The National Credit Union Administration has said that video teller ATMs may be used as a substitute for branch facilities in certain cases.
The legal opinion was issued in a letter from Frank Kressman, Associate General Counsel for NCUA, and was intended to clarify NCUA's interpretation of "service facility" in its chartering manual said an article by CUNA News Now. An excerpt from the letter follows:
NCUA agrees that a video-teller machine, as described below, may serve as a service facility in the context of both select group additions and underserved areas. This interpretation is consistent with the FCU Act and NCUA’s Chartering Manual and will enable FCUs to better serve their members.
Definition of Video-Teller Machine
For purposes of this letter and to comply with the definition of “service facility” as contemplated by the FCU Act and the Chartering Manual, a video-teller machine is an electronic system that:
- Provides real-time, face-to-face video access to live tellers at regularly scheduled weekly hours;
- Uses credit union employees or local shared branch employees as the tellers appearing on the screen;
- Allows a member to conduct all the transactions he/she could if visiting a service facility of another sort permitted by the FCU Act and Chartering Manual; and
- Is in a physical location within an underserved area or a physical location in reasonable proximity to the group being served for group additions.
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