2005 Nevada Revised Statutes - Chapter 97A — Debt Evidenced by Credit Card

CHAPTER 97A - DEBT EVIDENCED BY CREDITCARD

NRS 97A.010 Definitions.

NRS 97A.020 Authorizeduser defined.

NRS 97A.030 Beneficialuse defined.

NRS 97A.040 Cardholderdefined.

NRS 97A.050 Creditcard defined.

NRS 97A.060 Creditcard account defined.

NRS 97A.070 Falseor fraudulent application defined.

NRS 97A.080 Financialinstitution defined.

NRS 97A.090 Interestdefined.

NRS 97A.100 Issuerdefined.

NRS 97A.110 Jointaccount defined.

NRS 97A.120 Secondarycardholder defined.

NRS 97A.130 Serviceprovider defined.

NRS 97A.140 Requirementsfor issuance of credit card; provision and change of terms and conditions foruse of credit card; applicable state law.

NRS 97A.145 Issuerto provide cardholder with written notice concerning unlawful use of personalidentifying information and credit information of cardholder; compliance withfederal law deemed compliance with section.

NRS 97A.150 Liabilityfor charges incurred on credit card account.

NRS 97A.160 Recordsrequired in action to collect debt: Establishment of liability and amount;authentication; retention.

NRS 97A.170 Rightsof issuer or service provider; action to determine liability for unauthorizednegotiable instrument used to make payment.

NRS 97A.180 Transferof information if issuer is subsidiary.

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NRS 97A.010 Definitions. As used in this chapter, unless the context otherwiserequires, the words and terms defined in NRS97A.020 to 97A.130, inclusive,have the meanings ascribed to them in those sections.

(Added to NRS by 1995, 2597)

NRS 97A.020 Authorizeduser defined. Authorized user means anyperson granted express, implied or apparent authority to use the credit card orcredit card account of a cardholder. The term includes a secondary cardholder.

(Added to NRS by 1995, 2597)

NRS 97A.030 Beneficialuse defined. Beneficial use means any usemade of the credit card or credit card account of a cardholder by a personother than the cardholder that results in a direct or indirect benefit to thecardholder or any member of the cardholders immediate family.

(Added to NRS by 1995, 2597)

NRS 97A.040 Cardholderdefined. Cardholder means a person:

1. Who establishes a credit card account;

2. Whose name appears on the credit card issued onthat account; and

3. Who is liable for the payment of all chargesincurred on that account.

(Added to NRS by 1995, 2597)

NRS 97A.050 Creditcard defined. Credit card means anyinstrument or device, whether known as a credit card, credit plate, or by anyother name, issued with or without fee by an issuer for the use of thecardholder in obtaining money, property, goods, services or anything else ofvalue on credit.

(Added to NRS by 1995, 2597)

NRS 97A.060 Creditcard account defined. Credit card accountmeans an open line of credit offered by an issuer to a cardholder which isaccessed by obtaining money, property, goods, services or anything of value bythe use of a credit card.

(Added to NRS by 1995, 2598)

NRS 97A.070 Falseor fraudulent application defined. False orfraudulent application means any written request for the issuance of a creditcard, whether or not on a form prescribed by an issuer, that contains anintentional error or mistake regarding any material fact.

(Added to NRS by 1995, 2598)

NRS 97A.080 Financialinstitution defined. Financial institutionmeans:

1. A bank, commercial bank or banking corporation asdefined in NRS 657.016;

2. A banking institution which is authorized to issuecredit cards pursuant to federal or state law;

3. A banking subsidiary owned by a bank holdingcompany pursuant to 12 U.S.C. 1841, or by a savings and loan holding companypursuant to 12 U.S.C. 1467a(a)(1)(D); and

4. Any other federally regulated banking institution.

(Added to NRS by 1995, 2598)

NRS 97A.090 Interestdefined.

1. Interest, however denominated or expressed, meansthe amount which is paid or payable for the privilege of purchasing goods orservices with a credit card to be paid for in installments over a period thatis longer than the grace period allowed by the issuer during which no paymentis due.

2. The term includes:

(a) Annual membership fees;

(b) Charges for the delinquent payment of aninstallment;

(c) Charges for a check or other negotiable instrumentthat is submitted for the payment of an installment and is drawn on an accountwith insufficient money to pay the installment;

(d) Charges for the extension of credit in excess ofthe limit prescribed by the issuer; and

(e) Any other charge or fee to which the issuer andcardholder agree.

3. The term does not include premiums paid forinsurance, attorneys fees, court costs or fees required to file any civilaction.

(Added to NRS by 1995, 2598)

NRS 97A.100 Issuerdefined. Issuer means a financialinstitution, or an authorized agent of a financial institution, that issues acredit card.

(Added to NRS by 1995, 2598)

NRS 97A.110 Jointaccount defined. Joint account means acredit card account for which two or more persons agree in writing to bejointly and severally liable for all authorized charges incurred on theaccount.

(Added to NRS by 1995, 2598)

NRS 97A.120 Secondarycardholder defined. Secondary cardholdermeans a person whose name appears on a credit card at the request of thecardholder for the purpose of authorizing that person to use the credit cardaccount of the cardholder.

(Added to NRS by 1995, 2598)

NRS 97A.130 Serviceprovider defined. Service provider meansany financial institution or organization retained by an issuer pursuant to awritten agreement to provide services related to the administration of creditcard accounts.

(Added to NRS by 1995, 2598)

NRS 97A.140 Requirementsfor issuance of credit card; provision and change of terms and conditions foruse of credit card; applicable state law.

1. An issuer located in this State shall not issue acredit card to a cardholder unless the issuer first:

(a) Provides the written notice required pursuant to NRS 97A.145 to the cardholder; and

(b) Receives a written or oral request from thecardholder for the issuance of the credit card.

2. An issuer shall provide the cardholder with theterms and conditions that govern the use of the credit card, in writing, beforeor at the time of the receipt of the credit card. A cardholder shall be deemedto have accepted the written terms and conditions provided by the issuer uponsubsequent actual use of the credit card.

3. The rate of interest charged, and any other fees orcharges imposed for the use of the credit card, must be in an amount agreedupon by the issuer and cardholder.

4. An issuer may unilaterally change any term orcondition for the use of a credit card without prior written notice to thecardholder unless the change will adversely affect or increase the costs to thecardholder for the use of the credit card. If the change will increase suchcosts, the issuer shall provide notice to the cardholder of the change at least30 days before the change becomes effective.

5. Unless otherwise stated as a term or condition, thelaw of this State governs all transactions relating to the use of a credit cardif an issuer, or the service provider of an issuer, is located in this State.

(Added to NRS by 1995, 2598; A 2005, 2502)

NRS 97A.145 Issuerto provide cardholder with written notice concerning unlawful use of personalidentifying information and credit information of cardholder; compliance withfederal law deemed compliance with section.

1. When issuing a credit card to a cardholder in thisState, an issuer shall provide the cardholder with the written notice in theform prescribed by the Commissioner of Financial Institutions pursuant to thissection.

2. The Commissioner of Financial Institutions shalladopt regulations prescribing the form of the written notice required pursuantto this section. The regulations must provide that the written notice must:

(a) Include, without limitation, the followinginformation:

(1) The policies and procedures adopted by theissuer to protect the personal identifying information and credit informationof the cardholder from any unlawful use by another person; and

(2) The legal rights and responsibilities of thecardholder if another person unlawfully uses the personal identifying informationand credit information of the cardholder; and

(b) Be printed in a separate box created by bold linesthat includes:

(1) A heading indicating the general subjectmatter of the notice that is printed in at least 12-point type; and

(2) The text of the notice that is printed in atleast 10-point type.

3. An issuer that is subject to and complies with theprivacy and security provisions of the Gramm-Leach-Bliley Act, 15 U.S.C. 6801 et seq., shall be deemed to be in compliance with the notificationrequirements of this section.

4. As used in this section:

(a) Credit information means any information that isrelated to credit and derived from a consumer credit report, found on aconsumer credit report or provided on an application for a credit card.

(b) Personal identifying information has the meaningascribed to it in NRS 205.4617.

(Added to NRS by 2005, 2502)

NRS 97A.150 Liabilityfor charges incurred on credit card account.

1. A cardholder is personally liable for all chargesincurred on his credit card account by:

(a) The cardholder or an authorized user; and

(b) Any other person if the charges result in abeneficial use to the cardholder.

2. An authorized user is jointly and severally liablefor the actual charges he incurs on the credit card account of the cardholder.

3. Any person, other than the cardholder or anauthorized user, is liable for all charges he incurs on the credit card accountof the cardholder, except for the amount for which the cardholder is liablepursuant to 15 U.S.C. 1643.

4. Any person who causes an issuer to open a creditcard account based on a false or fraudulent application is liable to the issuerfor all charges incurred on the account, without regard to whether the chargeswere authorized by the person responsible for opening the account.

(Added to NRS by 1995, 2599)

NRS 97A.160 Recordsrequired in action to collect debt: Establishment of liability and amount;authentication; retention.

1. Notwithstanding the provisions of chapter 52 of NRS, in any action brought tocollect a debt owed to an issuer:

(a) The issuer may establish that the cardholder iscontractually liable for the debt owed by submitting the written applicationfor a credit card account submitted to the issuer by the cardholder or evidencethat the cardholder incurred charges on the account and made payments thereon.

(b) The amount owed may be established by photocopiesof:

(1) The periodic billing statements provided bythe issuer; or

(2) Information stored by the issuer on acomputer, microfilm, microfiche or optical disc which indicate the amount ofthe debt owed.

2. The content of such records must be authenticated:

(a) Pursuant to the procedures set forth in NRS 52.450 to 52.480, inclusive; or

(b) By the submission of a written affidavit sufficientto establish:

(1) The affiant as the custodian of the writtenrecords offered as evidence;

(2) That the written records offered as evidencewere made in the ordinary course of the issuers business; and

(3) That the written records are true andcorrect copies of the records retained by the issuer.

3. The liability of a person other than the cardholderfor the amount of any debt owed to an issuer may be established by evidenceindicating that the person caused the charge to be incurred on the credit cardaccount.

4. An issuer shall retain any record necessary toestablish the existence and amount of any debt owed to the issuer for at least24 months after the record is first published, issued or filed.

(Added to NRS by 1995, 2599)

NRS 97A.170 Rightsof issuer or service provider; action to determine liability for unauthorizednegotiable instrument used to make payment.

1. An issuer or service provider shall be deemed to bea payee with respect to any payment made on a credit card account of acardholder by a check or other negotiable instrument.

2. Upon the posting of a payment on a credit cardaccount of a cardholder by the issuer or service provider, an issuer haschanged its position in reliance thereon if the payment was made by check orother negotiable instrument.

3. A payment made on a credit card account of acardholder by a check or other negotiable instrument is received by the issuerin good faith if the issuer did not have actual knowledge that the check orother negotiable instrument was forged, altered or unauthorized when it wasposted to the account.

4. An action or proceeding brought to determineliability for an allegedly forged, altered or unauthorized check or othernegotiable instrument used to make a payment on a credit card account of acardholder must be determined pursuant to the provisions of chapter 104 of NRS.

(Added to NRS by 1995, 2600)

NRS 97A.180 Transferof information if issuer is subsidiary.

1. If an issuer is a subsidiary directly or indirectlyowned by a bank holding company as defined in 12 U.S.C. 1841, a savings andloan holding company as defined in 12 U.S.C. 1467a(a)(1)(D) or a holdingcompany of any other financial institution, information relating to the creditcard account of a cardholder may be transferred to and used by othersubsidiaries owned by the same bank holding company, savings and loan holdingcompany or holding company of any other financial institution. For the purposesof this subsection, any bank holding company, savings and loan holding companyor holding company of any other financial institution shall be deemed the ownerof a subsidiary if it or a subsidiary corporation owns 80 percent or more ofthe stock of a subsidiary or 80 percent or more of the stock of the corporationthat owns a subsidiary.

2. An issuer may transfer information relating to thecredit card account of a cardholder to any person, other than a secondarycardholder, whose name appears on the face of the credit card of thecardholder.

(Added to NRS by 1995, 2600)