WASHINGTON, D.C. – Today, Congressman Mike Turner (OH-10) introduced the Protecting Against Paperless and Electronic Requirements (PAPER) Act. This legislation prohibits banks from forcing customers to use electronic bank statements instead of paper statements.
“Our country’s financial institutions have an obligation to ensure that Americans can reasonably utilize the banking services they need, and this legislation guarantees that individuals are still able to obtain paper bank statements,” said Congressman Mike Turner. “For America’s senior citizens or those living in rural or underserved communities across the United States, online banking is not a viable alternative to paper billing, and the ultimatum of losing one’s account runs counter to the principles of economic freedom that we hold dear. The PAPER Act would bar institutions from restricting their services and make certain that all Americans can participate in our banking system, regardless of their ability to connect to the internet.”
Background:
The Protecting Against Paperless and Electronic Requirements (PAPER) Act protects access to paper bank statements through two measures:
- Requiring that banks give customers the option to receive paper statements.
- Prohibiting banks from withholding paper services unless customers switch to all digital statements.
The introduction of this legislation follows reports that banking institutions have begun to force customers to go “fully digital.” Last month, Citibank announced a new pilot program where customers were forced to relinquish paper statements in order to maintain access to their online bank accounts. This policy would disenfranchise many senior citizens and individuals who do not have reliable access to the internet.
One in five American households remain without internet access, according to the U.S. Department of Commerce. However, banks and other large financial institutions are increasingly pushing customers to exclusively use online banking services by discontinuing paper statements.
The PAPER Act would ensure that Americans are able to access their banking records, regardless of geographic realities or socioeconomic status.
Read the full text of the PAPER Act here.