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ChapterTitleNews
Acceluraid card. The latter product is a general purpose reloadable product bank fees." The lawmakers said,
designed for everyday use, but students can also load their financial aid on it. "At a time when total U.S. student
Both cards are issued by Central National Bank of Enid, Okla. loan debt is reaching the $1 trillion
mark, we should not allow costly and
Heartland Chief Executive Officer Robert O. Carr told The Green Sheet that inappropriate debit card fees to add
Heartland has received a request from the CFPB for basic information to that debt."
regarding its arrangements with higher education institutions and that it will
comply with the request. "There is absolutely no reason for us to want to keep The May 2012 U.S. PIRG Education
details from the CFPB or the public," he said. "We have made this information Fund report, The Campus Debit
available where requested." Card Trap: Are Bank Partnerships Fair
To Students?, focused on Higher
Carr noted that the CFPB's information request arose from complaints made One Holdings Inc., considered the
by consumers and consumer advocacy groups over the practices of one service largest provider of financial aid
provider, and not Heartland. "We believe that it is not good business practice disbursement solutions in the United
for the school to receive revenue sharing on these products," he said, adding States. The report said 12.5 percent
that schools already receive revenues from student fees. of all federal financial aid recipients
nationally receive "refunds" (funds
The lowdown on Higher One left over after tuition is paid and used
Lawmakers and consumer advocates voiced concern that some campus for education-related purchases, such
card providers are taking advantage of students by charging high or hidden as textbooks) via check, direct deposit
fees, especially on student loan disbursement products. In June 2012, Sen. or Higher One OneAccount prepaid
Dick Durbin, D-Ill., and Rep. George Miller, D-Calif., sent letters to the U.S. debit cards.
Department of Education and the CFPB, expressing concern that students are
being "nickel-and-dimed" via fees on campus cards. In July 2012, it was reported that New
Haven, Conn.-based Higher One
Durbin and Miller cited U.S. Public Interest Group (U.S. PIRG) Education Fund was poised to pay a fine to federal
research that said as many as 900 colleges were "pushing students into using regulators over allegedly illegal
campus debit cards that carry numerous unnecessary, costly and unknown overdraft fees it charged students
between 2008 and 2011. In August
2012, Higher One settled with the
Federal Deposit Insurance Corp. and
agreed to pay about 60,000 students
in Oregon approximately $11 million
for alleged unfair and deceptive fee
practices. In November 2013, Higher
One settled a $15 million class-action
combined from separate suits filed in
Alabama, Connecticut, Mississippi,
Illinois and Kentucky.
Amid this controversy, Princeton,
N.J.-based Heartland decided in June
2012 to eliminate three fees tied to
Acceluraid: the $30 dispute, the $1
bill pay and the 50 cent card-to-card
transfer fees. "[S]ince our business
model is not based on student
fee income, we wanted to further
decrease the potential financial
burden on students by eliminating
these specific fees," Carr said at the
time.
Federal or market forces
In 2009, Congress passed the Credit
Card Accountability, Responsibility,
and Disclosure Act (the Credit CARD
Act), which mandates issuers to
disclose the terms and conditions
of credit card agreements they have
with schools. The CFPB, created by
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Acceluraid card. The latter product is a general purpose reloadable product bank fees." The lawmakers said,
designed for everyday use, but students can also load their financial aid on it. "At a time when total U.S. student
Both cards are issued by Central National Bank of Enid, Okla. loan debt is reaching the $1 trillion
mark, we should not allow costly and
Heartland Chief Executive Officer Robert O. Carr told The Green Sheet that inappropriate debit card fees to add
Heartland has received a request from the CFPB for basic information to that debt."
regarding its arrangements with higher education institutions and that it will
comply with the request. "There is absolutely no reason for us to want to keep The May 2012 U.S. PIRG Education
details from the CFPB or the public," he said. "We have made this information Fund report, The Campus Debit
available where requested." Card Trap: Are Bank Partnerships Fair
To Students?, focused on Higher
Carr noted that the CFPB's information request arose from complaints made One Holdings Inc., considered the
by consumers and consumer advocacy groups over the practices of one service largest provider of financial aid
provider, and not Heartland. "We believe that it is not good business practice disbursement solutions in the United
for the school to receive revenue sharing on these products," he said, adding States. The report said 12.5 percent
that schools already receive revenues from student fees. of all federal financial aid recipients
nationally receive "refunds" (funds
The lowdown on Higher One left over after tuition is paid and used
Lawmakers and consumer advocates voiced concern that some campus for education-related purchases, such
card providers are taking advantage of students by charging high or hidden as textbooks) via check, direct deposit
fees, especially on student loan disbursement products. In June 2012, Sen. or Higher One OneAccount prepaid
Dick Durbin, D-Ill., and Rep. George Miller, D-Calif., sent letters to the U.S. debit cards.
Department of Education and the CFPB, expressing concern that students are
being "nickel-and-dimed" via fees on campus cards. In July 2012, it was reported that New
Haven, Conn.-based Higher One
Durbin and Miller cited U.S. Public Interest Group (U.S. PIRG) Education Fund was poised to pay a fine to federal
research that said as many as 900 colleges were "pushing students into using regulators over allegedly illegal
campus debit cards that carry numerous unnecessary, costly and unknown overdraft fees it charged students
between 2008 and 2011. In August
2012, Higher One settled with the
Federal Deposit Insurance Corp. and
agreed to pay about 60,000 students
in Oregon approximately $11 million
for alleged unfair and deceptive fee
practices. In November 2013, Higher
One settled a $15 million class-action
combined from separate suits filed in
Alabama, Connecticut, Mississippi,
Illinois and Kentucky.
Amid this controversy, Princeton,
N.J.-based Heartland decided in June
2012 to eliminate three fees tied to
Acceluraid: the $30 dispute, the $1
bill pay and the 50 cent card-to-card
transfer fees. "[S]ince our business
model is not based on student
fee income, we wanted to further
decrease the potential financial
burden on students by eliminating
these specific fees," Carr said at the
time.
Federal or market forces
In 2009, Congress passed the Credit
Card Accountability, Responsibility,
and Disclosure Act (the Credit CARD
Act), which mandates issuers to
disclose the terms and conditions
of credit card agreements they have
with schools. The CFPB, created by
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