As part of its continued focus on value-added member services, EastPay
announces its new Legal Support Services as an additional resource
covering payments law and regulations. This referral service is
available as part of EastPay’s suite of Professional Services, which
includes Risk Management Services, ACH Compliance Audits, Payments
Advisory Services, and Customized Training. Al Watkins, Attorney-at-Law
and Special Counsel to EastPay, will provide this new member service.
Support is provided in all areas of payments law and regulations,
including but not limited to:
ACH Operating Rules
Wire Transfers
Checks, including remotely created checks, check imaging, and Check 21
Cards, including debit cards, payroll cards, and stored value cards
Government payments
Federal regulations (Regs CC, D, E, J, etc.)
Uniform Commercial Code (UCC) Articles 3, 4, and 4A
OFAC regulations
Bank Secrecy Act
USA PATRIOT Act
FACT Act Red Flag Rules (amending the Fair Credit Reporting Act)
“Know Your Customer”
ECCHO Rules
National Check Clearinghouse Rules
Service agreement review
Consultation with Financial Institution’s counsel for state-specific
matters
“This is a unique service among the Regional Payments Association
community,” said Norman Robinson, AAP, CTP, EastPay’s President and CEO.
“EastPay members now have an attorney with over 20 years of experience
in the financial services industry at their fingertips, and at
preferential rates.” Services provided by Mr. Watkins to each EastPay
member constitute an independent attorney-client relationship subject to
the attorney-client privilege.
Al Watkins practiced law in Texas for ten years, representing financial
institutions and other businesses in the financial services industry. He
subsequently served as Associate General Counsel of Compass Bank in
Birmingham, Alabama, with responsibility for the legal affairs of the
bank’s Corporate and Wealth Management Divisions. Mr. Watkins returned
to private practice in 2001, concentrating his practice in the
regulation of the financial services industry, and the law and
regulation of payment systems.
Mr. Watkins will present numerous regulatory webinars as well as
in-person Payments Regulatory Workshops on behalf of EastPay in 2010.
These full-day workshops will address how ACH, checks, and wire transfer
relate to each other and how the ACH Operating Rules fit within the
system of rules, laws, and regulations to create a unified regulatory
scheme that governs all modes of payment. The workshops will provide
guidance on service agreements, financial institutions’ relationships
with payments customers, and allocation of risk in the system. To find
out more about all the sessions or to register, call 1-800-681-4224 or
go to www.eastpay.org.
ABOUT EASTPAY:
EastPay is a trade association providing the financial and business
communities in the Southeast with payments education, compliance
support, consulting, and risk management services. As accredited experts
on payments and the operating rules of the Automated Clearing House
(ACH) network, EastPay helps organizations take advantage of the
opportunities and avoid the risks presented by the phenomenal growth of
electronic payments. EastPay is a Regional Payments Association member
of NACHA – The Electronic Payments Association.

Source: Business Wire