer, is subject to the terms of this Agreement, Rate Sheet, Fee Schedule, and Share Certificate Account Agreement for each account the terms of which are incorporated herein by reference.
- Overdrafts
- Payment of Overdrafts. If, on any day, the available balance in your share or deposit account is not sufficient to pay the full amount of a check, draft, transaction, or other item, plus any applicable fee, that is posted to your account, we may return the item or pay it, as described below. The Credit Union's determination of an insufficient available account balance may be made at any time between presentation and the Credit Union's midnight deadline with only one review of the account required. We do not have to notify you if your account does not have a sufficient available balance in order to pay an item. Your account may be subject to a fee for each item regardless of whether we pay or return the item. We may charge a fee each time an item is submitted or resubmitted for payment; therefore, you may be assessed more than one fee as a result of a returned item and resubmission(s) of the returned item. If we offer standard overdraft services, this service allows us to authorize payment for the following types of transactions regardless of whether your share or deposit account has sufficient funds: (1) share drafts/checks and other transactions made using your checking account, except as otherwise described below; (2) automatic bill payments; (3) ACH transactions. For ATM and one-time debit card transactions, you must affirmatively consent to such coverage. Without your consent, the Credit Union may not authorize and pay an ATM or one-time debit card transaction that will result in insufficient funds in your account. If you have established a service linking your share or deposit account with other individual or joint accounts, you authorize us to transfer funds from other another account of yours to cover an insufficient item, including transfers from a share or deposit account, an overdraft line-of-credit account, or other account you so designate. Services and fees for these transactions are shown in the document the Credit Union uses to capture your affirmative consent and the Fee Schedule. Except as otherwise agreed in writing, if we exercise our right to use our discretion to pay such items that result in an insufficiency of funds in your account, we do not agree to pay them in the future and may discontinue coverage at any time without notice. If we pay these items or impose a fee that results in insufficient funds in your account, you agree to pay the insufficient amount, including the fee assessed by us, in accordance with our standard overdraft services or any other service you may have authorized with us, or if you do not have such protections with us, in accordance with any overdraft payment policy we have, as applicable.
- Actual Balance and Available Balance. Your account has two kinds of balances: the "actual" balance and the "available" balance. Both can be checked when you review your account online, at an ATM, by phone, or at a branch. It is important to understand how the two balances work so that you know when an overdraft fee will be assessed. Your "actual" balance is the total amount of all deposits, without regard to portions of any deposits on hold, less any check, draft, transaction, or other items that have actually posted or been presented for payment. Your "available" balance is the amount of funds in your account that is available to you to use without incurring an overdraft fee. The available balance does not include deposits before they are fully credited to your account and pending items (such as pending debit card purchases) that have been authorized but that have not yet posted to your account. For example, if you purchase gas at a gas station using your debit card, a merchant may seek authorization of the transaction before you complete your purchase. In this case, a temporary authorization hold may be placed against the available funds in your account, but the actual purchase amount may not be posted to your account until one or more days after the temporary authorization hold was placed. This results in an available balance that is less than the actual balance for the period of time between the authorization and the posting of the debit. For purposes of determining whether your account is overdrawn, we will determine your available balance at the time an item is presented for payment. For checks, ACH transfers, and electronic bill payments, we will determine your available balance at the time these items are presented to us for payment. For debit card PIN transactions and ATM transactions, we will determine your available balance at the time of the transaction. For debit card signature transactions, we will determine your available balance when the merchant presents the item for payment, even if there were sufficient available funds at the time the debit card was presented to the merchant. In addition, it is very important to understand that you may overdraw your account even though the available balance appears to show that there are sufficient funds to cover an item that you want to make. This is because your available balance may not reflect all of your outstanding checks and automatic bill payments that you have authorized, or other outstanding items that have not yet been paid from your account. To accurately assess your available and actual balance at any given time, it is very important that you keep an accurate running balance of all your transactions. In all cases where an item is presented against insufficient or uncollected available funds, whether or not we pay it, you agree to pay an overdraft fee in the amount specified in our Fee Schedule, which is updated periodically.
- How Transactions are Posted to Your Account. There are two types of transactions that affect your account: credits (deposits of money into your account) and debits (payments out of your account). It is important to understand how each is applied to your account so that you know how much money you have and how much is available to you at any given time. The information below describes how debits and credits are processed to your account and the resulting impact on your available balance. Credits. Deposits are generally added to your account when we receive them. However, in some cases when you deposit a check, the full amount of the deposit may not be available to you at the time of deposit. Please refer to the Funds Availability Policy Disclosure for details regarding the timing and availability of funds from deposits. Debits. There are several types of debit transactions. Common debit transactions are generally described below. When processing items drawn on your account, our policy is to process them in the order they are received. Keep in mind that there are many ways transactions are presented for payment by merchants, and we are not in control of when transactions are received.
- Checks. When you write a check, it is processed through the Federal Reserve system. We receive data files of checks from the Federal Reserve each day. The checks drawn on your account are compiled from these data files and paid each day. We process the payments contained in the data file in the order they are received.
- ACH Payments. We receive data files every day from the Federal Reserve with Automated Clearing House (ACH) transactions. These include, for example, automatic bill payments you have authorized. ACH transactions for your account are posted in the order they are received during end of day processing.
- PIN-Based Debit Card Purchase Transactions. These are purchase transactions using your debit card for which a merchant may require you to enter your personal identification number (PIN) at the time of sale. They are processed through a PIN debit network. These transactions are similar to ATM withdrawal transactions because the money is usually deducted from your account immediately at the time of the transaction. However, depending on the merchant, a PIN-based transaction may not be immediately presented for payment.
- Signature-Based Debit Card Purchase Transactions. These are purchase transactions using your debit card that are processed through a signature-based network. Rather than entering a PIN, you typically sign for the purchase; however, merchants may not require your signature for certain transactions. Merchants may seek authorization for these types of transactions. The authorization request places a hold on funds in your account when the authorization is completed. This is referred to as an "authorization hold". An authorization hold will reduce your available balance by the amount authorized but will not affect your actual balance. The transaction is subsequently processed by the merchant and submitted to us for payment. This can happen hours or sometimes days after the transaction, depending on the merchant and its payment processor. These payment requests are received in real time throughout the day and are posted to your account in the order they are received.
- The amount of an authorization hold may differ from the actual payment because the final transaction amount may not yet be known to the merchant when you present your card for payment. For example, if you use your debit card at a restaurant, a hold will be placed in an amount equal to the bill presented to you; but when the transaction posts, it will include any tip that you may have added to the bill. This may also be the case where you present your debit card for payment at gas stations, hotels and certain other retail establishments. We cannot control how much a merchant asks us to authorize, or when a merchant submits a transaction for payment.
- For debit card transactions involving merchant authorization holds, there may be a delay between the hold being applied and the transaction posting to your account. During the delay, intervening transactions may impact the available balance in your account. It is important to keep in mind that we check your available balance both at the time the merchant's authorization request is received and again when the transaction settles and posts to your account. If your available balance is insufficient to cover the amount of the merchant's authorization request, we will decline the request. If your available balance is sufficient to cover the merchant's authorization request, the request will be approved, and an authorization hold in the amount of the request will be placed on your account. The transaction will be subsequently processed by the merchant and submitted to us for payment. If the transaction settles and posts to your account at a time when the available balance is insufficient to pay the transaction without causing an overdraft (i.e., posting the transaction results in an available balance of less than $0), we will charge you a fee for overdrawing your account, even though the available balance in your account was sufficient to cover the transaction at the time it was authorized.
- The following example illustrates how this works: Assume your actual and available balances are both $40, and you use your debit card at a restaurant to pay your bill totaling $30. If the restaurant requests authorization in the amount of $30, an authorization hold is placed on $30 in your account. Your available balance is only $10, but the actual balance remains $40. Before the restaurant charge is sent to us for payment, a check that you wrote for $40 is presented for payment. Because your available balance is only $10 due to the $30 authorization hold, your account will be overdrawn by $30 when the check transaction is posted to your account even though your actual balance is $40. In this example, if we pay the $40 check in accordance with our standard overdraft services, we will charge you a fee for overdrawing your account as disclosed in the Fee Schedule. The fee will also be deducted from your account, further increasing the overdrawn amount. In addition, when the restaurant charge is finally submitted to us for payment, we will release the authorization hold and pay the transaction amount to the restaurant. The transaction amount may be $30 or a different amount (for example, if you added a tip). Because the amount of the restaurant charge exceeds your available balance at the time the charge is settled (i.e., at the time the merchant or its financial institution requests payment or the transaction posts to your account), we will charge you another fee for overdrawing your account, even though you had a sufficient available balance in your account at the time the restaurant charge was authorized and approved.
- This is a general description of certain types of transactions. These practices may change, and we reserve the right to pay items in any order we choose as permitted by law.
- Postdated and Staledated Drafts – We may pay any draft without regard to its date unless you notify us of a postdating. The notice must be given to us in time so that we can notify our employees and reasonably act upon the notice and must accurately describe the draft, including the exact number, date, and amount. You understand that the exact information is necessary for the Credit Union's computer to identify the draft. We are not responsible if you give us an incorrect or incomplete description, or untimely notice. You may make an oral or written notice which is effective until the earlier of the date written on the draft or six (6) months and may be renewed in writing from time to time. You agree not to deposit checks, drafts, or other items before they are properly payable. We are not obligated to pay any check or draft drawn on your account which is presented more than six (6) months past its date.
- Stop Payment Orders
- Stop Payment Order Request. You may request a stop payment order on any draft drawn on your account. If provided in writing, to be binding an order must be dated and describe the account and draft number and the exact amount. The stop payment will be effective if the Credit Union receives the order in time for the Credit Union to act upon the order and you state the number of the account, number of the draft, and its exact amount. You understand that the exact information is necessary for the Credit Union's computer to identify the draft. If you give us incorrect or incomplete information, we will not be responsible for failing to stop payment on the draft. If the stop payment order is not received in time for us to act upon the order, we will not be liable to you or to any other party for payment of the draft. If we recredit your account after paying a draft over a valid and timely stop payment order, you agree to sign a statement describing the dispute with the payee, to transfer to us all of your rights against the payee or other holders of the draft, and to assist us in any legal action.
- Duration of Order. You may make an oral or written stop payment order on a draft which is effective for six (6) months and may be renewed in writing from time to time. We do not have to notify you when a stop payment order expires.
- Liability. Fees for stop payment orders are set forth on the Fee Schedule. You may not stop payment on any cashier's check, teller's check, or any other check, draft, or payment guaranteed by us. Although payment of an item may be stopped, you may remain liable to any item holder, including us. You agree to indemnify and hold the Credit Union harmless from all costs, including attorney's fees, damages, or claims related to our refusing payment of an item under your stop payment order, including claims of any joint account owner, payee, or indorsee, or related to in failing to stop payment of an item as a result of incorrect information provided by you.
- Credit Union Liability – If we do not properly complete a transaction according to this Agreement, we will be liable for your losses or damages not to exceed the amount of the transaction, except as otherwise provided by law. We will not be liable if: (1) your account contains insufficient funds for the transaction; (2) circumstances beyond our control prevent the transaction; (3) your loss is caused by you or another financial institution's negligence; or (4) your account funds are subject to legal process or other claim. We will not be liable for consequential damages, except liability for wrongful dishonor. We exercise ordinary care if our actions or nonactions are consistent with applicable state law, federal reserve regulations and operating letters, clearinghouse rules, and general banking practices followed in the area we serve. You grant us the right, in making payments of deposited funds, to rely exclusively on the form of the account and the terms of this Account Agreement. Any conflict between what you or our employees may say or write will be resolved by reference to this Agreement.
- Credit Union Lien and Security Interest – If you owe us money as a borrower, guarantor, endorser, or otherwise, we have a statutory lien on the account funds in any account in which you have an ownership interest, regardless of their source, unless prohibited by law. We may apply these funds, without further notice to you, in any order to pay off your indebtedness. By not enforcing a lien, we do not waive our right to enforce it later. In addition, you grant the Credit Union a consensual security interest in your accounts and we may use the funds from your accounts to pay any debt or amount now or hereafter owed the Credit Union, except for obligations secured by your residence, unless prohibited by applicable law. All accounts are nonassignable and nontransferable to third parties.
- Legal Process – If any legal action is brought against your account, we may pay out funds according to the terms of the action or refuse any payout until the dispute is resolved. Any expenses or attorney fees we incur responding to legal process may be charged against your account without notice, unless prohibited by law.
- Account Information – Upon request, we will give you the name and address of each agency from which we obtain a credit report regarding your account. We agree not to disclose account information to third parties except when: (1) it is necessary to complete a transaction; (2) the third party seeks to verify the existence or condition of your account in accordance with applicable law; (3) such disclosure complies with the law or a government agency or court order; or (4) you give us written permission.
- Notices
- Name or Address Changes. You are responsible for notifying us of any address or name change. The Credit Union is only required to attempt to communicate with you at the most recent address you have provided to us. We require all notices from you to us be provided in writing. We may impose a fee as set forth in the Fee Schedule when mail is returned because of an invalid address.
- Notice of Amendments. Except as prohibited by applicable law, we may change the terms of this Agreement. We will notify you of any changes in terms, rates, or fees as required by law. We reserve the right to waive any term in this Agreement. Any such waiver shall not affect our right to future enforcement.
- Effect of Notice. Any written notice you give us is effective when we receive it. Any written notice we give to you is effective when it is deposited in the U.S. Mail, postage prepaid and addressed to you at your statement mailing address. Notice to any account owner is considered notice to all account owners.
- Taxpayer Identification Numbers and Backup Withholding – Your failure to furnish a correct Taxpayer Identification Number (TIN) or meet other requirements may result in backup withholding. If your account is subject to backup withholding, we must withhold and pay to the Internal Revenue Service (IRS) a percentage of dividends, interest, and certain other payments. If you fail to provide your TIN, we may suspend or deny opening your account, or, if applicable, you may request a non-dividend or non-interest bearing account until a TIN is provided.
- Statements
- Contents. If we provide a periodic statement for your account, you will receive a periodic statement of transactions and activity on your account during the statement period as required by applicable law. If a periodic statement is provided, you agree that only one statement is necessary for a joint account. For share draft or checking accounts, you understand and agree that your original draft, when paid, becomes property of the Credit Union and may not be returned to you, but copies may be retained by us or payable through financial institutions and made available upon your request. You understand and agree that statements are made available to you on the date they are mailed to you. You also understand and agree that drafts or copies thereof are made available to you on the date the statement is mailed to you, even if the drafts do not accompany the statement.
- Examination. You are responsible for examining each statement including check images and reporting any irregularities to us. We will not be responsible for any forged, altered, unauthorized or unsigned items drawn on your account if (1) you fail to notify us within sixty (60) days of the date of the earliest statement regarding any forgery, alteration or unauthorized signature on any item described in the statement and available in digital banking; or (2) any items are forged or altered in a manner not detectable by a reasonable person, including the unauthorized use of a facsimile signature machine.
- Notice to Credit Union. You agree that the Credit Union's retention of drafts does not alter or waive your responsibility to examine your statements or the time limit for notifying us of any errors. The statement will be considered correct for all purposes and we will not be liable for any payment made or charge to your account unless you notify us in writing within the above time limit for notifying us of any errors. If you fail to receive a periodic statement you agree to notify us within fourteen (14) days of the time you regularly receive a statement.
- Inactive Accounts – If your account falls below any applicable minimum balance and you have not made any transactions over a period specified in the Fee Schedule we may classify your account as inactive. Unless prohibited by applicable law, we may charge a service fee set forth on the Fee Schedule for processing your inactive account. You authorize us to transfer funds from another account of yours to cover any service fees, if applicable. To the extent allowed by law, we reserve the right to transfer the account funds to an account payable and to suspend any further account statements.
- Escheat Accounts – Under Maryland law your account will be considered inactive if within the past three (3) years you have not: (1) deposited to or withdrawn from your account; (2) presented a passbook or other similar evidence of your account for crediting of interest or dividends; (3) written to us about your account or otherwise expressed an interest in your account as evidenced by a memorandum in our files; or (4) engaged in any credit or deposit transactions with us. We will notify you when your account becomes inactive. If you fail to respond to this notice within thirty (30) days, state law requires us to send all funds in your account to the state of Maryland as abandoned property. Unless prohibited by applicable law, we may charge a service fee set forth in the Fee Schedule for processing your escheat account.
- Denial of Services – Any member who has caused Tower a loss may be denied all credit union products and services except for their ability to maintain a Prime Share account and to vote in annual or special meetings. A member may also be denied products and services if their account is not maintained in a manner in accordance with our account agreements and normal financial practices.
- Special Account Instructions – You may request that we facilitate certain trust, will, or court-ordered account arrangements. However, because we do not give legal advice, we cannot counsel you as to which account arrangement most appropriately meets the specific requirements of your trust, will, or court order. If you ask us to follow any instructions that we believe might expose us to claims, lawsuits, expenses, liabilities, or damages, whether directly or indirectly, we may refuse to follow your instructions or may require you to indemnify us or post a bond or provide us with other protection. Account changes requested by you, or any account owner, such as adding or closing an account or service, must be evidenced by a signed Account Update form and accepted by us.
- Termination of Account – We may terminate your account at any time without notice to you or may require you to close your account and apply for a new account if: (1) there is a change in owners or authorized signers; (2) there has been a forgery or fraud reported or committed involving your account; (3) there is a dispute as to the ownership of the account or of the funds in the account; (4) any share drafts are lost or stolen; (5) there are excessive returned unpaid items not covered by an overdraft protection plan; (6) there has been any misrepresentation or any other abuse of any of your accounts; or (7) we reasonably deem it necessary to prevent a loss to us. You may terminate an individual account by giving written notice. We reserve the right to require the consent of all owners to terminate a joint account. We are not responsible for payment of any draft, withdrawal, or other item after your account is terminated, however, if we pay an item after termination, you agree to reimburse us.
- Termination of Membership – You may terminate your membership by giving us notice. You may be denied services or expelled for any reason allowed by applicable law, including causing a loss to the Credit Union.
- Death of Account Owner – We may continue to honor all transfer orders, withdrawals, deposits, and other transactions on an account until we are notified of a member's death. Once we are notified of a member's death, we may pay drafts or honor other payments or transfer orders authorized by the deceased member for a period of ten (10) days after that date unless we receive instructions from any person claiming an interest in the account to stop payment on the drafts or other items in accordance with this Agreement. We may require anyone claiming a deceased owner's account funds to indemnify us for any losses resulting from our honoring that claim. This Agreement will be binding upon any heirs or legal representatives of any account owner.
- Severability – If a court holds any portion of this Agreement to be invalid or unenforceable, the remainder of this Agreement shall not be invalid or unenforceable and will continue in full force and effect. All headings are intended for reference only and are not to be construed as part of the Agreement.
- Unlawful Internet Gambling and Other Illegal Activities – You agree that you are not engaged in unlawful Internet gambling or any other illegal activity. You agree that you will not use any of your accounts, access devices or services for unlawful Internet gambling or other illegal activities. We may terminate your account relationship if you engage in unlawful Internet gambling or other illegal activities.
- Enforcement – You are liable to us for any loss, cost or expense, including reasonable attorney's fees, we incur resulting from your failure to follow this Agreement. You authorize us to deduct any such loss, costs, or expenses from your account without prior notice to you. If we bring a legal action to collect any amount due under or to enforce this Agreement, we shall be entitled, subject to applicable law, to payment of reasonable attorney's fees and costs, including fees on any appeal, bankruptcy proceedings, and any post-judgment collection actions.
- Governing Law – This Agreement is governed by the Credit Union's Bylaws, federal laws and regulations, the laws, including applicable principles of contract law, and regulations of the state in which the Credit Union's main office is located, and local clearinghouse rules, as amended from time to time. As permitted by applicable law, you agree that any legal action regarding this Agreement shall be brought in the county in which the Credit Union is located.
- Checking Sub-Account Structure – Your checking account is structured as a master account with a checking sub-account and a savings sub- account. Funds not routinely needed to pay debits may be transferred to the savings sub-account. Tower may periodically transfer funds between these two sub-accounts. This process will not affect your available account balance, the dividends you may earn, your monthly statement, your National Credit Union Administration insurance protection, or any other feature of your checking account(s).
- Arbitration Provision
READ THE BELOW ARBITRATION AGREEMENT CAREFULLY. IT PROVIDES, AMONG OTHER TERMS:
- YOU OR WE MAY ELECT TO HAVE DISPUTES BETWEEN US RESOLVED BY BINDING ARBITRATION INSTEAD OF IN COURT.
- IN ARBITRATION YOU GIVE UP THE RIGHT TO SUE IN COURT AND DISCOVERY AND RIGHTS OF APPEAL ARE LIMITED. A NEUTRAL ARBITRATOR RESOLVES THE DISPUTE INSTEAD OF A JUDGE OR JURY.
- YOU MAY NOT PARTICIPATE AS A CLASS REPRESENTATIVE OR MEMBER IN ARBITRATION OR IN ANY OTHER CONSOLIDATED PROCEEDING.
- YOU MAY REJECT THE BELOW ARBITRATION AGREEMENT FOR A CERTAIN AMOUNT OF TIME AS DESCRIBED BELOW.
By signing your signature card, you agree to this Arbitration Agreement.
Arbitration Agreement. You or we may elect to have any Claim (defined below) resolved by neutral binding arbitration instead of in court. You waive any right you have to resolve a Claim between you and us in court. You waive any right you have to participate as a class representative or class member.
Claim. Claim means any claim or dispute, whether arising in law, equity, or otherwise, and regardless of the type of relief sought involving your deposit account relationships, any other product or service you obtain from us, the validity, enforceability and scope of this Arbitration Agreement and any related account/loan documents, and any relationship that results from any of the foregoing. Claim includes initial claims, counterclaims, cross-claims, and third-party claims.
Small Claims. You and we retain the right to seek individual relief in small claims court so long as the Claim is only in that court and is within that court's jurisdiction. Filing or pursuing a Claim in small claims court does not waive any right to seek arbitration for Claims outside the court's jurisdiction or if the Claim is transferred, removed, or appealed to a different court.
Excluded Claims. The following claims, called Excluded Claims, are excluded from the arbitration process: self-help remedies (such as repossession), foreclosure, replevin, garnishment, and/or individual injunctive relief. Pursuing an Excluded Claim in court does not waive any right to seek arbitration for Claims outside the court's jurisdiction, or if an Excluded Claim is transferred, removed, or appealed to a different court.
Non-Waiver. Even if a Claim is brought in court, you or we may choose to arbitrate any Claim made by a new party or any Claim later asserted by a party in that action or any related or unrelated lawsuit.
Arbitration Process. Arbitrations will be conducted by the American Arbitration Association ("AAA") or, if the AAA is not available, another arbitration organization, subject to agreement by both you and us. You can find the rules of the AAA by visiting its website at www.adr.org. Arbitrators must be attorneys or retired judges with at least 15 years of experience practicing law. Arbitrators must be selected according to rules of the AAA or any other agreed arbitration organization. Arbitrators must apply substantive governing law and applicable statutes of limitation.
The arbitration hearing will be conducted before a single arbitrator in the federal district where you live. The arbitration may take place somewhere else more convenient to you if required by the rules of the AAA or any other agreed arbitration organization. If you and we agree, the arbitration can be conducted by telephone. You will pay an administrative fee and arbitrator's fees. The AAA caps your fees depending on the amount of any Claim that you file. We will be responsible for administrative fees and arbitrator's fees in excess of the capped amounts. If you ask us in writing, we will pay the entire administrative fee and arbitrator's fees. You and we will each pay our own attorney's fees and witness and experts' expenses, except as otherwise required by law or this Arbitration Agreement. The arbitration award must be in a written, reasoned opinion. Any award must be kept confidential. The arbitrator's decision is final and binding. You and we have a limited right to appeal as permitted under the Federal Arbitration Act, except that if any arbitration results in an award of damages of $100,000 or more, either you or we may appeal that award to a three (3) arbitrator panel (selected under AAA rules), which arbitration panel will hear the Claim de novo.
30 Days to Resolve Claims. Before you start an arbitration, you agree to write to us at our address below (or any changed address that we have provided to you in writing) and give us a reasonable opportunity to resolve your Claim. Your letter must tell us your name and account number, describe your Claim, including the dollar amount of your Claim, and describe any other information you need from us. Before we start an arbitration, we must write to you at your address in our records, describe our Claim, including the dollar amount of our Claim, and give you a reasonable opportunity to resolve the Claim. We each have 30 days from receipt of notice to resolve the Claim before starting an arbitration.
Limitations. The arbitrator may award punitive damages only if and to the extent allowed under similar circumstances in a state court in the state where the arbitration occurs. The arbitrator must follow applicable state and federal laws regarding the amount of punitive damages. The arbitrator must state the exact amount of the punitive damages award. The arbitrator must allow you and us the same procedural rights and use the same standards and guidelines that would apply in a lawsuit in the state where the arbitration occurs. The arbitrator may award individual injunctive relief for the benefit of either party to the arbitration. The arbitrator may not award injunctive relief for the benefit of other persons.
Applicable Law. This Arbitration Agreement relates to a transaction involving interstate commerce. Any arbitration under this Arbitration Agreement is governed by the Federal Arbitration Act (9 U.S.C. § 1 et seq.), and only in the event and to the limited extent that the Federal Arbitration Act does not apply, the law of the state governing your deposit account(s) maintained with us will apply.
CLASS ACTION WAIVER. Other than as expressly provided in this Arbitration Agreement, you and we agree that only an arbitrator may resolve Claims. You agree not to bring or participate as a class representative or a class member in any class action in arbitration or in any other consolidated proceeding. Any Claim between you and us must be resolved on an individual basis. Arbitration is not available and will not be conducted on a class-wide basis.
Other Agreements. If any part of this Arbitration Agreement, other than the Class Action Waiver, is found by a court or arbitrator to be unenforceable, the remainder is enforceable. If the Class Action Waiver is found by a court or arbitrator to be unenforceable, the remainder of this Arbitration Agreement is unenforceable. This Arbitration Agreement will survive the termination of any deposit accounts, regardless of reason for termination. Either you or we can compel arbitration in any court proceeding, regardless of which party filed suit. Either you or we can enforce an arbitration award. This Arbitration Agreement does not stop you from filing a complaint with a federal, state, or local regulator.
Rejection of Arbitration Agreement. You may reject this Arbitration Agreement by sending us a rejection notice at Tower Federal Credit Union, Mail Stop 255, P.O. Box 123, Annapolis Junction, MD 20701-0123 (and no other location) within 60 days after the date you first become subject to the terms of this Arbitration Agreement. The notice must include a statement that you reject the Arbitration Agreement, and your name address, telephone number, and account number. You must sign the rejection notice in order for it to be effective.
Truth-In-Savings Disclosures
Except as specifically described, the following disclosures apply to all of the accounts. All accounts described in this Truth-in-Savings Disclosure are share accounts.
- Rate Information. The Annual Percentage Yield is a percentage rate that reflects the total amount of dividends to be paid on an account based on the dividend rate and frequency of compounding for an annual period. For all accounts, the Dividend Rate and Annual Percentage Yield may change at any time as determined by the Credit Union's Board of Directors. The Dividend Rates and Annual Percentage Yields are the prospective rates and yields that the Credit Union anticipates paying for the applicable dividend period. The Money Market account is a Tiered Rate account. The dividend rates, annual percentage yields and balance ranges for each tier are listed in the Rate Sheet provided with this disclosure. Once a particular range is met, the Dividend Rate and Annual Percentage Yield for that balance range will apply to the full balance of your account. You may refer to the Rate Sheet provided with this disclosure for each applicable Annual Percentage Yield and Dividend Rate.
- Nature of Dividends. Dividends are paid from current income and available earnings after required transfers to reserves at the end of the dividend period.
- Dividend Computation, Compounding, and Crediting. Dividends are calculated by the daily balance method which applies a daily periodic rate to the balance in the account each day. The compounding and crediting frequency of dividends for all accounts is monthly. The Dividend Period is the period of time at the end of which an account earns dividend credit. The Dividend Period for all accounts begins on the first day of the calendar month and ends on the last day of the calendar month.
- Accrual of Dividends. For all accounts, dividends will begin to accrue on noncash deposits (e.g. checks) on the business day you make the deposit to your account.
- Balance Information. To open any account, you must deposit or already have on deposit at least the par value of one full share in a Prime Share (Savings) account. In accordance with the Credit Union's bylaws, the par value of one share is established at $5.00. When the Daily Balance of the Prime Share (Savings) account is reduced below the par value of one share at any point in time, the Credit Union may transfer funds from another share account on which the Primary Member is an owner. When the Daily Balance of the Prime Share (Savings) account is reduced below the par value of one share and sufficient funds are not present in another share account on which the Primary Member is an owner, the Credit Union, at its discretion, may assess the Prime Share (Savings) account a below minimum balance fee of up to $4.99. In addition, the Credit Union may terminate your membership until a sufficient deposit is made to meet the required par value of one share. The account statement will serve as the notice that the account has fallen below the minimum balance requirement, and the first charge will be applied thirty (30) days after mailing of that statement. If you have a loan secured by the Prime Share (Savings) account, additional credit advances will be prohibited, and you shall be denied any account services; however, you will be allowed to pay on the loan as agreed.
- Account Limitations. For Holiday Club accounts, the entire balance will be transferred to another account of yours on or after October 1st and the account will remain open. For all accounts, cash withdrawals of $2,500.00 or more require advance notice of at least five (5) business days. This will insure that sufficient cash is available to satisfy your withdrawal request. Notwithstanding any other provision, the credit union may, at any time, require at least sixty (60) days prior written notice of an intention to withdraw or transfer funds from the account.
- Fees for Overdrawing Accounts. Fees may be imposed on each check, draft, item, preauthorized automatic debit, telephone initiated withdrawal or other electronic withdrawal or transfer transaction that is drawn on an insufficient available account balance, subject to applicable law. The entire balance in your account may not be available for withdrawal, transfer or paying a check, draft or item. You may consult the Membership and Account Agreement and Funds Availability Policy Disclosure for information regarding the availability of funds in your account. Fees for overdrawing your account may be imposed for each overdraft, regardless of whether we pay or return the draft, item or transaction, except as prohibited by applicable law. If we have approved an overdraft protection limit for your account, such fees may reduce your approved limit. Please refer to the Fee Schedule for current fee information.
Loan Disclosures
Mastercard® Disclosures
Home Equity Line of Credit
Variable Rate Feature: This plan has a variable rate feature and the annual percentage rate, (corresponding to the periodic rate) minimum payment and/or the length of the plan may change. The annual percentage rate includes only interest and no other costs.
The annual percentage rate is based on the value of an index. The index is the Prime Rate published in the Wall Street Journal. When a range of rates has been published, the highest rate is used. We will use the most recent index value available to us as of 3 days before the date of any annual percentage rate adjustment.
Margin: To determine the annual percentage rate that will apply to your account we add a margin to the value of the index. The margin that will apply to your plan will be based on your loan-to-value ratio. The margin for a loan-to-value equal to or less than 80% will be -1/2%. The margin for a loan-to-value greater than 80% will be +1%.
Repayment of Closing Costs: Closing costs paid by Tower must be repaid if you close the line of credit within the first 24 months.
Rate Changes: The annual percentage rate can change quarterly on the eleventh day of January, April, July, and October. There is no limit on the amount by which the annual percentage rate can change during any one year period. The maximum ANNUAL PERCENTAGE RATE that can apply is 18%.
Minimum Payment Requirements: During the 15 year draw period, your minimum payment will be the finance charge due. The minimum payment during the draw period will not repay the principal that is outstanding on the line. Your payment will be rounded up to the nearest dollar. During the draw period, if the interest rate increases, your minimum payment will increase. During the 15 year repayment period, your minimum payment will be equal to 1.5% of the outstanding balance at the end of the draw period.
During both the draw and repayment periods, your payment will never be less than the smaller of $50, or the full amount you owe.
Call or visit the credit union for complete terms of our home equity line of credit plan.
Home Mortgage Disclosure Act Notice: The HMDA data about our residential mortgage lending are available online for review. The data show geographic distribution of loans and applications; ethnicity, race, sex, age, and income of applicants and borrowers; and information about loan approvals and denials. These data are available online at the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau's website. HMDA data for many other financial institutions are also available at this Web site.
Personal Line of Credit
Variable Rate Personal Line of Credit. The Annual Percentage Rate (APR) for all transactions will be the Prime Rate (Index), plus a Margin of 6.15% – 11.15%. We will use the Prime Rate as listed in the Wall Street Journal as of the 3rd Monday of the month preceding any annual percentage rate adjustment. The APR may change quarterly on the first day of January, April, July, and October to reflect any change in Index. The APR will never be greater than 18% or the maximum rate allowed by law, whichever is less. Any increase will lengthen the time it takes to pay off your loan.
Minimum Payment Requirement: 2% of the outstanding balance, subject to a minimum of $30.00 or the new balance if the new balance is less than $30.00. The payment due date is approximately 21 days from the closing date of the billing period.
Funds Availability
Tower's policy is to provide our members with the quickest access to the funds from their deposits as is reasonably possible. However, based on the type of item presented for deposit, a hold may be required. Many items are available for immediate credit, others are available on a partial or delayed credit basis (generally for a one (1) to six (6) day hold period). This hold period is the number of business days that funds in your account (either from a deposited item or cashed item) are not available to you. Even after we have made funds available to you, and you have withdrawn the funds, you are still responsible for checks you deposit that are returned to us unpaid and for any other problems involving your deposit.
Determining the Availability of a Deposit. The length of delay is counted in business days from the day of your deposit. Every day is a business day except, Saturday, Sunday, and federal holidays. If you make a deposit at an ATM that we own or operate after 12:00 PM or on a day we are not open, we will consider the day of deposit to be the next business day. The length of the delay may vary depending on the type of the deposit and is explained below.
Immediate Availability. If you make a deposit in person at a Tower branch location, funds from the following deposit items, if payable directly to you, are available on the same day as your deposit is received:
- Cash
- U.S. Treasury checks
- Money orders
- Checks drawn on a Federal Reserve Bank or Federal Home Loan Bank
- State and local government checks
- Cashier's, certified, travelers, or teller's checks
- Tower share drafts and other Tower checks (“on-us checks”)
- Payroll checks if easily and clearly identified as such
If you do not make your deposit in person to one of our employees (for example, deposits made at a Tower ATM or to us through the mail), funds from these deposits will be available no later than the second business day after the day we receive your deposit.
New Member Hold*. When a new member opens an account, it is considered a new account for the first 30 calendar days. Funds are made available on the following basis:
- Immediate Availability – Cash and those items included in the Immediate Availability category listed above, with the exception of payroll checks. To receive immediate availability, these items must be payable directly to the member.
- Available Sixth Day – All other items.
Standard Hold*. Deposit items which are not classified in the Immediate Availability or Exceptions Hold categories are subject to a Standard Hold. If you make a deposit in person to one of our employees, at our ATMs, or to us through the mail, funds from these deposit items are made available on the following basis:
- Available Immediately – The first $500 of check(s) deposited are available immediately.
- Available Next Day – The aggregated amount of deposit by check(s) in excess of $500 up to $6,000 will be held one (1) business day.
- Available Sixth Day – The aggregated amount of a deposit or deposits by check(s), in excess of $6,000, will be held five (5) business days.
Exception Hold*. Deposit items in this category will generally be held six (6) days (we will notify you if a longer delay applies). We will provide notice if the ability to withdraw funds is delayed for any of the below reasons and will state when the funds will be available. The reason(s) for the extended hold will be printed on your receipt under the amount of any check being deposited. This category includes check(s) that are deposited under the following circumstances:
- There is reason to believe a check you deposit will not be paid
- You deposit checks totaling more than $6,000 on any one day
- A check is re-deposited that has been previously returned unpaid
- You have overdrawn your account and/or have had return deposits repeatedly in the last 6 months*
- There is an emergency, such as a failure of computer or communication equipment
Mobile Deposit Hold*. Deposit items which are not classified in the Exceptions Hold category and are deposited through Mobile Deposit are subject to a Mobile Deposit Hold. If you make a deposit through the Mobile Deposit service, funds from these deposit items are made available on the following basis:
- Available Same Day – The first $500 of check(s) deposited are available by close of business the same business day for deposits received before 6:00 PM Eastern Standard Time.
- Available Next Day – The aggregated amount of deposit by check(s) in excess of $500 up to $6,000 will be held one (1) business day.
- Available Sixth Day – The aggregated amount of a deposit or deposits by check(s), in excess of $6,000, will be held five (5) business days.
Any mobile deposits received after 6:00 PM on business days or on holidays or days that are not our business days will be reviewed and/or approved and credited to your account by close of business on the following business day. The day when the first $500 is available, according to the timeframes outlined above, is considered the day of deposit.
*You will receive notification in writing if your account is in this status or an extended hold is being placed on your deposit.
PLEASE NOTE: If the Credit Union cashes or accepts for deposit a check that is drawn on another financial institution, funds from the deposit may be available for withdrawal immediately but the ability to withdraw a corresponding amount of funds on deposit in one of your accounts with the Credit Union may be delayed. The funds would then not be available for withdrawal until the time periods that are described above for the type of check deposited.
For online account applications, there will be a three (3) business day hold placed on funds when a credit or debit card is used to fund the new account and a five (5) business day hold placed on funds when an external checking or savings account is used to fund the new account.
The staff that accepts your deposits normally do not have the authority to waive or override Tower's check hold policies. If you have a question or a concern about a hold, please see the Branch Manager for additional clarification. See the Fee Schedule, Rate Sheet, and the rest of this Agreement for additional account terms.
Fee Schedule
Checking and Money Market Account If you overdraw your account, a fee of up to $25 will apply for each overdraft or insufficient funds occurrence. We may charge a fee each time an item is submitted or resubmitted for payment. Stop payments are $12 each. Copies of canceled checks are $3 each. Copies of your statement are $2 per page up to a maximum of $5 per statement month. Pricing of specialty checks is available upon request. The first time you require assistance balancing your account, there is no charge. Subsequent requests are charged at the rate of $3 per quarter hour. Assistance is free to visually impaired.
Prime Share Account If your Prime Share account falls below $5 for six consecutive months, a below minimum balance fee, equal to the balance in the account, will be assessed and the account will be closed.
Consumer Loans If your payment is received after the due date for any of the following loans, there is a $20 late payment fee:
- Vehicle
- Signature
- Home Improvement
- Bill consolidation
- Education Loans
- Personal line of credit
- Title-secured, share-secured, certificate-secured, or other secured loan.
There is a fee of 5% of the past due amount for late payment on Tower loans obtained and signed for at the car dealership.
Debit Card If you use a non-Tower network ATM, there is a $1 fee for each transaction, including cash advances, inquiries and transfers. Replacement cards are $5 each. Copies of sales drafts are $3 each. The foreign transaction fee is 1.10% of each transaction in U.S. dollars and may include transactions processed outside of the United States (including internet transactions).
Bill Payment There is no fee to use the online service. There is a fee up to $25 per check for stop payments. There is a $25 fee each time there are non-sufficient funds in your checking account to cover a transaction. Certain transaction fees apply for expedited payments. $15 for overnight checks and $10 for same day bill payments. Fees will automatically be deducted from your payment account.
Funds Transfer Inbound and outbound transfers: 3-day transfers are free; next-day transfers are $5.
Standard and Gold Mastercard® If payment is received 14 days after the due date, your Mastercard account will be charged up to $20. Replacement card charge is $5. Copies of sales drafts are $3 each. Copies of statements are $2 per page up to a maximum of $5 per statement month. If you use your Mastercard to obtain a cash advance at an ATM, the fee is $.75. The foreign transaction fee is 1.10% of each transaction in U.S. dollars and may include transactions processed outside of the United States (including internet transactions).
World Mastercard® If payment is received 5 days after the due date, your Mastercard account will be charged up to $25. Returned payment charge is up to $20. Replacement card charge is $5. Copies of sales drafts are $3 each. Copies of statements are $2 per page up to a maximum of $5 per statement month. If you use your World Card to obtain a cash advance, the fee is 2.00% for each advance with a minimum of $.75.
Empower Mastercard® If payment is received 5 days after the due date, your Mastercard account will be charged up to $25. Returned payment charge is up to $20. Replacement card charge is $5. Copies of sales drafts are $3 each. Copies of statements are $2 per page up to a maximum of $5 per statement month. If you use your Empower Card to obtain a cash advance, the fee is 2.50% for each advance with a minimum of $.75. For each balance transfer, there is a fee of 2.50%. The foreign transaction fee is 1.00% of each transaction in U.S. dollars and may include transactions processed outside of the United States (including internet transactions).
Miscellaneous Fees Returned deposit due to non-sufficient funds (NSF) automatically charged to your account: $12 each. Wire transfers: Incoming: $6; Outgoing: Domestic – $20, International/foreign currency – $25, International/U.S. currency – $35. Official checks: $1.50 each. Gift cards: $3.95 each. Foreign check deposit pricing depends on the amount, type of currency and financial institution of check. Garnishment/IRS levy fee: $75. Notary service (non-members): $2 per item. Inactive account fee (members over 22 with less than $100 deposit balance and no account activity in a 12-month period): $3 per quarter. Invalid address fee: $10 per quarter. Escheat fee (applies to accounts closed due to a 3-year period of inactivity): $20. Non-member cashing Tower check at a branch: $5 per item. Debits against savings accounts that are NSF: $25 each. Subpoena fee: $.15 per copied page; $10 per hour for research and document preparation.
Fees are subject to change at any time without notice, except as required by law or regulation.
Electronic Funds Transfer (EFT) Transactions
Tower Talk 24 and Digital Banking Agreement
In this Agreement, the words “you” and “your” mean each person who applies for Tower Talk 24 or Tower's Digital Banking service, or uses a PIN/password to conduct transactions. The words “Credit Union,” “Tower,” “we,” “our” and “us” mean Tower Federal Credit Union. The words “account” and “accounts” mean those Tower accounts that are accessible with a PIN/password and the Tower Talk 24 or Digital Banking service. The word “transaction” means an electronic funds transfer.
Our business days are Monday through Friday, except holidays. Click here to go to contact us page to view our Member Service Center hours.
Tower Talk 24 permits you to perform certain functions on accounts through the use of your telephone. Digital Banking permits you to perform many finance-related functions on accounts through the use of your Internet connected devices, such as personal computers and mobile phones (“Devices”). This Agreement defines your responsibilities and the Credit Union's responsibilities with respect to these functions. You also agree to follow the instructions on use of Tower Talk 24 and Digital Banking. These instructions will be considered part of this Agreement. The agreements and rules and regulations applicable to your accounts remain in effect and continue to be applicable, except as specifically modified by this Agreement. If the terms of this Agreement conflict with any of the other agreements applicable to your accounts, the terms of this Agreement control. By signing the application for Tower Talk 24 or Digital Banking, and/or using a PIN/password to conduct transactions, you agree to the terms of this Agreement.
Terms and conditions that apply to Tower Talk 24 and all Digital Banking Services
Tower Talk 24 Transactions. By using your member number and PIN/password and telephone, you may transfer funds among your accounts and to other Tower member accounts that are linked for access to Tower Talk 24, as well as make payments on your Credit Union loan accounts.
Digital Banking Services. With Digital Banking, by using your member number/username and PIN/password on one or more Devices, you may:
- View current balance information and history of your accounts
- Transfer funds between your accounts on either a one-time or recurring basis, including payments to your Credit Union loan account
- Transfer funds from your accounts to other Tower Federal Credit Union share accounts for which you have cross account transfer authorization
- View check copies online
- Request a wire transfer be made from your account using the Wire Transfer Request Form
- Download account history to Quicken or Microsoft Money
- Make a withdrawal by check from an account
- Open and fund certain new share accounts
- Perform self-service account maintenance, such as re-ordering checks, ordering copies of paid checks, stopping payment on checks, changing address and phone, and changing your Digital Banking password
- Communicate with us using secure online e-mail messages
After you enroll in Digital Banking, you may separately enroll in the following Digital Banking services to:
- Pay bills online
- Use Mobile Banking
- Use Mobile Deposit Services
- View your account statements online with eStatements
- Transfer funds from your accounts to deposit and investment accounts in other financial institutions and transfer funds from deposit and investment accounts in other financial institutions to your accounts
Some Digital Banking services may not be available for all accounts.
We reserve the right to modify the scope of and change or upgrade the Digital Banking services at any time. In the event of such changes or upgrades, you are responsible for making sure that you understand how to use Digital Banking as changed or upgraded. We will not be liable to you for any losses caused by your failure to properly use Digital Banking or your Devices.
We reserve the right to refuse to make any transaction you request through Digital Banking.
PIN/Password. The Credit Union will issue you an initial PIN/password to use when you access Tower Talk 24 for the first time. You will then be prompted to change your PIN. Your Tower Talk 24 PIN/password will be your PIN/password for Digital Banking. Login and change your Digital Banking PIN/password to one of your own choosing immediately after your Digital Banking service is activated. If you do not use Digital Banking, it may become inactive until you contact the Credit Union to reactivate your Digital Banking service.
For the security of your accounts, we recommend changing your PIN/password at least every 90 days. The Credit Union will have no record of the PIN/password you select. You should not write your PIN/password on any paper which identifies what it is or on any paper with your account numbers or Social Security number. You agree not to give or make available your PIN/password to any other individuals. If you elect to share your PIN/password with any other person, including, but not limited to, the joint owner of your account, you do so at your risk, and not at Tower's risk. By electing to share your PIN/password with another person, you have authorized that person to conduct transactions with your accounts, including transferring funds out of all of your accounts. You are liable for these transactions; Tower is not. If you give your PIN/password to the joint owner of your account, the joint owner will have access to all of your other Tower accounts, even accounts which are not joint accounts or which are joint with other persons.
The PIN/password is a “security procedure”. You agree that this security procedure is commercially reasonable and is designed to authenticate your transactions. You agree that use of your member number/username and PIN/password shall constitute sufficient verification of your identity.
If you believe that your PIN/password has been compromised, you must immediately change your PIN/password and notify Tower that your password was compromised. Contact Tower immediately at 866-56-TOWER.
Your PIN/password may only be used to access those accounts that you have requested and the Credit Union has approved for access through Tower Talk 24 and Digital Banking. If by mistake, the use of your PIN/password permits you to withdraw funds from any account that you should not be allowed to use, the Credit Union may charge the amount involved to a valid account. Your PIN/password may not be used to overdraw any account. If you use your PIN/password to overdraw an account, then you owe the Credit Union the amount immediately-plus any service charge. The Credit Union also may deduct, without prior notification to you, the amount owed from any of your Tower accounts, or, if you have a Tower loan account, the overdrawn amount will be considered as a request for a loan advance, at the discretion of the Credit Union.
Security. The Online browser you use for Digital Banking must meet the level of security we require from time to time. You must supply and use virus protection programs to scan your Devices and related materials for viruses and remove them. We are not responsible for any viruses you may encounter. You acknowledge that the Internet is inherently insecure and that all data transfers, including electronic mail, occur openly on the Internet and potentially can be monitored and read by others. Data transferred via Digital Banking is encrypted. Requests with personal information, such as your account number, should only be emailed to us using the Message Center in Digital Banking. We cannot and do not warrant data transfers utilizing the open Internet. Some of our Digital Banking services may allow you to set transaction limitations and establish internal controls. Your failure to set such limitations and implement such controls increases your exposure to, and responsibility for, unauthorized transfers.
Digital Banking uses one-time access codes to verify your identity when you login from an unrecognized computer or mobile device. Digital Banking will ask you to enter a one-time access code that is sent to you by using one of your pre-registered contact methods-either by text message or phone call.
Funds Availability. Under normal circumstances, all Tower Talk 24 and Digital Banking transactions will be posted to your accounts within 24 hours. For Mobile Deposits, see “Additional Terms that apply only to Mobile Deposit Services”.
Use of Services. You accept responsibility for making sure that you understand how to use Digital Banking and will always use Digital Banking in accordance with the instructions posted on our website. You also accept responsibility for making sure that you know how to properly use your Device and any provided software.
Responsibility. You are responsible for all transactions made on your accounts with your PIN/password through Tower Talk 24 or Digital Banking services by anyone, including unauthorized transactions, subject to the limitations of applicable law. Legal limitations on your liability for unauthorized transactions are summarized in the “Electronic Funds Transfers Disclosures” section. The Credit Union has no obligation to monitor the use of your PIN/password or notify you if unusual activity (regarding any of your accounts which may be assessed through a PIN/password) is noted.
Equipment and Technical Requirements. To use Tower Talk 24 or Digital Banking, you must obtain and maintain, at your expense, compatible hardware and software as specified by us from time to time, including the appropriate Devices. To use Digital Banking you must obtain and maintain, at your expense, Internet access.
Limitation of Liability for Equipment and Viruses. The Credit Union is not responsible for any errors or failures caused by the malfunction of your Devices, equipment, software (including anti-virus software) or Internet access. The Credit Union also is not responsible for any computer viruses caused by use of any Digital Banking service.
Charging your Account; Available Balances to Make Transactions. You authorize us to charge the account used to perform any transaction for each transaction you request and you agree to have sufficient funds available in that account for this purpose. If any transaction you request, including applicable fees, exceeds the balance of available collected funds in the account selected to perform the transaction, we need not make such transaction and shall incur no liability to you for such inaction.
Termination and Amendment. We may terminate or cancel your use of Tower Talk 24 or any Digital Banking service at any time. We may also suspend your access to any Digital Banking service at any time without notice and for any reason, including but not limited to, your non-use of the service. You agree that we will not be liable to you or any third party for any modification or discontinuance of any Digital Banking service. The Credit Union may give prior notice of termination or cancellation, but is not obligated to do so. Your PIN/password may not be used with Tower Talk 24 or the cancelled Digital Banking service after termination.
You may terminate or cancel the use of your PIN/password with Tower Talk 24 or Digital Banking or cancel Digital Banking or any Digital Banking service by giving the Credit Union notice.
The termination of your Tower Talk 24 or Digital Banking access will not affect any liability incurred by you prior to termination. We may change this Agreement at any time by notifying you of the change. Unless the Credit Union is required to give advance notice by law, changes are effective on the effective date stated in the notice. Use of a PIN/password after the effective date of the change will acknowledge your acceptance of that change.
Periodic Statements. Transactions and deposits made through Tower Talk 24 and Digital Banking services will be reflected on your monthly account statement. You agree to check your statements and transactions regularly and report any errors to us promptly by calling us at 866-56-TOWER. You must notify us of any error by no later than 60 days after you receive the monthly periodic statement that includes any transaction or deposit you allege is erroneous. You are responsible for any errors that you fail to bring to our attention within such time period, to the extent allowed by law.
User Conduct. You agree not to use Digital Banking or the content or information delivered through Digital Banking in any way that would: (a) infringe any third-party copyright, patent, trademark, trade secret, or other proprietary rights or rights of publicity or privacy, including any rights in the Software; (b) be fraudulent or involve the sale of counterfeit or stolen items, including, but not limited to, use of Digital Banking to impersonate another person or entity; (c) violate any law, statute, ordinance or regulation (including, but not limited to, those governing export control, consumer protection, unfair competition, anti-discrimination or false advertising); (d) be false, misleading or inaccurate; (e) create liability for us or our affiliates or service providers, or cause us to lose (in whole or in part) the services of any of our service providers; (f) be defamatory, trade libelous, unlawfully threatening or unlawfully harassing; (g) be perceived as illegal, offensive or objectionable; (h) interfere with or disrupt computer networks connected to Digital Banking; (i) interfere with or disrupt the use of Digital Banking by any other user; or (j) use Digital Banking in such a manner as to gain unauthorized entry or access to the computer systems of others.
E-mail Address. You agree to notify us immediately if you change your e-mail address.
System Malfunction. You will not attempt to make a transaction when the Tower Talk 24 or any Digital Banking system informs you (or other circumstances give you a reason to believe) that the system is closed or is not operating properly due to a technical malfunction or is unable to initiate the desired transaction.
Compliance with Law. You will use Digital Banking and Tower Talk 24 for lawful purposes and in compliance with all applicable laws, rules and regulations.
Collection Expenses. If the Credit Union has to file a lawsuit to collect what is owed by you, you will pay any reasonable expenses incurred by the Credit Union, including, but not limited to, outside collection agency fees and attorney's fees.
Indemnity. You will indemnify us and our service providers (including our and their agents, employees, officers, directors, attorneys or subcontractors) (“Indemnified Parties”) against and hold the Indemnified Parties harmless from all claims, demands, losses, liabilities or expenses (including attorney's fees and expenses) resulting from or arising out of (a) this Agreement or any Tower Talk 24 or Digital Banking service, (b) any breach of any of the representations, warranties or agreements made by you in this Agreement, or (c) your misconduct or negligence or breach of this Agreement. This paragraph shall survive the termination of this Agreement.
Agreement Controls. Both the Credit Union and you will be bound by this Agreement. If there is a conflict between the Agreement and something said by the Credit Union's employees, you agree that this Agreement controls. This Agreement is governed by the internal laws of Maryland and federal law.
Proprietary Rights. You are permitted to use content delivered to you through a Digital Banking service only on the Digital Banking Service. In addition you agree that you will not modify, change, alter, translate, create derivative works from, reverse engineer, disassemble or decompile any Digital Banking technology or service, copy or reproduce all or any part of the technology or service; or interfere, or attempt to interfere, with the technology or service.
Notices. Any notice, request or other communication you are required or permitted to give under this Agreement must be in writing and sent by email through the Message Center in Digital Banking at towerfcu.org, fax at 301-497-1091, or mail to:
Tower Federal Credit Union
Attn: eCommerce
P.O. Box 123
Annapolis Junction, Maryland 20701-0123
Your notices will be effective when we receive them and have a reasonable opportunity to act on them. We may give notice at our discretion by mail or by e-mail. Any notice we mail is considered given when we place it in the U.S. mail, postage-paid, for delivery to your address shown on our records. We will send e-mail notices to the e-mail address you have given us. Any notice that is delivered electronically is considered given when it is first made available by the information processing system that you use for the purpose of receiving e-mail.
DISCLAIMER OF WARRANTIES. YOU AGREE THAT YOUR USE OF ANY DIGITAL BANKING SERVICE AND ALL INFORMATION AND CONTENT (INCLUDING THAT OF THIRD PARTIES) IS AT YOUR RISK AND IS PROVIDED ON AN “AS IS” AND “AS AVAILABLE” BASIS. WE DISCLAIM ALL WARRANTIES OF ANY KIND AS TO THE USE OF ANY DIGITAL BANKING SERVICE, WHETHER EXPRESS OR IMPLIED, INCLUDING, BUT NOT LIMITED TO THE IMPLIED WARRANTIES OF MERCHANTABILITY, FITNESS FOR A PARTICULAR PURPOSE AND NONINFRINGEMENT. WE MAKE NO WARRANTY THAT ANY DIGITAL BANKING SERVICE WILL MEET YOUR REQUIREMENTS OR WILL BE UNINTERRUPTED, TIMELY, SECURE, OR ERROR-FREE. WE MAKE NO WARRANTY THAT THE RESULTS THAT MAY BE OBTAINED WILL BE ACCURATE OR RELIABLE OR THAT ANY ERRORS IN ANY DIGITAL BANKING SERVICE OR TECHNOLOGY WILL BE CORRECTED.
LIMITATION OF LIABILITY. YOU AGREE THAT WE WILL NOT BE LIABLE FOR ANY DIRECT, INDIRECT, INCIDENTAL, SPECIAL, CONSEQUENTIAL OR EXEMPLARY DAMAGES, INCLUDING, BUT NOT LIMITED TO, DAMAGES FOR LOSS OF PROFITS, GOODWILL, USE, DATA OR OTHER LOSSES INCURRED BY YOU OR ANY THIRD PARTY ARISING FROM OR RELATED TO THE USE OF, INABILITY TO USE, OR THE TERMINATION OF THE USE OF ANY DIGITAL BANKING SERVICE, REGARDLESS OF THE FORM OF ACTION OR CLAIM (WHETHER CONTRACT, TORT, STRICT LIABILITY OR OTHERWISE), EVEN IF WE HAVE BEEN INFORMED OF THE POSSIBILITY THEREOF, EXCEPT AS OTHERWISE REQUIRED BY LAW.
Financial Information. You must inform us immediately of any material change in your financial circumstances or in any of the information provided in your Application for any Digital Banking. You agree to provide us any financial information we reasonably request during the term of this Agreement. You authorize us to review your history with Deluxe Detect® from time to time.
Joint Account Owner(s). If one or more joint account holders signed the application for Tower Talk 24 or Digital Banking service, then the words “you” and “your” also include joint account holders and joint account holders agree to all of the terms of this Agreement. All joint account holders who sign the application for Tower Talk 24 and Digital Banking consent to all transactions conducted by or authorized by the primary account holder and are jointly and severally responsible together with the primary account holder for all transactions conducted by the primary account holder. Joint account holders shall hold Tower harmless for any and all transactions made by anyone who is authorized on the account.
Agreement to Transact Business and Receive Disclosures by Electronic Means. The nature of the Digital Banking Service requires all transactions to be conducted via the Internet and/or the World Wide Web. By clicking to mark the “I accept” box at the time of your first login to the Digital Banking service, you agree that your Payment Account and its use in connection with the Service will be conducted by electronic means, that we may provide this Agreement, amendments, periodic statements, and other communications regarding the Service electronically in a format that allows visual text to be displayed on your personal computer or other electronic equipment, and that the initial disclosures, periodic statements, and change-in-terms notices required by Regulation E of the Electronic Funds Transfer Act may be sent to you electronically. Unless this Agreement provides otherwise, all documents delivered electronically will be effective when we transmit them to your Electronic Address as shown in our records unless we state a later effective date. We will mail you the most recent version of this disclosure upon your written request for no charge. Your consent to electronic delivery of disclosures applies only to the Service. You can send us messages electronically via the application's e-messaging feature. Generally, electronic messages sent and received via the application's e-messaging feature are secure, assuming you have logged on to the Service correctly and your Internet browser shows that a secured connection has been established. You may withdraw your consent to electronic delivery of disclosures by sending us a message electronically via the application's e-messaging feature. Otherwise, you may withdraw your consent to electronic delivery of disclosures by sending us notice in writing and sent by certified or registered United States mail, return receipt requested, postage prepaid, to:
Tower Federal Credit Union
Attention: eCommerce
P.O. Box 123
Annapolis Junction, Maryland 20701-0123
Communications sent over the public Internet are not always secure. Accordingly, we strongly suggest that you do not send confidential information concerning the Service unless using the application's e-messaging feature. You agree that we may respond to any electronic message that you send to us via the application's e-messaging feature or Internet e-mail and that we may include in our response to you confidential information. However, we reserve the right not to respond to questions that you send via Internet e-mail and, instead, to respond to you in another manner. You may update the information we need to contact you electronically by sending us an e-mail as described above. Otherwise, send us notice of the updated information as described above.
Digital Banking Account Deletion. Digital Banking users may request deletion of their Online/Mobile Banking App account profile, related user data, and any enrolled service features.
Upon completion of your request, this data will no longer be accessible or available in Digital Banking. Once this request is finalized, access to any enrolled digital services such as Bill Payment, Card Management, eStatements, Zelle, mobile deposit and External Fund Transfer will be removed.
Your Tower membership and accounts will remain active, and your account transaction history will remain in our main system as long as your accounts are open. If you would like to use Digital Banking and any digital services in the future, you will need to register for them again.
To request your account is deleted out of Digital Banking, please contact us at 866-56-TOWER.
Additional Terms that apply to Shared Access. As the authenticated primary user of Tower's Digital Banking system, you have the ability to entitle another person or persons (sub-users) to access your Digital Banking and grant certain authorities with respect to your accounts. Shared Access options include:
- View-only access
- Making transfers between designated accounts
- Initiating bill payments from designated checking accounts (if applicable)
Shared Access may be granted individually or in combination. Other Shared Access features may become available in the future. If you authorize a user under the Shared Access feature, such authority shall continue until you specifically revoke Shared Access. By granting Shared Access, you agree to the following terms
- You understand that you have sole authority and control over entitling, managing and disabling access for sub-users.
- You authorize Tower and any third-party service providers to act on transaction instructions initiated under the credentials of an authenticated sub-user, just as if it was initiated under your credentials.
- When granting Shared Access, you assume total liability for any and all activities of your sub-users.
- You agree to hold Tower Federal Credit Union (Tower) and any third-party service providers harmless in any liability or claim arising from your use of these Shared Access, including any claim you make against your sub-users for their handling of your accounts or breach of your agreement with said sub-users pursuant to Shared Access.
- You agree to indemnify Tower, its employees, agents, volunteers, and representatives against any and all claims arising due to:
- Your entitling another person or persons with access to your Digital Banking site, accounts and/or other authorities with respect to your accounts; and/or
- Acts or actions taken by the sub-users you entitled.
- You understand, notwithstanding any terms, Tower and any third-party service providers are not responsible for any errors or unauthorized transactions on your accounts initiated by a sub-user, and Tower expressly disclaims all liability, claims, and damages in connection with such activities.
- You understand if you do not agree with these terms and other terms Tower presents to you from time to time, you may not use these services.
- You understand Tower reserves the right to change, amend, and cancel the terms of this agreement at any time, with or without notice.
Additional Terms that apply only to the Mobile Banking Service
Tower's Digital Banking Service includes Mobile Banking, which allows you to view balances and recent account activity, and conduct certain transactions using compatible and supported mobile phones and/or other compatible and supported wireless devices (collectively, “Mobile Devices”). Mobile Banking includes Wireless Application Protocol (WAP) Banking (“Mobile Web”) and Mobile Application Banking (“Tower's App”).
You agree and understand that Mobile Banking may not be accessible or may have limited utility over some mobile networks, such as while roaming. Click here to go to the digital banking page for the most up-to-date list of services which you may be able to access through Mobile Banking.
Agreements with Others. You agree that you will continue to be subject to the Terms and Conditions of your existing agreements with any unaffiliated service providers, including, but not limited to, your mobile service carrier or provider (e.g., AT&T, Verizon, Sprint, T-Mobile, Alltel, etc.), and that this Agreement does not amend or supersede any of those agreements. You understand that those agreements may provide for fees, limitations and restrictions which might impact your use of Mobile Banking (for example, your mobile service carrier or provider may impose data usage or text message charges for your use of or interaction with Mobile Banking, including while downloading the Software, receiving or sending Mobile Banking text messages, or other use of your Mobile Device when using the Software or other products and services provided by Mobile Banking), and you agree to be solely responsible for all such fees, limitations and restrictions. You agree that only your mobile service carrier or provider is responsible for its products and services, and that your mobile service carrier is not the provider of Mobile Banking. Accordingly, you agree to resolve any problems with your carrier or provider directly with your carrier or provider without involving us. You also agree that if you have any problems with Mobile Banking, you will contact us directly.
Hardware and Software. Click here to go to the digital banking page for current Mobile Banking hardware and software specifications. We are not responsible for any third-party software you may need to use Mobile Banking. Any such software is accepted by you as is and is subject to the terms and conditions of the software agreement you enter into directly with the third-party software provider at time of download and installation. You are solely responsible for the software and equipment used to conduct mobile transactions. You are responsible for deleting software in the event this agreement is terminated.
Use of Mobile Banking. You agree that we may send you, by SMS/text, email, and other methods, communications relating to Mobile Banking, including without limitation welcome messages, information and requests for information relating to use of Mobile Banking. You agree to use Mobile Banking carefully and to cancel immediately your participation in Mobile Banking as outlined in the cancellation section below if you observe any material errors in the Mobile Banking services.
Location Based Information. If you use any location-based feature of Mobile Banking you agree that your geographic location and other personal information may be accessed and disclosed through Mobile Banking. If you wish to revoke access to such information you must cease using location-based features of Mobile Banking.
Limitations. Neither we nor our service providers can always foresee or anticipate technical or other difficulties related to Mobile Banking. These difficulties may result in loss of data, personalization settings or other Mobile Banking interruptions. Neither we nor any of our service providers assumes responsibility for the operation, security, functionality or availability of any Mobile Device or mobile network you utilize to access Mobile Banking. You agree to exercise caution when utilizing the Mobile Banking application on your Mobile Device and to use good judgment and discretion when obtaining or transmitting information.
Transfer and payment information available via the Mobile Banking Software may differ from the information that is available directly through Digital Banking. Information available directly through Digital Banking may not be available via Mobile Banking and may be described using different terminology. The method of entering instructions via Mobile Banking also may differ from the method of entering instructions through Digital Banking. We are not responsible for such differences, whether or not attributable to your use of the Mobile Banking Software. Additionally, you agree that neither we nor our service providers will be liable for any errors or delays in the content, or for any actions taken in reliance thereon.
Changes or Cancellation. You may cancel your participation in Mobile Banking at any time. To cancel your participation in Mobile Web, you may discontinue using your Digital Banking PIN/password at any time for Mobile Web. To delete Tower's App, refer to the instructions for deleting a Mobile Application for your specific Mobile Device. For assistance with Mobile Banking cancellation call us at 866-56-TOWER during Member Service hours or contact us by email using the Message Center in Digital Banking.
Use of Data. We and our service providers will use information you provide for purposes of providing Mobile Banking and to prepare analyses and compilations of aggregate member data that does not identify you (such as the number of members who signed up for Mobile Banking in a month).
Password and Security. Biometrics such as Touch ID™ Authentication and Face ID Authentication are optional authentication methods offered by Tower to login to Tower's App. You can turn these features on or off on your mobile device by checking or un-checking “Enable Touch ID” or “Enable Face ID” on the Settings screen. Fingerprints and facial maps are stored on your device only. Tower does not have access to or store your fingerprint or facial map. Your username and password will be encrypted and stored in your device's Apple® iOS Keychain or Secure Enclave. You acknowledge that by enabling Touch ID, you allow anyone who has a fingerprint stored on your device access to your personal and account information in Tower's App. Tower reserves the right to suspend or disable these features at any time. Touch ID can only be associated with one Mobile Banking username at a time on your device. If you believe someone has gained unauthorized access to your account or mobile device, call 866-56-TOWER during business hours or contact Tower via email using the Message Center in Digital Banking.
Additional Terms that apply only to Mobile Deposit Services
Mobile Deposit is designed to allow you to make deposits of checks (“original checks”) to your accounts from home or other remote locations by scanning the original checks and delivering the digital images and associated deposit information (“images”) to us or our processor with your Mobile Device. After you login to Mobile Banking, you may apply for Mobile Deposit. Members must be at least 13 years of age to use Mobile Deposit.
Eligible items. You agree to scan and deposit only checks (i.e., drafts drawn on a credit union, savings and loan or bank and payable on demand.)
You agree that you will not use Mobile Deposit to scan and deposit:
- Checks payable to any person or entity other than you (i.e., payable to another party and then endorsed to you).
- Checks payable to you and another party who is not a joint owner on the account.
- Checks drawn by you or any other person on any of your accounts or any account on which you are an authorized signer or joint account holder.
- Checks that contain evidence of alteration, or that you know or suspect, or should know or suspect, are fraudulent or otherwise not authorized by the owner of the account on which the check is drawn.
- Checks previously converted to substitute checks, as defined in Regulation CC of the Federal Reserve (“Reg. CC”).
- Checks previously presented for payment at other financial institutions.
- Checks not issued in US dollars or not drawn on a US financial institution.
- Checks that are incomplete.
- Checks stamped with “non-negotiable” watermarks.
- Checks that are remotely created checks, as defined in Reg. CC.
- Checks not payable in United States currency.
- Checks dated more than 6 months prior to the date of deposit.
- Checks not acceptable for deposit under the terms of your Member Account Agreement or prohibited by our current Mobile Deposit procedures.
- Savings bonds.
Requirements. Each image must provide all information on the front and back of the original check at the time presented to you by the drawer, including, but not limited to, information about the drawer and the paying bank that is preprinted on the original check, MICR information, signature(s), any required identification written on the front of the original check and any endorsements applied to the back of the original check. The image quality must meet the standards established by the American National Standards Institute, the Board of Governors of the Federal Reserve, and any other regulatory agency, clearing house or association.
Endorsements must be made on the back of the share draft or check within 1½ inches from the top edge, although we may accept endorsements outside this space. Your endorsement must include your signature and your account number, the date of endorsement and “FOR MOBILE DEPOSIT only to Tower FCU”. Any loss we incur from a delay or processing error resulting from an irregular endorsement or other markings by you will be your responsibility. Items not endorsed properly will not be accepted.
A check payable to two payees must be endorsed by both payees. If the check is payable to you or your joint owner, either of you can endorse it. If the check is made payable to you and your joint owner, both of you must endorse the check.
Receipt of Deposit. All images processed for deposit through Mobile Deposit will be treated as “deposits” under your current Membership and Account Agreement with us and will be subject to all terms of the Membership and Account Agreement. When we receive an image, we will confirm receipt via e-mail to you. We shall not be deemed to have received the image for deposit until we have confirmed receipt to you. Confirmation does not mean that the image contains no errors. We are not responsible for any image that we do not receive.
Following receipt, we may process the image by preparing a “substitute check” or clearing the item as an image. We reserve the right, at our sole and absolute discretion, to reject any image for remote deposit into your account. We will notify you of rejected images.
Original checks. After you receive confirmation that we have received an image, you must securely store the original check for 60 days after transmission to us and make the original check accessible to us at our request. In the event the original check is requested, you must make the original paper check available to Tower, at your expense or in person, within 5 business days. If you fail to produce the original check within 5 business days of our request during the 60-day period, you authorize Tower to deduct the amount in question from your account, regardless of whether such deduction may result in a negative balance, and to pay any associated fees. Promptly after such period expires, you must destroy the original check by first marking it “VOID” and then destroying it by cross-cut shredding or another commercially acceptable means of destruction. After destruction of an original check, the image will be the sole evidence of the original check.
You agree that you will never re-present the original check. You understand that you are responsible if anyone is asked to make a payment based on an original check that has already been paid.
Returned Deposits. Any credit to your account for checks deposited using Mobile Deposit is provisional. If original checks deposited through Mobile Deposit are dishonored, rejected or otherwise returned unpaid by the drawee bank, or are rejected or returned by a clearing agent or collecting bank, for any reason, including, but not limited to, issues relating to the quality of the image, you agree that an original check will not be returned to you, but that we may charge back the amount of the original check and provide you with an image of the original check, a paper reproduction of the original check or a substitute check. You will reimburse us for all loss, cost, damage or expense caused by or relating to the processing of the returned item. Without our approval, you shall not attempt to deposit or otherwise negotiate an original check if it has been charged back to you.
We may debit any of your accounts to obtain payment for any item that has been rejected or returned, for any adjustment related to such item or for any warranty claim related to such item, whether or not the rejection, return, adjustment or warranty claim was made timely.
Your Warranties. You make the following warranties and representations with respect to each image:
- Each image is a true and accurate rendition of the front and back of the original check, without any alteration, and the drawer of the check has no defense against payment of the check.
- The amount, payee(s), signature(s), and endorsement(s) on the image and on the original check are legible, genuine, and accurate.
- You will not deposit or otherwise endorse to a third party the original check and no person will receive a transfer, presentment, or return of, or otherwise be charged for, the original check or a paper or electronic representation of the original check such that the person will be asked to make payment based on an item it has already paid.
- There are no other duplicate images of the original check.
- The original check was authorized by the drawer in the amount stated on the original check and to the payee(s) stated on the original check.
- You are authorized to enforce and obtain payment of the original check.
- You have possession of the original check and no party will submit the original check for payment.
With respect to each image, you make to us all representations and warranties that we make or are deemed to make to any party pursuant to law, regulation or clearinghouse rule. You agree that files and images transmitted to us will contain no viruses or any other disabling features that may have an adverse impact on our network, data, or related systems.
Compliance with Law. You will use Mobile Deposit for lawful purposes and in compliance with all applicable laws, rules and regulations.
Mobile Deposit Unavailability. Mobile Deposit may be unavailable temporarily due to system maintenance or technical difficulties, including those of the Internet service provider, cellular service provider and Internet software. In the event that Mobile Deposit is unavailable, you may deposit original checks at our branches or through our ATMs or by mailing the original check to:
Tower Federal Credit Union
P.O. Box 123
Annapolis Junction, Maryland 20701-0123
Funds Availability. For purposes of funds availability, Mobile Deposits are made in Laurel, Maryland. Mobile Deposits confirmed as received before 3:00 PM Eastern Standard Time on a business day will be credited to your account the same business day. Deposits confirmed received after 3:00 PM and deposits confirmed received on holidays or days that are not our business days will be credited to your account by close of business on the following business day. Funds will be available as described in our Funds Availability Disclosure.
Business Day and Availability Disclosure. Our business days are Monday through Friday, except holidays.
Mobile Deposit Security. Images are stored on your mobile device only until the image has been successfully received by us. You will complete each deposit promptly. If you are unable to complete your deposit promptly, you will ensure that your mobile device remains securely in your possession until the deposit has been completed. It is your responsibility to establish and maintain procedures to safeguard against unauthorized deposits. You will notify us immediately by telephone to 866-56-TOWER with written confirmation if you learn of any loss or theft of original checks. You will ensure the safety and integrity of original checks from the time of receipt until the time of destruction. If warranted in our reasonable judgment, we may audit and monitor you, and you agree to cooperate with us to permit such monitoring, to confirm that you have satisfied your obligations under this Agreement.
Your Responsibility. You are solely responsible for the quality, completeness, accuracy, validity and integrity of the image. You are solely responsible if you, intentionally or unintentionally, submit fraudulent, incorrect or illegible images to us or if Mobile Deposit is used, by authorized or unauthorized persons, to submit fraudulent, unauthorized, inaccurate, incorrect or otherwise improper or unusable images to us.
In addition you agree that you will not modify, change, alter, translate, create derivative works from, reverse engineer, disassemble or decompile the technology or Service, copy or reproduce all or any part of the technology or Service; or interfere, or attempt to interfere, with the technology or Service.
Financial Information. You must inform us immediately of any material change in your financial circumstances or in any of the information provided in your Application for any Digital Banking services. You agree to provide us any financial information we reasonably request during the term of this Agreement. You authorize us to review your history with eFunds/ChexSystems from time to time.
Termination. We reserve the right to terminate your access to Mobile Deposit at any time, for any reason, including but not limited to deficiency account balance, fraud, improper endorsements, image quality issues, duplicate presentments or other reasons.
Additional Terms that apply only to eStatements
As a Digital Banking user, you have the option to access your Credit Union share, consumer loan, mortgage and home equity loan and credit card periodic statements online. If you choose this option, you no longer will receive statements by mail. From the time you sign up for eStatements, your online share account and loan statements will be available to you for 18 months after you are notified that they are available prior to being purged. Your credit card electronic statements will be available to you for 24 months after you are notified that they are available prior to being purged.
We will alert you of the availability of your periodic statements online by sending you an e-mail notice at the electronic address as shown in your records. You are deemed to receive your monthly statement when it is first made available by the information processing system that you use for the purpose of receiving e-mail.
By changing your e-mail address under My Profile in Digital Banking, you will change your e-mail notice address. The e-mail notice will identify the location where the electronic statement is available. You will retrieve your own electronic statements by accessing Digital Banking with your personal password.
It is your responsibility to maintain the proper equipment/software that will enable you to view, print, and save these statements for your records. To access and retain the electronic disclosures, you will need the hardware and software currently required for access to Digital Banking. These requirements can be found on Tower's Home Page at towerfcu.org under the Digital Banking Login, Help. From the Help menu, select “Trouble Logging into Digital Banking?” By consenting to receive electronic statements, you acknowledge that you are able to access the electronic disclosures online. You may order duplicate paper copies for the fee shown in the Fee Schedule. The Fee Schedule can be found by clicking on “Fees” at the bottom of Tower's Home Website at towerfcu.org. You may discontinue electronic statements at any time and get paper statements instead.
For share accounts, consumer loan, and mortgage and home equity loan periodic statements, you must notify Tower prior to the last business day of the month, excluding Saturdays, to discontinue eStatements starting that month. If you notify Tower after the last business day of the month, excluding Saturdays, your eStatements will not be discontinued until the following month. For credit card statements, you must notify Tower prior to the last business day of the month, excluding Saturdays, to discontinue electronic statements starting the following month. If you notify Tower after the last business day of the month, excluding Saturdays, your electronic statements may not be discontinued until the following month.
Additional Terms that apply only to Inter-Institution Transfer Service (Funds Transfer)
Inter-Institution Transfer (Funds Transfer) service offered by CashEdge allows you to use Tower's online Digital Banking service to transfer money from your accounts at the Credit Union to any other account you hold at another financial institution, and from your accounts at other financial institutions to your accounts at the Credit Union. Pay People and transfers to third parties are not offered. To use this service, you must be a Tower Digital Banking user and apply and be accepted by CashEdge to receive this service. If CashEdge agrees to provide this service to you, the following terms also apply to the use of the Inter-Institution Transfer Service with your accounts at Tower.
Fees. We will charge you the following amounts for each transfer you make using the Funds Transfer service:
- Incoming transfer to Tower account (3 days) – Free
- Incoming transfer to Tower account (next day) – $5
- Outgoing transfer from Tower account (3 days) – Free
- Outgoing transfer from Tower account (next day) – $5
There are no fees to cancel a pending transfer request (as long as such cancellation is made within the time period permitted by the Funds Transfer service cancellation policies). In all cases, limits and conditions placed on account transactions by Tower, according to the Fee Schedule, apply to transfers made using Funds Transfer. The cost of each transfer will automatically be debited from the Tower account that you are using to transfer money to/from an external account.
Limitations on Transactions. The daily transfer limit for transfers made using the Funds Transfer service is $2,000, which is a combined limit for inbound and outbound transfers. The total monthly transfer limit is $5,000, which is based on a rolling 30-day period. The minimum transfer amount for any Funds Transfer is $10.
Prohibited Transfers. Transfers to accounts outside of the United States or its territories are prohibited through the Funds Transfer service.
Additional Terms that apply only to Cross Account Transfers
The Cross Account Transfer service allows you to use your Digital Banking or Tower Talk 24 telephone service to transfer money from your account to the accounts of other Tower Federal Credit Union members. This is a one-way transfer and you cannot transfer funds from another member's account back to your account. All Tower members are eligible for Cross Account Transfers, however, only the PRIMARY owner of the account can add, change or delete service. Primary members under the age of 18 must have the signature of an adult joint owner to use this service. Members requesting this feature must know the name and account number of the receiving account. When activated, the accounts you have registered will appear in the drop-down box within the account transfer option in Digital Banking. When you complete a Cross Account Transfer, you cannot reverse it, even if you have made an error in the amount or the account to which you made the transfer.
To add a cross account: go to Transfer & Pay then Transfers. Under "Transfer to" select "Add an Account" then enter the member's last name and account number.
Circumstances in Which Information Will Be Disclosed to Third Parties. If you transfer funds from your accounts to the accounts of other members via Cross Account Transfer in Digital Banking or Tower Talk 24, Tower will disclose the following information to the account holder(s) to whom you make the transfer: your account number and the transfer amount. You authorize Tower Federal Credit Union to transfer sums of money as designated from your account to the member account(s) you authorize in Digital Banking. When you authorize Cross Account Transfer in Digital Banking, you automatically authorize Tower Talk 24 Cross Account Transfer. Tower's Digital Banking and Tower Talk 24 agreements apply to Cross Account Transfers.
Additional Terms that apply only to Bill Payment Service
Introduction. This Bill Payment Terms of Service document (hereinafter "Agreement") is a contract between you and Tower Federal Credit Union (hereinafter "we", "us" or "our") in connection with the Bill Payment Service (as defined below) offered through our Digital Banking site or mobile applications (the "Site"). This Agreement applies to your use of the Bill Payment Service and the portion of the Site through which the Bill Payment Service is offered. This Agreement is subject to the terms of the Tower Federal Credit Union Digital Banking Agreement, which is incorporated herein by reference. In the event of a conflict between this Agreement and the Tower Federal Credit Union Digital Banking Agreement, this Agreement shall control.
Description of Bill Payment Service. The bill payment service (the "Bill Payment Service" or "Service") enables you to receive, view, and pay bills from the Site.
Definitions.
"ACH Network" means the funds transfer system, governed by the NACHA Rules, that provides funds transfer services to participating financial institutions.
"Affiliates" are companies related by common ownership or control.
"Biller" is the person or entity to which you wish a bill payment to be directed or is the person or entity from which you receive electronic bills, as the case may be.
"Billing Account" is the checking account from which all Service fees will be automatically debited.
"Business Day" is every Monday through Friday, excluding Federal Reserve holidays or other days that banks are legally closed.
"Due Date" is the date reflected on your Biller statement for which the payment is due, not the late payment date or the date beginning or a date during any grace period.
"Eligible Transaction Account" is a transaction account you hold from us from which your bill payments will be debited, your Service fees, if any, will be automatically debited, or to which payments and credits to you will be credited, that is eligible for the Service. An Eligible Transaction Account may include a checking, money market or other direct deposit account.
"Exception Payments" means payments to deposit accounts or brokerage accounts, payments to settle securities transactions (including, without limitation, stocks, bonds, securities, futures (forex), options, or an investment interest in any entity or property).
"Payment Instruction" is the information provided by you to the Service for a bill payment to be made to the Biller (such as, but not limited to, Biller name, Biller account number, and Scheduled Payment Date).
"Payment Network" means a debit or credit network (such as the ACH Network or ACCEL / Exchange payment network) through which funds may be transferred.
"Scheduled Payment Date" is the day you want your Biller to receive your bill payment, unless the Scheduled Payment Date falls on a non-Business Day in which case it will be considered to be the previous Business Day.
"Scheduled Payment" is a payment that has been scheduled through the Service but has not begun processing.
"Service Provider" means companies that we have engaged (and their Affiliates) to render some or all of the Service to you on our behalf.
Service Providers. We are offering you the Service through one or more Service Providers that we have engaged to render some or all of the Service to you on our behalf. However, notwithstanding that we have engaged such a Service Provider to render some or all of the Service to you, we are the sole party liable to you for any payments or transfers conducted using the Service and we are solely responsible to you and any third party to the extent any liability attaches in connection with the Service. You agree that we have the right under this Agreement to delegate to Service Providers all of the rights and performance obligations that we have under this Agreement, and that the Service Providers will be third party beneficiaries of this Agreement and will be entitled to all the rights and protections that this Agreement provides to us.
Payment Scheduling. The earliest possible Scheduled Payment Date for each Biller will be designated within the portion of the Site through which the Service is offered when you are scheduling the payment. Therefore, the Service will not permit you to select a Scheduled Payment Date less than the earliest possible Scheduled Payment Date designated for each Biller. When scheduling payments you must select a Scheduled Payment Date that is no later than the actual Due Date reflected on your Biller statement unless the Due Date falls on a non-Business Day. If the actual Due Date falls on a non-Business Day, you must select a Scheduled Payment Date that is at least one (1) Business Day before the actual Due Date. Scheduled Payment Dates must be prior to any late date or grace period. Depending on the method of payment, your Eligible Transaction Account may be debited prior to the Scheduled Payment Date. For example, if the selected method of payment is a draft check drawn on your account, the draft check arrives earlier than the Scheduled Payment Date due to expedited delivery by the postal service, and the Biller immediately deposits the draft check, your Eligible Transaction Account may be debited earlier than the Scheduled Payment Date.
The Service Guarantee. Due to circumstances beyond the control of the Service, particularly delays in handling and posting payments by Billers or financial institutions, some transactions may take longer to be credited to your account. The Service will bear responsibility for any late payment related charges up to $50.00 should a payment post after its Due Date as long as the payment was scheduled in accordance with Payment Scheduling above.
Payment Authorization and Payment Remittance. By providing the Service with names and account information of Billers to whom you wish to direct payments, you authorize the Service to follow the Payment Instructions that it receives through the Site. In order to process payments more efficiently and effectively, the Service may edit or alter payment data or data formats in accordance with Biller directives.
When the Service receives a Payment Instruction, you authorize the Service to debit your Eligible Transaction Account and remit funds on your behalf so that the funds arrive as close as reasonably possible to the Scheduled Payment Date designated by you. You also authorize the Service to credit your Eligible Transaction Account for payments returned to the Service by the United States Postal Service or Biller, or payments remitted to you on behalf of another authorized user of the Service.
The Service will attempt to make all your payments properly. However, the Service shall incur no liability and any Service Guarantee shall be void if the Service is unable to complete any payments initiated by you because of the existence of any one or more of the following circumstances:
- If, through no fault of the Service, your Eligible Transaction Account does not contain sufficient funds to complete the transaction or the transaction would exceed the credit limit of your overdraft account;
- The payment processing center is not working properly and you know or have been advised by the Service about the malfunction before you execute the transaction;
- You have not provided the Service with the correct Eligible Transaction Account information, or the correct name, address, phone number, or account information for the Biller; and/or,
- Circumstances beyond control of the Service (such as, but not limited to, fire, flood, or interference from an outside force) prevent the proper execution of the transaction and the Service has taken reasonable precautions to avoid those circumstances.
Provided none of the foregoing exceptions are applicable, if the Service causes an incorrect amount of funds to be removed from your Eligible Transaction Account or causes funds from your Eligible Transaction Account to be directed to a Biller which does not comply with your Payment Instructions, the Service shall be responsible for returning the improperly transferred funds to your Eligible Transaction Account, and for directing to the proper Biller any previously misdirected transactions, and, if applicable, for any late payment related charges.
Payment Cancellation Requests. You may cancel or edit any Scheduled Payment (including recurring payments) by following the directions within the portion of the Site through which the Service is offered. There is no charge for canceling or editing a Scheduled Payment. Once the Service has begun processing a payment it cannot be cancelled or edited, therefore a stop payment request must be submitted.
Stop Payment Requests. The Service's ability to process a stop payment request will depend on the payment method and whether or not a check has cleared. The Service may also not have a reasonable opportunity to act on any stop payment request after a payment has been processed. If you desire to stop any payment that has already been processed, you must contact Member Service. Although the Service will attempt to accommodate your request, the Service will have no liability for failing to do so. The Service may also require you to present your request in writing within fourteen (14) days. The charge for each stop payment request will be the current charge for such service as set out in the applicable fee schedule.
Exception Payments. Tax payments, court ordered payments and Exception Payments may be scheduled through the Service; however, such payments are discouraged and must be scheduled at your own risk. In no event shall the Service be liable for any claims or damages resulting from your scheduling of these types of payments. The Service Guarantee as it applies to any late payment related changes is void when these types of payments are scheduled and/or processed by the Service. The Service has no obligation to research or resolve any claim resulting from an exception payment. All research and resolution for any misapplied, mis-posted, or misdirected payments will be the sole responsibility of you and not of the Service.
Bill Delivery and Presentment. The Service includes a feature that electronically presents you with electronic bills from select Billers. Electronic bills may not be available from all of your Billers. Electronic bills are provided as a convenience only, and you remain solely responsible for contacting your Billers directly if you do not receive their statements. In addition, if you elect to activate one of the Service's electronic bill options, you also agree to the following:
- Presentation of electronic bills – You will receive electronic bills from a Biller only if both: (a) you have designated it in the Service as one of your Billers, and (b) the Biller has arranged with our Service Provider to deliver electronic bills. The Service may then present you with electronic bills from that Biller if either: (1) you affirmatively elect online within the Service to receive electronic bills from the Biller, or (2) the Biller chooses to send you electronic bills on a temporary "trial basis." In either case, you can elect online within the Service to stop receiving electronic bills from a Biller. Electing to receive electronic bills, automatically receiving trial electronic bills, and declining further elected or trial electronic bills all occur on an individual Biller basis. The Service does not include an option to prevent ever participating in the automatic trial electronic bill feature. When affirmatively electing to receive electronic bills from a particular Biller, you may be presented with terms from that Biller for your acceptance. We are not a party to such terms.
- Paper Copies of electronic bills – If you start receiving electronic bills from a Biller, the Biller may stop sending you paper or other statements. The ability to receive a paper copy of your statement(s) is at the sole discretion of the Biller. Check with the individual Biller regarding your ability to obtain paper copies of electronic bills on a regular or as-requested basis.
- Sharing Information with Billers – You authorize us to share identifying personal information about you (such as name, address, telephone number, Biller account number) with companies that you have identified as your Billers and which we have identified as offering electronic bills for purposes of matching your identity on the Service's records and the Biller's records to (a) activate your affirmative request for electronic bills, and/or (b) confirm your eligibility for "trial basis" electronic bills.
- Information held by the Biller. We are unable to update or change your personal information such as, but not limited to, name, address, phone numbers and email addresses, that is held by the Biller. Any changes will require you to contact the Biller directly. Additionally it is your responsibility to maintain all usernames and passwords for all electronic Biller sites. You also agree not to use someone else's information to gain unauthorized access to another person's bill. We may, at the request of the Biller, provide to the Biller your email address, service address, or other data specifically requested by the Biller for purposes of the Biller matching your identity against its records or informing you about the Biller's services and/or bill information.
- Activation. We will notify the Biller of your request to receive electronic billing information. The presentment of your first electronic bill may vary from Biller to Biller and may take up to sixty (60) days, depending on the billing cycle of each Biller. While your electronic bill feature is being activated it is your responsibility to keep your accounts current. Each electronic Biller reserves the right to accept or deny your request to receive electronic bills.
- Authorization to obtain bill data. You authorize us to obtain bill data from your Billers that you have requested to send you electronic bills, and from your Billers that wish to send you trial electronic bills. For some Billers, you will be asked to provide us with your user name and password for that Biller. By providing us with such information, you authorize us to use the information to obtain your bill data.
- Notification. We will attempt to present all of your electronic bills promptly. In addition to notification within the Service, we may send an email notification to the email address listed for your account. It is your sole responsibility to ensure that this information is accurate. In the event you do not receive notification, it is your responsibility to periodically logon to the Service and check on the delivery of new electronic bills. The time for notification may vary from Biller to Biller. You are responsible for ensuring timely payment of all bills.
- Cancellation of electronic bill notification. The electronic Biller reserves the right to cancel the presentment of electronic bills at any time. You may cancel electronic bill presentment at any time. The timeframe for cancellation of your electronic bill presentment may vary from Biller to Biller. It may take up to sixty (60) days, depending on the billing cycle of each Biller. We will notify your electronic Biller(s) as to the change in status of your account and it is your sole responsibility to make arrangements for an alternative form of bill delivery. We will not be responsible for presenting any electronic bills that are already in process at the time of cancellation.
- Non-Delivery of electronic bill(s). You agree to hold us harmless should the Biller fail to deliver your statement(s). You are responsible for ensuring timely payment of all bills. Copies of previously delivered bills must be requested from the Biller directly.
- Accuracy and dispute of electronic bill. We are not responsible for the accuracy of your electronic bill(s). We are only responsible for presenting the information we receive from the Biller. Any discrepancies or disputes regarding the accuracy of your electronic bill summary or detail must be directly addressed and resolved with the Biller by you.
This Agreement does not alter your liability or obligations that currently exist between you and your Billers.
Disclosure of Account Information to Third Parties. It is our general policy to treat your account information as confidential. However, we will disclose information to third parties about your account or the transactions you make in the following situations pursuant to our Privacy Policy.
- Where it is necessary for completing transactions;
- Where it is necessary for activating additional services;
- In order to verify the existence and condition of your account to a third party, such as a credit bureau or Biller;
- To a consumer reporting agency for research purposes only;
- In order to comply with a governmental agency or court orders; or,
- If you give us your written permission.
Service Fees and Additional Charges. There is no fee to use the Bill Payment Service. You agree to pay $25 for each bill payment you stop. You agree to pay $25 each time there are not sufficient funds to cover the transaction in your Eligible Transaction Account. Certain transaction fees apply for expedited payments and you agree to pay $15 for overnight checks and $10 for same day bill payments. Fees will automatically be deducted from your Billing Account.
Biller Limitation. The Service reserves the right to refuse to pay any Biller to whom you may direct a payment. As required by applicable law, the Service will notify you promptly if it decides to refuse to pay a Biller designated by you.
Returned Payments. In using the Service, you understand that Billers and/or the United States Postal Service may return payments to the Service for various reasons such as, but not limited to, Biller's forwarding address expired; Biller account number is not valid; Biller is unable to locate account; or Biller account is paid in full. The Service will attempt to research and correct the returned payment and return it to your Biller, or void the payment and credit your Eligible Transaction Account. You may receive notification from the Service.
Notices to Us Regarding the Service. Except as otherwise stated below, notice to us concerning the Site or the Service must be sent by postal mail to: Tower Federal Credit Union Attention: EFT Claims P.O. Box 123 Annapolis Junction, MD 20701-0123. We may also be reached at 866-56-TOWER for questions and other purposes concerning the Service. We will act on your telephone calls as described below in Errors, Questions, and Complaints, but otherwise, such telephone calls will not constitute legal notices under this Agreement.
Notices to You. You agree that we may provide notice to you by posting it on the Site, sending you an in-product message within the Service, emailing it to an email address that you have provided us, mailing it to any postal address that you have provided us, or by sending it as a text message to any mobile phone number that you have provided us, including but not limited to the mobile phone number that you have listed in your Service setup or customer profile.
Text Messages, Calls and/or Emails to You. By providing us with a telephone number (including a wireless/cellular, mobile telephone number and/or email address), you consent to receiving calls from us and our Service Providers at that number INCLUDING THOSE MADE BY USE OF AN AUTOMATIC TELEPHONE DIALING SYSTEM ("ATDS"), and/or emails from us for our everyday business purposes (including identity verification). You acknowledge and agree that such telephone calls include, but are not limited to, live telephone calls, prerecorded or artificial voice message calls, text messages, and calls made by an ATDS from us or our affiliates and agents. Please review our Privacy Policy for more information.
Receipts and Transaction History. You may view your transaction history by logging into the Service and looking at your transaction history. You agree to review your transactions by this method instead of receiving receipts by mail.
Your Privacy; Privacy of Others. Protecting your privacy is very important to us. Please review our Privacy Policy in order to better understand our commitment to maintaining your privacy, as well as our use and disclosure of your information. If you receive information about another person through the Service, you agree to keep the information confidential and only use it in connection with the Service.
Eligibility. To apply for the Bill Payment Service, you must follow the procedures to register and the person completing the registration must meet the Service criteria and be the primary owner of the Eligible Transaction Account in good standing.
Prohibited Payments. The following types of payments are prohibited through the Service, and we have the right but not the obligation to monitor for, block, cancel and/or reverse such payments:
- Payments to or from persons or entities located in prohibited territories (including any territory outside of the United States); and
- Payments that violate any law, statute, ordinance or regulation; and
- Payments that violate the Acceptable Use terms under Acceptable Use; and
- Payments related to: (1) tobacco products, (2) prescription drugs and devices; (3) narcotics, steroids, controlled substances or other products that present a risk to consumer safety; (4) drug paraphernalia; (5) ammunition, firearms, or firearm parts or related accessories; (6) weapons or knives regulated under applicable law; (7) goods or services that encourage, promote, facilitate or instruct others to engage in illegal activity; (8) goods or services that are sexually oriented; (9) goods or services that promote hate, violence, racial intolerance, or the financial exploitation of a crime; (10) goods or services that defame, abuse, harass or threaten others; (11) goods or services that include any language or images that are bigoted, hateful, racially offensive, vulgar, obscene, indecent or discourteous; (12) goods or services that advertise, sell to, or solicit others; or (13) goods or services that infringe or violate any copyright, trademark, right of publicity or privacy, or any other proprietary right under the laws of any jurisdiction; and
- Payments related to gambling, gaming and/or any other activity with an entry fee and a prize, including, but not limited to, casino games, sports betting, horse or dog racing, lottery tickets, other ventures that facilitate gambling, games of skill (whether or not it is legally defined as a lottery) and sweepstakes; and
- Payments relating to transactions that (1) support pyramid or Ponzi schemes, matrix programs, other "get rich quick" schemes or multi-level marketing programs, (2) are associated with purchases of real property, equities, annuities or lottery contracts, lay-away systems, off-shore banking or transactions to finance or refinance debts funded by a credit card, (3) are for the sale of items before the seller has control or possession of the item, (4) constitute money-laundering or terrorist financing, (5) are associated with the following "money service business" activities: the sale of traveler's checks or money orders, currency dealers or exchanges (including digital currencies such as bitcoin), or check cashing, or (6) provide credit repair or debt settlement services; and
- Tax payments and court ordered payments.
Except as required by applicable law, in no event shall we or our Service Providers be liable for any claims or damages resulting from your scheduling of prohibited payments. We encourage you to provide notice to us by the methods described in Notices to Us Regarding the Service above of any violations of the Agreement generally.
Acceptable Use. You agree that you are independently responsible for complying with all applicable laws in all of your activities related to your use of the Service, regardless of the purpose of the use, and for all communications you send through the Service. We and our Service Providers have the right but not the obligation to monitor and remove communications content that we find in our sole discretion to be objectionable in any way. In addition, you are prohibited from using the Service for communications or activities that: (a) violate any law, statute, ordinance or regulation; (b) promote hate, violence, racial intolerance, or the financial exploitation of a crime; (c) defame, abuse, harass or threaten others; (d) include any language or images that are bigoted, hateful, racially offensive, vulgar, obscene, indecent or discourteous; (e) infringe or violate any copyright, trademark, right of publicity or privacy or any other proprietary right under the laws of any jurisdiction; (f) impose an unreasonable or disproportionately large load on our infrastructure; (g) facilitate any viruses, trojan horses, worms or other computer programming routines that may damage, detrimentally interfere with, surreptitiously intercept or expropriate any system, data or information; (h) constitute use of any robot, spider, other automatic device, or manual process to monitor or copy the Service or the portion of the Site through which the Service is offered without our prior written permission; (i) constitute use of any device, software or routine to bypass technology protecting the Site or Service, or interfere or attempt to interfere, with the Site or the Service; or (j) may cause us or our Service Providers to lose any of the services from our internet service providers, payment processors, or other vendors. We encourage you to provide notice to us by the methods described in Notices to Us Regarding the Service of any violations of the Agreement generally.
Payment Methods and Amounts. There are limits on the amount of money you can send or receive through our Service. You may pay bills from your Eligible Transaction Account from $1 up to $24,999.99 (or the available balance if less) per bill payment you process. Security concerns may lead to other limits on the number or dollar amount of transactions you may make from time to time. Your limits may be adjusted from time-to-time in our sole discretion. We or our Service Provider also reserve the right to select the method in which to remit funds on your behalf though the Service, and in the event that your Eligible Transaction Account is closed or otherwise unavailable to us the method to return funds to you. These payment methods may include, but may not be limited to, an electronic debit, virtual cards, a paper check drawn on the account of our Service Provider, or draft drawn against your account. Certain Service payments may be processed using a prepaid, single-use virtual card. Single-use cards provide a fast and secure way for your payment to be delivered. Please note in the event your payment is processed using a virtual card, you will not recognize the payment method and/or card numbers on any payment confirmation communication you may receive from your Biller.
Your Liability for Unauthorized Transfers. If you tell us within two (2) Business Days after you discover your password or other means to access your account has been lost or stolen, your liability is no more than $50 should someone access your account without your permission. If you do not tell us within two (2) Business Days after you learn of such loss or theft, and we can prove that we could have prevented the unauthorized use of your password or other means to access your account if you had told us, you could be liable for as much as $500. If your monthly financial institution statement contains transfers that you did not authorize, you must tell us at once. If you do not tell us within sixty (60) days after the statement was sent to you, you may lose any amount transferred without your authorization after the sixty (60) days if we can prove that we could have stopped someone from taking the money had you told us in time. If a good reason (such as a long trip or a hospital stay) prevented you from telling us, we may extend the period.
Taxes. It is your responsibility to determine what, if any, taxes apply to the transactions you make or receive, and it is your responsibility to collect, report and remit the correct tax to the appropriate tax authority. We are not responsible for determining whether taxes apply to your transaction, or for collecting, reporting or remitting any taxes arising from any transaction.
Failed or Returned Payment Instructions. In using the Service, you are requesting that we or our Service Provider attempt to make payments for you from your Eligible Transaction Account. If the Payment Instruction cannot be completed for any reason associated with your Eligible Transaction Account (for example, there are insufficient funds in your Eligible Transaction Account, or the Payment Instruction would exceed the credit or overdraft protection limit of your Eligible Transaction Account, to cover the payment), the Payment Instruction may or may not be completed. In certain circumstances, our Service Provider may either advance funds drawn on their corporate account or via an electronic debit, and in such circumstances will attempt to debit the Eligible Transaction Account a second time to complete the Payment Instruction. In some instances, you will receive a return notice from us or our Service Provider. In each such case, you agree that:
- You will reimburse us or our Service Provider immediately upon demand the amount of the Payment Instruction if the payment has been delivered but there are insufficient funds in, or insufficient overdraft credits associated with, your Eligible Transaction Account to allow the debit processing to be completed;
- You may be assessed a late fee equal to one and a half percent (1.5%) of any unpaid amounts plus costs of collection by our Service Provider or their third-party contractor if the Payment Instruction cannot be debited because you have insufficient funds in your Eligible Transaction Account, or the transaction would exceed the credit or overdraft protection limit of your Eligible Transaction Account, to cover the payment, or if the funds cannot otherwise be collected from you. The aforesaid amounts will be charged in addition to any NSF charges that may be assessed by us, as set forth in your fee schedule from us (including as disclosed on the Site) or your account agreement with us. You hereby authorize us and our Service Provider to deduct all of these amounts from your designated Eligible Transaction Account, including by ACH debit;
- We and our Service Provider are authorized to report the facts concerning the return to any credit reporting agency.
Address or Banking Changes. It is your sole responsibility to ensure that the contact information in your user profile is current and accurate. This includes, but is not limited to, name, address, phone numbers, and email addresses. Changes can be made either within the application or by contacting Member Services. Any changes in your Eligible Transaction Account or Billing Account should also be made in accordance with the procedures outlined within the application's Help files. All changes made are effective immediately for scheduled and future payments paid from the updated Eligible Transaction Account information. The Service is not responsible for any payment processing errors or fees incurred if you do not provide accurate Eligible Transaction Account or contact information.
Information Authorization. Your enrollment in the applicable Service may not be fulfilled if we cannot verify your identity or other necessary information. Through your enrollment in or use of each Service, you agree that we reserve the right to request a review of your credit rating at our own expense through an authorized bureau. In addition, and in accordance with our Privacy Policy, you agree that we reserve the right to obtain personal information about you, including without limitation, financial information and transaction history regarding your Eligible Transaction Account. You further understand and agree that we reserve the right to use personal information about you for our and our Service Providers' everyday business purposes, such as to maintain your ability to access the Service, to authenticate you when you log in, to send you information about the Service, to perform fraud screening, to verify your identity, to determine your transaction limits, to perform collections, to comply with laws, regulations, court orders and lawful instructions from government agencies, to protect the personal safety of subscribers or the public, to defend claims, to resolve disputes, to troubleshoot problems, to enforce this Agreement, to protect our rights and property, and to customize, measure, and improve the Service and the content and layout of the Site. Additionally, we and our Service Providers may use your information for risk management purposes and may use, store and disclose your information acquired in connection with this Agreement as permitted by law, including (without limitation) any use to effect, administer or enforce a transaction or to protect against or prevent actual or potential fraud, unauthorized transactions, claims or other liability. We and our Service Providers shall have the right to retain such data even after termination or expiration of this Agreement for risk management, regulatory compliance, or audit reasons, and as permitted by applicable law for everyday business purposes. In addition, we and our Service Providers may use, store and disclose such information acquired in connection with the Service in statistical form for pattern recognition, modeling, enhancement and improvement, system analysis and to analyze the performance of the Service. The following provisions in this paragraph apply to certain Services.
- Mobile Subscriber Information. You authorize your wireless carrier to disclose information about your account, such as subscriber status, payment method and device details, if available, to support identity verification, fraud avoidance and other uses in support of transactions for the duration of your business relationship with us. This information may also be shared with other companies to support your transactions with us and for identity verification and fraud avoidance purposes.
- Device Data. We may share certain personal information and device-identifying technical data about you and your devices with third party service providers, who will compare and add device data and fraud data from and about you to a database of similar device and fraud information in order to provide fraud management and prevention services, which include but are not limited to identifying and blocking access to the applicable service or Web site by devices associated with fraudulent or abusive activity. Such information may be used by us and our third party service providers to provide similar fraud management and prevention services for services or Web sites not provided by us. We will not share with service providers any information that personally identifies the user of the applicable device.
Service Termination, Cancellation, or Suspension. In the event you wish to cancel the Service, you may have the ability to do so through the product, or you may contact Member Service via one of the following:
- Telephone us at 866-56-TOWER during Member Service hours; or
- Email us through the Message Center in Digital Banking at towerfcu.org; or
- Write us at: Tower Federal Credit Union Attention: eCommerce P.O. Box 123 Annapolis Junction, MD 20701-0123
Any payment(s) that have begun processing before the requested cancellation date will be processed by the Service. All Scheduled Payments that have not begun processing including recurring payments will not be processed once the Service is canceled. We may terminate or suspend Service to you at any time. Neither termination, cancellation nor suspension shall affect your liability or obligations under this Agreement.
Errors, Questions, and Complaints. In case of errors or questions about your transactions, you should as soon as possible notify us via one of the following:
- Telephone us at 866-56-TOWER during Member Service hours;
- Contact us by submitting a Secure Payment Inquiry Form; and/or
- Write us at: Tower Federal Credit Union, Attention: EFT Claims, P.O. Box 123, Annapolis Junction, MD 20701-0123
If you think your statement is incorrect or you need more information about a Service transaction listed on the statement, we must hear from you no later than sixty (60) days after the FIRST statement was sent to you on which the problem or error appears. You must:
- Tell us your name and Service account number;
- Describe the error or the transaction in question, and explain as clearly as possible why you believe it is an error or why you need more information; and
- Tell us the dollar amount of the suspected error.
If you tell us verbally, we may require that you send your complaint in writing within ten (10) Business Days after your verbal notification. Except as described below, we will determine whether an error occurred within ten (10) Business Days after you notify us of the error. We will tell you the results of our investigation within three (3) Business Days after we complete our investigation of the error and will correct any error promptly. However, if we require more time to confirm the nature of your complaint or question, we reserve the right to take up to forty-five (45) days to complete our investigation. If we decide to do this, we will provisionally credit your Eligible Transaction Account within ten (10) Business Days for the amount you think is in error. If we ask you to submit your complaint or question in writing and we do not receive it within ten (10) Business Days, we may not provisionally credit your Eligible Transaction Account. For errors involving new Eligible Transaction Accounts, we may take up to ninety (90) days to investigate your complaint or question and up to twenty (20) Business Days to provisionally credit your Eligible Transaction Account. If it is determined there was no error we will mail you a written explanation within three (3) Business Days after completion of our investigation. You may ask for copies of documents used in our investigation. We may revoke any provisional credit provided to you if we find an error did not occur.
Intellectual Property. All other marks and logos related to the Service are either trademarks or registered trademarks of us or our licensors. In addition, all page headers, custom graphics, button icons, and scripts are our service marks, trademarks, and/or trade dress or those of our licensors. You may not copy, imitate, or use any of the above without our prior written consent, which we may withhold in our sole discretion, and you may not use them in a manner that is disparaging to us or the Service or display them in any manner that implies our sponsorship or endorsement. All right, title and interest in and to the Service, the portion of the Site through which the Service is offered, the technology related to the Site and Service, and any and all technology and any content created or derived from any of the foregoing, is our exclusive property or that of our licensors. Moreover, any suggestions, ideas, notes, drawings, concepts, or other information you may send to us through or regarding the Site or Service shall be considered an uncompensated contribution of intellectual property to us and our licensors, shall also be deemed our and our licensors' exclusive intellectual property, and shall not be subject to any obligation of confidentiality on our part. By submitting any such materials to us, you automatically grant (or warrant that the owner of such materials has expressly granted) to us and our licensors a perpetual, royalty-free, irrevocable, non-exclusive right and license to use, reproduce, modify, adapt, publish, translate, publicly perform and display, create derivative works from and distribute such materials or incorporate such materials into any form, medium, or technology now known or later developed, and you warrant that all so-called "moral rights" in those materials have been waived, and you warrant that you have the right to make these warranties and transfers of rights.
Password and Security. You agree not to give or make available your password or other means to access your account to any unauthorized individuals. You are responsible for all payments you authorize using the Service. If you permit other persons to use the Service or your password or other means to access your account, you are responsible for any transactions they authorize. If you believe that your password or other means to access your account has been lost or stolen or that someone may attempt to use the Service without your consent or has transferred money without your permission, you must notify Tower at once by calling 866-56-TOWER during Member Service hours.
Alterations and Amendments. This Agreement, applicable fees and service charges may be altered or amended by the Service from time to time. In such event, the Service shall provide notice to you. Any use of the Service after the Service provides you a notice of change will constitute your agreement to such change(s). Further, the Service may, from time to time, revise or update the applications, services, and/or related material, which may render all such prior versions obsolete. Consequently, the Service reserves the right to terminate this Agreement as to all such prior versions of the applications, services, and/or related material and limit access to only the Service's more recent revisions and updates.
Assignment. You may not assign this Agreement to any other party. We may assign this Agreement to any future, directly or indirectly, affiliated company. We may also assign or delegate certain of our rights and responsibilities under this Agreement to independent contractors or other third parties.
Remedies. If we have reason to believe that you have engaged in any of the prohibited or unauthorized activities described in this Agreement or have otherwise breached your obligations under this Agreement, we may terminate, suspend or limit your access to or use of the Site or the Service; notify law enforcement, regulatory authorities, impacted third parties, and others as we deem appropriate; refuse to provide our services to you in the future; and/or take legal action against you. In addition, we, in our sole discretion, reserve the right to terminate this Agreement, access to the Site and/or use of the Service for any reason or no reason and at any time. The remedies contained in this paragraph are cumulative and are in addition to the other rights and remedies available to us under this Agreement, by law or otherwise.
Disputes. In the event of a dispute regarding the Service, you and we agree to resolve the dispute by looking to this Agreement. You agree that this Agreement is the complete and exclusive statement of the agreement between you and the Service which supersedes any proposal or prior agreement, oral or written, and any other communications between you and us relating to the subject matter of this Agreement. If there is a conflict between what an employee of the Service or Member Service Center says and the terms of this Agreement, the terms of this Agreement will prevail.
Indemnification. You agree to defend, indemnify and hold harmless us and our Affiliates and Service Providers and their Affiliates and the employees and contractors of each of these, from any loss, damage, claim or demand (including attorney's fees) made or incurred by any third party due to or arising out of your breach of this Agreement and/or your use of the Site or the applicable Service.
Release. You release us and our Affiliates and Service Providers and the employees and contractors of each of these, from any and all claims, demands and damages (actual and consequential) of every kind and nature arising out of or in any way connected with any dispute that may arise between you or one or more other users of the Site or the applicable Service. In addition, if applicable to you, you waive California Civil Code §1542, which states that a general release does not extend to claims which the creditor does not know or suspect to exist in his favor at the time of executing the release, which if not known by him must have materially affected his settlement with the debtor.
No Waiver. We shall not be deemed to have waived any rights or remedies hereunder unless such waiver is in writing and signed by one of our authorized representatives. No delay or omission on our part in exercising any rights or remedies shall operate as a waiver of such rights or remedies or any other rights or remedies. A waiver on any one occasion shall not be construed as a bar or waiver of any rights or remedies on future occasions.
Agreement to Transact Business and Receive Disclosures by Electronic Means. The nature of the Service requires all transactions to be conducted via the Internet and/or the World Wide Web.
By clicking to mark the "I accept" box at the time of your first login, you agree that your Eligible Transaction Account and its use in connection with the Service will be conducted by electronic means, that we may provide this Agreement, amendments, periodic statements and other communications regarding the Service electronically in a format that allows visual text to be displayed on your personal computer or other electronic equipment, and that the initial disclosures, periodic statements and change-in-terms notices required by Regulation E of the Electronic Funds Transfer Act may be sent to you electronically. Unless this Agreement provides otherwise, all documents delivered electronically will be effective when we transmit them to your Electronic Address as shown in our records unless we state a later effective date. We will mail you the most recent version of this disclosure upon your written request for no charge. Your consent to electronic delivery of disclosures applies only to the Service.
You can send us messages electronically via the application's e-messaging feature. Generally, electronic messages sent and received via the application's e-messaging feature are secure, assuming you have logged on to the Service correctly and your Internet browser shows that a secured connection has been established.
You may withdraw your consent to electronic delivery of disclosures by sending us a message electronically via the application's e-messaging feature. Otherwise, you may withdraw your consent to electronic delivery of disclosures by sending us notice as described above in the Notice Section.
Communications sent over the public Internet are not always secure. Accordingly, we strongly suggest that you do not send confidential information concerning the Service unless using the application's e-messaging feature. You agree that we may respond to any electronic message that you send to us via the application's e-messaging feature or Internet email and that we may include in our response to you confidential information. However, we reserve the right not to respond to questions that you send via Internet email and, instead, to respond to you in another manner.
You may update the information we need to contact you electronically by sending us an email as described above. Otherwise, send us notice of the updated information as described above in the Notice Section.
Digital Wallet Services
These Terms and Conditions (“Terms”) apply when you add a Tower Federal Credit Union (“Tower”) credit and/or debit card (“Tower Card” and “Tower Cards”) to a Digital Wallet Service. “Platform Provider” means the third-party mobile payment enabler that supports or provides the Digital Wallet Service to Tower for your use. A Digital Wallet Service (“Digital Wallet”) is a digital wallet platform operated by a vendor (“Platform Provider”) that allows you to add eligible Tower Cards to an application using your mobile device, permitting you to make: (i) payments at merchant point-of-sale terminals or readers that accept payments using a mobile card (in lieu of you presenting your physical card); and (ii) in-app or other digital commerce payments at participating merchants. Your Tower Card number is replaced (provisioned) with a digital number or token. Once added, you may use your mobile device to make payments only where the Digital Wallet is accepted. Tower is not a provider of the Digital Wallet Service and we are not responsible for any failure or inability to perform a transaction using a Digital Wallet. We are responsible only for supplying information securely to the Platform Provider to allow usage of Tower Cards in a Digital Wallet.
Eligible Cards. Active Tower Cards in good standing, as determined by Tower in its sole discretion, are eligible to be added to a Digital Wallet service. If your Tower Cards or any associated Tower account becomes delinquent or is otherwise no longer in good standing, Tower may remove your Tower Cards from the Digital Wallet Service.
Account Ownership/Accurate Information. You represent that you are the legal owner of the accounts and other financial information which may be accessed via the Digital Wallet Service. You represent that all information you provide in connection with Digital Wallets are accurate, current, and complete, and that you have the right to provide the information to us for the purpose of operating the Digital Wallet(s).
Privacy and Security: Personal information transmitted to us will be treated in accordance with the Tower Federal Credit Union Privacy Notice. Any information provided to merchants or Platform Providers will be treated in accordance with their respective privacy policies. Once you have added your Tower Cards to the Digital Wallet Service, Tower is responsible for securely transmitting your information to the Platform Provider through secure channels. You agree that we may share your information with the Platform Provider, a payment network, and other third parties in order to provide the services you have requested, to make information available to you about your Tower Card transactions, and to improve our ability to offer these services. We do not control the privacy and security of your information that may be held by the Platform Provider and that is governed by the privacy policy given to you by the Platform Provider. You agree not to leave your mobile device unattended while the Digital Wallet is readily accessible. You agree not to provide your password or other access information to any other person. If you believe that someone may have unauthorized access to your mobile device, you agree to immediately cancel your access to the Digital Wallet(s) associated with the mobile device. You agree to provide us with immediate notice in the event you suspect any unauthorized access to any of your Tower accounts. You agree to comply with all applicable laws, rules, and regulations in connection with your Tower Cards and the use of the Digital Wallet Service. Subject to the Tower Agreements governing use of the Tower Cards you add to the Digital Wallet(s), you are responsible for all transactions made using your Tower Cards. You agree to take reasonable precautions to ensure the safety, security, and integrity of your account and transactions when using the Digital Wallet, including any security features and procedures the Platform Provider and your mobile device may offer to protect against unauthorized use of any of your Tower Cards.
Third-Party Agreements. These Terms only address the terms and conditions that apply to your use of your Tower Cards. The Platform Provider, your wireless carrier, and other third-party websites or services integrated in the Digital Wallet(s) have their own third-party agreements, and you are subject to those third-party agreements when you give them your personal information, use their services, or visit their respective sites. Tower is not responsible for the security, accuracy, legality, appropriateness, or any other aspect of the content or function of the Platform Provider's or any third party's products or services.
Merchant Relationship and Disclaimers. Merchants may present to you certain discounts, rebates or other benefits within the Digital Wallet Service. Such offers are subject to certain terms and conditions and may change at any time without notice to you. We will not be liable for any loss or damage as a result of any interaction between you and a merchant with respect to such offers. Subject to applicable law and the Tower Membership and Account Agreements, all matters, including delivery of goods and services, returns, and warranties, are solely between you and the applicable merchants. You acknowledge that we do not endorse or warrant the merchants that are accessible through the Digital Wallet or the offers that they provide.
Non-Endorsement. Tower Federal Credit Union does not represent or endorse, and shall not be responsible for: the reliability or performance of any seller, merchant or third-party provider; the safety, quality, accuracy, reliability, integrity or legality of any product, offer, loyalty program, or other items that may be stored, redeemed, and/or utilized as part of any process related to the Digital Wallet Service; the truth or accuracy of the description of any product, or of any advice, opinion, offer, proposal, statement, data or other information (collectively, “Content”) displayed or distributed, purchased or paid for through the use of the tools in the Digital Wallet Service; the availability, integrity, or security of any third-party service utilizing capabilities based on the Digital Wallet Service.
Cardholder Agreements. Nothing in these Terms is intended to supersede, replace, or otherwise modify any cardholder agreement you may have with Tower Federal Credit Union. Where these Terms may be interpreted to contradict a cardholder agreement, that agreement should take precedence over these Terms.
Changes to Terms. Tower Federal Credit Union may modify these Terms at any time. Your continued use of the Digital Wallet Service will indicate your acknowledgment of, and intent to be bound by, any modifications made subsequent to your initial acceptance of the Terms of service.
Applicable Law. This agreement shall be governed by Maryland law.
Disclaimers, Limitation of Liability, and Indemnification. THE DIGITAL WALLETS SERVICE IS PROVIDED ON AN “AS IS” BASIS, WITHOUT WARRANTY OF ANY KIND. YOU UNDERSTAND AND AGREE THAT YOUR USE OF DIGITAL WALLET(S) IS AT YOUR SOLE RISK. ANY MATERIAL DOWNLOADED OR OTHERWISE OBTAINED THROUGH THE USE OF THE DIGITAL WALLET IS OBTAINED AT YOUR OWN DISCRETION AND RISK, AND TOWER, ITS EMPLOYEES AND SUPPLIERS, ARE NOT RESPONSIBLE FOR ANY DAMAGE TO YOUR MOBILE DEVICE OR LOSS OF DATA THAT RESULTS FROM THE DOWNLOAD OF ANY SUCH MATERIAL, WHETHER DUE TO ANY COMPUTER VIRUS, BUG, MALFUNCTION, OR OTHERWISE. TOWER MAKES NO REPRESENTATION OR WARRANTY AS TO THE COMPLETENESS, ACCURACY, RELIABILITY, OR CURRENCY OF ANY INFORMATION OR DATA THAT YOU OBTAIN THROUGH THE USE OF DIGITAL WALLET(S).
You will indemnify, defend, and hold Tower harmless (and our employees, directors, agents, affiliates, and representatives) from and against any and all claims, costs, losses, or damages (including reasonable attorney fees) arising out of any claim, action, or other proceeding instituted by a person or entity that arises out of or relates to: (a) any actual or alleged breach of your representations, warranties, or obligations set forth in the Terms, including any violation of our policies; (b) your wrongful or improper use of the Digital Wallet Service, including willful misconduct or fraud; (c) your violation of any third-party right, including without limitation any right of privacy, publicity rights, or intellectual property rights; or (d) your violation of any law, rule, or regulation of the United States or any other country. Tower reserves the right to refuse any transaction for any reason permitted by law.
Miscellaneous. Tower's failure to enforce any provision of these Terms or any additional terms shall not be deemed a waiver of such provisions nor of its right to enforce such provision. If any part of the Terms is found void and unenforceable, it will not affect the validity of the balance of the Terms which shall remain valid and enforceable. To remove your Tower Cards from the Digital Wallet Service, follow the instructions of the Platform Provider.
Support: For support related to Tower Federal Credit Union debit and credit cards used in the Service, please call 866-56-TOWER for assistance.
Debit Card Agreement
In this Agreement, the words, “you” and “your” mean each person who applied for a debit card and each person to whom a debit card is issued, jointly and severally. The words “Credit Union” and “Tower” mean Tower Federal Credit Union. The words “account” and “accounts” refer to your Prime Share (Savings), and Checking with Tower only. “Card” refers to an access device issued to you by Tower which permits you to conduct transactions at automated teller machines (“ATMs”) owned and operated by Tower and at ATMs and point-of-sale (“POS”) terminals (if applicable) which are part of a network which accepts our card. “POS terminal” refers to electronic point-of-sale terminals which are part of a network which accepts your card to pay for purchases and obtain cash back/cash advances (where available) from your checking account. POS terminals include those merchants and financial institutions which accept Mastercard debit cards to conduct transactions. “Network ATMs” refer to the various ATM financial networks in which Tower participates. “PIN” means the Personal Identification Number assigned to you by the Credit Union. “Transaction” means an electronic funds transaction.
This Agreement defines your responsibilities and the Credit Union's responsibilities with respect to electronic funds transactions performed through ATMs and POS terminals. It is understood that the Agreements and rules and regulations applicable to your accounts remain in effect and continue to be applicable, except as specifically modified by this Agreement. By signing an application for any card to perform transactions or using the card to conduct transactions, you agree to the terms of this Agreement.
Minimum Age Requirement for Debit Card. Individual account holders must be at least 18 years of age. If under age 18, but no younger than 13, an adult (who will be responsible for all debit card transactions) must sign as a joint account owner.
Obtaining Information. The Credit Union may obtain credit bureau or similar reports in considering applications for accounts or other services as permitted by the Fair Credit Reporting Act.
Overdraft Personal Line of Credit. If you participate in the personal line of credit overdraft service, the Credit Union generally will advance to the Checking account funds to cover checks exceeding the Checking account balance. Overdraft fees will apply, as shown in the Fee Schedule. The personal line of credit is a revolving line of credit; advances repaid are available to be used again. The Credit Union is not obligated to make any loan advances to the Checking account if the outstanding overdraft balance exceeds the established credit limit or as otherwise provided in the agreement governing the personal line of credit. In this case, you are responsible for immediate repayment of the withdrawal item if the Credit Union honors it in its sole discretion. Advances and payments and overdraft fees will be recorded on the monthly account statement.
Card Use. Your card allows transactions to be made on your account. The Credit Union may, without liability or advance notice, revoke or limit all cards issued under this Agreement. Upon demand, you will surrender the card promptly to the Credit Union. The debit card allows you to access the available funds in your account, within the daily limits described below, to purchase goods and services and to receive cash advances from your accounts. The debit card is NOT a credit card.
Making Transactions. The presentation of your card, and, if required, the input of your PIN constitutes authorization to the Credit Union to make transactions. You agree to follow the instructions posted for use of the ATMs and POS terminals accessible by your card. These instructions will be considered part of the Agreement. You agree not to make transactions that would overdraw any account. If, by mistake, you are permitted to make a transaction that you should not have been allowed to make, we may charge the amount involved to an account or otherwise hold you liable. When a PIN is required, you cannot make transactions without the entry of your correct PIN. Entries of an incorrect PIN may result in your card use being blocked or the card being retained by an ATM.
Card Information Updates and Authorizations. If you have authorized a merchant to bill charges to your debit card on a recurring basis, it is generally your responsibility to notify the merchant in the event your card is replaced, your card information (such as card number and expiration date) changes, or the account associated with your card is closed (see Mastercard Automatic Billing Updater below for certain exceptions).
Your debit card is automatically enrolled in Mastercard Automatic Billing Updater. Through Mastercard's Automatic Billing Updater, your updated card information (such as expiration date) may be shared with participating merchants to facilitate continued recurring charges. You may notify Tower if you do not want your updated debit card information shared with merchants that participate in this service. Updates are not guaranteed before your next payment to a merchant is due. You are responsible for making direct payment until recurring charges resume.
Foreign Transactions. If you effect a transaction with your Mastercard debit card in a currency other than U.S. dollars, Mastercard International Incorporated will convert the charge into a U.S. dollar amount. Mastercard International will use its currency conversion procedure, which is disclosed to institutions that issue Mastercard debit cards. Currently the currency conversion rate used by Mastercard International to determine the transaction amount in U.S. dollars for such transactions is generally either a government mandated rate or a wholesale rate determined by Mastercard International for the processing cycle in which the transaction is processed, increased by an adjustment factor established from time to time by Mastercard International. The currency conversion rate used by Mastercard International on the processing date may differ from the rate that would have been used on the purchase date of cardholder statement posting date.
Transactions Prohibited. You may use your card to purchase goods and services from participating merchants. However, you may not use your card to initiate any type of illegal gambling transaction, including, but not limited to online gambling. Also, you agree that you will not use your card for any transaction that is illegal under applicable federal, state, or local law.
Safeguarding Your Card and PIN. You will hold, in strict confidence, your PIN. You should not write your PIN on your card, the card carrier, or any paper carried with the card. This invites misuse of your card if it is lost or stolen. You should keep a written record of your PIN in a separate location from the card, with no identification as to what the number is. You should protect your card and PIN as if they were cash, credit cards, or checks because it is the key with which someone can access your accounts. Safeguarding your card is especially important for debit cards since the PIN is NOT required for its use at businesses which honor Mastercard debit cards.
Loss or Theft. You will notify Tower immediately of loss or theft of the card and/or PIN. If you recover your card after having notified the Credit Union, you will not use the card. Also, you will not use your PIN after having notified the Credit Union of its loss or theft.
Verification. Receipts issued by any ATM or POS terminal are binding on Tower only after verification of the transaction by Tower.
Liability. The Credit Union will not be liable for failure to honor a card due to improper use or retrieval of the card by an ATM or POS terminal. You should not use a cracked or broken card in an ATM or POS terminal. And you will contact Tower for a replacement card, if your card cracks or breaks. The Credit Union will not be liable for failure of a business to honor a card.
Responsibility. You are responsible for all transactions you make on your accounts. You are not responsible for unauthorized transactions as long as you exercised reasonable care in safeguarding your card(s). Legal limitations on your liability for unauthorized transactions are summarized in the “Electronic Funds Transfer (EFT)Disclosures” section.
Deposits. All deposits will be credited to your accounts provisionally subject to verification by Tower. Funds from deposits may be available for withdrawal under certain conditions. (Refer to Tower's rules governing deposits and funds availability for details.) You agree that the Credit Union's verification of deposits will be final.
Card Use and Effect on Available Balances. Generally, use of your card at ATMs and POS terminals results in a simultaneous debit of the transaction amount from your account. If you use your debit card at a POS terminal in a manner that is processed as a Mastercard transaction (that is, when no entry of your PIN needed), the authorization to proceed with the transaction that the business receives will result in a simultaneous freeze until the earlier of the actual debit of the funds or three (3) days after authorization. During the freeze, this means that the funds will NOT be available for use, for example, to pay any checks you write. Please keep track of your card use and the effect on your available balance to avoid overdrafts or items being returned unpaid due to insufficient funds, and the fees associated with these types of account problems.
System Malfunction. You will not attempt to make a transaction when an ATM or POS terminal informs you (or other circumstances give you reason to believe) that the system is closed or is not functioning properly due to technical malfunction or lack of cash or is unable to initiate the desired transaction.
Joint Account Owner(s). To qualify, owners must be joint on both the primary owner's Prime Share (Savings) and Checking accounts. You agree to hold the Credit Union harmless for any and all transactions by any cardholder authorized on your account. You accept responsibility for all withdrawals made by an authorized cardholder less than 18 years of age.
Termination and Amendment. The Credit Union may at any time terminate your right to make transactions or cancel this Agreement. The Credit Union may give notice of termination but is not obligated to do so. Your card and PIN may not be used after having been terminated. You may terminate or cancel your card by giving the Credit Union written notice. Your written notice of termination will become effective no later than the end of the first business day following the Credit Union's receipt of notice. Termination will not affect any liability incurred by you prior to termination. The Credit Union may change this Agreement at any time by mailing a copy of the changes to your current account statement address. Unless the Credit Union is required to give you advance notice by law, changes are effective on the date changes are mailed.
Use of your card after the effective date of the change will acknowledge your acceptance of that change.
Collection Expenses. If the Credit Union has to file a lawsuit to collect what is owed by you, you will pay any reasonable expenses incurred by the Credit Union, including, but not limited to, outside collection agency fees and attorneys' fees.
Agreement Controls. Both you and the Credit Union will be bound by this Agreement. If there is a conflict between the Agreement and something said by the Credit Union's employees, you agree that this Agreement controls. This Agreement is governed by the internal laws of Maryland and federal law.
EFT Disclosures
These disclosures are required by federal law and are part of the Digital Banking, the Bill Payment, the Tower Talk 24, and the Debit Card Agreement between the Credit Union and you.
Member Liability. You are responsible for all transactions you authorize using your EFT services under this Agreement. If you permit someone else to use an EFT service, your card or your access code, you are responsible for any transactions they authorize or conduct on any of your accounts. However, TELL US AT ONCE if you believe your card and/or access code has been lost or stolen or if you believe someone has used your card or access code or otherwise accessed your accounts without your permission or if you believe that an electronic fund transfer has been made without your permission using information from your check. Telephoning is the best way of keeping your possible losses down. You could lose all the money in your account (plus your maximum overdraft line of credit). You are not liable for an unauthorized Mastercard debit card transaction if you can demonstrate that you exercised reasonable care in protecting your card from loss or theft.
Also, if your statement shows transfers that you did not make, including those made by card, code or other means, tell us at once. If you do not tell us within sixty (60) days after the statement was mailed to you, you may not get back any money lost after the sixty (60) days if we can prove that we could have stopped someone from making the transfers if you had told us in time. If a good reason (such as a long trip or a hospital stay) kept you from telling us, we will extend the time periods. If you believe your card has been lost or stolen or that someone has transferred or may transfer money from your account or if you believe a transfer has been made using the information from your check without your permission, call 866-56-TOWER or visit a Credit Union branch. Also, you may write to us at the address listed below under “In Case of Errors or Questions about Electronic Transfers.”
Available Tower Talk 24 and Digital Banking Transactions and Limits on Transactions. Your PIN/password and member number/username may be used with Tower Talk 24, the Digital Banking service, and the Bill Payment service to perform transactions on your account. In all cases, your ability to make transactions between your accounts is subject to the available collected funds in the account.
Available Debit Card Transactions and Limits on Transactions. Your card and PIN (when required) may be used to:
- Withdraw cash from your accounts at ATMs;
- Transfer funds between your accounts at ATMs;
- Make deposits to your accounts on any ATM owned and operated by the Credit Union;
- Make balance inquiries into your accounts; and
- Pay for purchases from your checking account at places that have agreed to accept the card. As part of the purchase, you may be able to get cash back depending on the policies of the seller of the goods or services.
- Your card and PIN may be used to obtain cash advances from your checking account at financial institutions that are participating Mastercard debit card institutions.
Some of these services may not be available at all terminals.
ATM access to Request Checking accounts is limited to ATMs owned and operated by the Credit Union.
You may make any number of transactions between your accounts or from your accounts provided that the available collected funds and limitations on the dollar amounts of transactions are not exceeded. There are limitations on the dollar amount of transactions that you may make with your card per processing cycle (approximately daily).
Daily Limits. For cash withdrawals at ATMs, the daily limit is $1,000 per card. For all other debit card uses (payment for purchases, including any cash back and non-ATM cash advances at financial institutions), the aggregate daily limit is $2,500 per card. For 13 to 17 year olds, there is a $300 aggregate daily limit per card. The limit can increase at age 18 if the member reapplies.
Fees. Transactions may be made at no charge at any ATM owned and operated by the Credit Union. If you make a transaction at an ATM or POS terminal, you will be charged a fee in accordance with the Credit Union's Fee Schedule. In addition, the owner/operator, and/or any national, regional, or local network used to effect a transaction may impose additional fees if you initiate the transaction from an ATM owned by someone other than the Credit Union. If a transaction overdrafts any of your Tower accounts, you are subject to an overdrawn fee. If you lose your card and/or PIN you will be charged a replacement fee in accordance with the Credit Union's Fee Schedule.
Circumstances in Which Information Will Be Disclosed to Third Parties. The Credit Union will disclose information to third parties about your account or transactions made by you:
- When it is necessary for completing transactions;
- To verify the existence and condition of your Account for a third party, such as a credit bureau or merchant;
- In the course of making reports or returns required by federal or state law, to comply with any government agency, court order, or applicable law and to our supervisory agency;
- As permitted by Maryland law, including the Maryland Confidential Financial Records Act;
- As permitted by federal law, including the Right to Financial Privacy Act and the Fair Credit Reporting Act;
- As described in the Privacy Notice we give you from time to time;
- To our affiliates; and
- When you authorize us to do so.
Summary of Right to Receive Documentation of Transactions. You will receive a monthly account statement unless there are no transactions in a particular month. In any event, you will receive a statement at least quarterly.
ATM and POS Terminal Receipts. You can receive a receipt for each transaction to or from your account that is made at an ATM. You can get a receipt for each purchase of goods or services from your account that was made at a POS terminal. You can get the receipts when the transactions are made.
Summary of Liability for Failure to Make Transactions. If the Credit Union does not complete a transaction to or from your account on time, or in the correct amount, according to your agreement with the Credit Union, the Credit Union will be liable for your losses or damages as provided in the Electronic Fund Transfer Act. However, there are some exceptions. The Credit Union will not be liable if:
- Through no fault of the Credit Union, you do not have sufficient funds in your account to make the transaction;
- The transaction would go over your credit limit on your overdraft or other line of credit;
- The ATM or POS terminal where you are making the transaction does not have sufficient cash;
- The ATM, POS terminal, Digital Banking service, or TT24 system was not working properly and you knew of the breakdown when starting the transaction;
- Circumstances beyond the Credit Union's control (such as fire or flood) prevent the transaction, despite reasonable precautions taken by the Credit Union;
- The funds are subject to legal process or other encumbrance restricting such transaction;
- The transaction would exceed one of the established limits contained in this Agreement; and/or
- The account is closed.
Electronic Check Conversion. When you provide a check as payment, you authorize us either to use information from your check to make a one-time electronic fund transfer from your account or to process the payment as a check transaction. When we use information from your check to make an electronic fund transfer, funds may be withdrawn from your account as soon as the same day you make your payment. We do not have to notify you if your account does not have funds to cover drafts, fees or other posted items. Whether the item is paid or returned, your account may be subject to a charge as set forth in the Fee Schedule.
Business Day Disclosure. The Credit Union's business days are Monday through Friday. Holidays are not included. Automatic transfers that you request to take place on a specific date of each month will not occur on Tower non-business days which are Sundays and holidays. The transfer will take place on the next business day.
In Case of Errors or Questions about Electronic Transfers. You should e-mail the Credit Union, visit the Credit Union, telephone the Credit Union at 866-56-TOWER, or write to the Credit Union at Tower Federal Credit Union, Attn: EFT Claims, P.O. Box 123, Annapolis Junction, Maryland 20701-0123, as soon as possible, if you believe a statement or receipt is wrong or if more information is needed about a transaction listed on a statement or receipt. The Credit Union must be notified no later than sixty (60) days after it sent the first statement on which the problem or error appeared. You must:
- Provide your name and account number;
- Describe the error or the transaction in question and explain why you believe it is an error or why more information is needed; and
- Provide the dollar amount of the suspected error.
If notified orally, the Credit Union may require that you send the complaint or questions in writing within ten (10) business days.
The Credit Union will notify you of the results of the investigation within ten (10) business days (or 20 business days for transactions involving a new account) after being notified by you and will correct any error promptly. If the Credit Union requires more time, however, it may take up to forty-five (45) days (or 90 days for any transactions: (i) conducted at POS terminals; (ii) initiated outside of the U.S., its territories or possessions, or Puerto Rico; or (iii) involving a new account) to investigate your complaint or question. If the Credit Union decides to do this, the Credit Union will apply provisional credit to your account within ten (10) business days (or 20 business days for transactions involving a new account) for the amount believed to be in error, so that you will have the use of the money during the time it takes the Credit Union to complete its investigation. If the Credit Union requires that your complaint or question be put in writing and it is not received within ten (10) business days (or 20 business days for transactions involving a new account), the Credit Union may not recredit your account. An account is considered a “new” account for thirty (30) days after the first deposit is made, if you are a new member.
The Credit Union will tell you the results within three (3) business days after completing its investigation. If the Credit Union decides that there was no error, the Credit Union will send you a written explanation. You may ask for copies of the documents that were used in the Credit Union's investigation.
Use of ATMs and Deposit Facilities
All members are advised that when using ATMs or other deposit facilities you should:
- Be aware of your surroundings, particularly during the hours of darkness;
- Be accompanied by another person during the hours of darkness;
- Refrain from displaying cash, place cash in a pocket as soon as the transaction is completed, and count cash in the safety of a locked enclosure such as a car or home;
- Use another ATM or facility or return at a later time if anything suspicious is noticed;
- Cancel a transaction, place the access device in a pocket, and leave if anything suspicious is noticed; and
- Immediately report all crimes to Tower or the operator of the ATM and to local law enforcement officials.
Preauthorized Deposits and Payments
Preauthorized Deposit Verification. If you have arranged to have direct deposits made to your account at least once every sixty (60) days from the same person or company, you may, or may not, receive proof of the payment from the person or company making the payment. If such person, or company, normally gives you notice of payment, you will not receive any other notice from the Credit Union. If the person, or company, does not give such notice, you can call the Credit Union at 866-56-TOWER in order to find out whether or not the deposit was made.
Stop Payment of Preauthorized Payments. You may stop preauthorized payments or transfers from your account to persons or companies other than the Credit Union. Payments to the Credit Union are governed by the terms of the automatic payment authorization form. If you have authorized the Credit Union, in advance, to make regular payments out of your account to other persons or companies, you can stop any of these payments. You will call the Credit Union at 866-56-TOWER or write Tower Federal Credit Union, Attn: ACH and Check Operations, P.O. Box 123, Annapolis Junction, Maryland 20701-0123 in time for the Credit Union to receive the request three (3) business days, or more, before the payment is scheduled to be made. That this request is effective for six (6) months only, whether given in writing or orally, unless renewed in writing before it expires, and that the debit will be paid (assuming that the account has sufficient funds) if presented on or after the date that the request expires. The Credit Union will assess a charge for each stop payment order placed by the member.
Notice of Varying Amount of Preauthorized Payments. If preauthorized payments to persons or companies vary in amount, the person or company you are going to pay should notify you ten (10) days before each payment as to when it will be scheduled and the amount. Instead you may choose, by notifying the payment recipient, to receive this notice only when the payment would differ by more than a certain amount from a previous payment, or when the amount would fall outside certain limits set by you.
Liability for Failure to Stop Payment of Preauthorized ACH Transfers. If you order the Credit Union to stop one of these payments three (3) business days, or more, before the transfer is scheduled, and the Credit Union does not do so, the Credit Union will be liable for your losses or damages as provided in the Electronic Funds Transfer Act.
Electronic Funds Transfer and Automated Clearing House (ACH) Transactions
Under the operating rules applicable to automated clearing house (“ACH”) transactions involving an account, the Credit Union is not required to give next day notice of receipt of an ACH item, and will not do so. The Credit Union may provide notice of the receipt of ACH and other electronic payments in periodic statements. If periodic statements are not provided for your account, the Credit Union is not obligated to provide notice of receipt of payments, unless otherwise required by law.
ACH operating rules provide that credit given for ACH credit entries is provisional until the Credit Union receives final settlement for the entry through a Federal Reserve Bank or otherwise receives final payment. If final payment is not received, the Credit Union is entitled to a refund of the amount credited to you in connection with the entry, and the party that originated the payment shall not be deemed to have made payment. You agree to be bound by these rules.
This Credit Union may make wire transfers of funds from your accounts as an accommodation to you, but is not obligated to do so. Any wire transfer request received after 2:00 p.m. or on Saturday will not be processed until the following business day provided the funds are available at that time. Tower cannot guarantee that the receiving institution will actually receive and/or act upon wire transfers in a timely manner. Tower cannot guarantee special instructions will be followed by the receiving financial institution. Tower is authorized to debit your account for the amount of wire transfers and any fees and expenses incurred in connection with the execution of a request.
The Credit Union has established certain security procedures in connection with wire transfer transmissions. If you request a wire transfer in person, the Credit Union will confirm your identity by reference to your driver's license, passport, or military ID. If you request wire transfers by telephone or online in the Credit Union's Digital Banking service, you must provide your PIN/password. Before performing wire transfers by telephone you will be required to establish, and use, a password of your choice before the wire transfer requests will be honored. Once you have established a password, it will be required as identification for all telephone transactions. Before performing wire transfers online using the Credit Union's Digital Banking service, the Credit Union will issue you an initial PIN/password to use when you access Tower Talk 24 for the first time. You will then be prompted to change your PIN. Your Tower Talk 24 PIN/Password will be your PIN/password for the Credit Union's Digital Banking service. You may change your Digital Banking PIN/password to one of your own choosing at any time. The Credit Union will have no record of the PIN/password you select. You agree that all security procedures are commercially reasonable, are designed to authenticate wire transfers, are designed for the Credit Union's protection, and are not used to detect errors in the transmission or content of a wire transfer.
The Credit Union will use any means and routes that the Credit Union, in its sole discretion, may consider suitable for the transmission of funds. Fedwire, the funds transfer system owned and operated by the Federal Reserve Banks, may be used to effect your wire transfers. Regulation J, including Subpart B which has adopted Article 4A of the Uniform Commercial Code, governs all funds transfers through Fedwire. Maryland law also applies to wire transfer requests.
Cancellations, revocations, and amendments to wire transfers shall not be accepted by the Credit Union. You will defend, indemnify, and hold the Credit Union harmless from and against any and all claims, demands, costs, expenses (including attorneys' fees), loss, or damage arising out of the Credit Union's acting or refusing to act upon your wire transfer requests.
The Credit Union will exercise reasonable and ordinary care in performing its obligations in connection with electronic funds transfers and will be responsible for any loss sustained by you only to the extent such loss is caused by the Credit Union's gross negligence or willful misconduct and as otherwise required by applicable state and federal law; however, any liability will extend only to the resulting direct loss, and not to any consequential or special losses or damages. Under no circumstances will the Credit Union be responsible for any liability, loss, or damage resulting from any delay in the performance of, or failure to perform, its obligations in connection with any electronic funds transfer which is caused by any: act of God, fire or other catastrophe; electronic or computer failure; acts of, or delays or failure to act by, any agent operating between the Credit Union and other recipients of transferred funds and their personnel; or, without limiting the generality of the foregoing, any other cause beyond its control. If the Credit Union is obligated to pay dividends with respect to any electronic funds transfer, it is agreed that dividends are payable for three (3) days only. You agree to waive any statutory right to recover attorneys' fees from the Credit Union in connection with funds transfers.
If a funds transfer entry includes transmission through a funds transfer system that nets obligations multilaterally and has a loss-sharing agreement among participants, and the system fails to complete settlement, the Credit Union is entitled to a refund of the amount credited to you. v. 2.08
Electronic Records Disclosure and Agreement
Disclosure Required by Federal Law
Please read this Electronic Records Disclosure and Agreement carefully and keep a copy for your records.
If Requesting to Open a Checking or Savings Account:
Electronic Copy of Related Disclosures, Agreements and Instructions. In order to speed up the deposit account application process, with your consent, we will provide you with the following information electronically, rather than by postal mail or in person:
- A deposit account application and all related account disclosures required by applicable federal and state law for the deposit product you have selected;
- Instructions for signing and returning the account signature card; and
- Information and instructions about any additional services that you select during the application process.
Your Consent is Required. You must consent to receiving the related legal disclosures, agreements, signature card and instructions before we can provide them to you electronically. Your consent will only apply to the deposit product you have selected, the related legal disclosures, agreements, account signature card and the instructions, and you will not be consenting to receiving other electronic records or disclosures at this time.
Paper Copy of Disclosures, Agreements and Instructions. If you do not want to receive the legal disclosures, agreements and the instructions electronically, you should exit this area of our Web site. If you do not consent to receiving an electronic copy of the related legal disclosures, agreements and the instructions, we will not be able to open the deposit account via our Web site. You may visit any of our branches and speak with a Member Service Representative. A list of our branch locations may be found at our Web site. If you consent to receive the disclosures, agreements and instructions electronically, you can also request a paper copy of the related legal disclosures, agreements and instructions by contacting our Member Service Center by phone at the number listed on our Web site. We will not charge you any fees for providing a paper copy of the disclosures, agreements and instructions.
System Requirements to Access the Information. To receive an electronic copy of the requested file, you must have the following equipment and software:
- A computing device with a viewing screen, keyboard, mouse for touch screen.
- Internet access (broadband connection is preferred).
- A web browser that supports 128–bit strong encryption (we recommend that you update and maintain your preferred browser to the most recent version available).
- Adobe Acrobat® Reader or similar software. If you do not have Adobe Acrobat Reader, you may download it at https://get.adobe.com/reader/.
- An e-mail account.
- Sufficient data storage capacity if you wish to save the records we provide to you for future reference and access.
- A compatible printer if you wish to print on paper the records we provide to you.
System Requirements to Retain the Information. To retain a copy of the requested file, your system must have the ability to either download (e.g., to your hard drive or a backup drive or other) or print PDF files. In order to sign and return the deposit account signature card, you must be able to print them. You must have a functioning printer connected to your personal computer or other access device, which is able to print the signature card, the related disclosures, agreements, and the instructions on plain white 8.5 x 11 inch paper. v. 2.09