N.Y. Comp. Codes R. & Regs. tit. 23 § 600.5

Current through Register Vol. 46, No. 43, October 23, 2024

Section 600.5 - General formatting requirements and contents

Disclosures provided in accordance with the CFDL shall comply with the requirements of this section.

(a) At the top of the disclosure, centered on the page or other display medium, the provider shall print "OFFER SUMMARY" in bold font, followed by a one-to-five-word description of the type of product offered (e.g. "Merchant Cash Advance"), which may include the financer's branding terminology.

(b) For any disclosure required to comply with Section 600.18(a) of this Part, at the bottom of the disclosure, below any other information required by the CFDL, the provider shall print the following statement: "Applicable law requires this information to be provided to you to help you make an informed decision. By signing below, you are confirming that you received this information." Below the statement, the provider shall include a space for the recipient to sign the form labeled "Recipient Signature" and a space for the recipient to write the date of the recipient's signature, labeled "Date." In the case of electronically transmitted disclosures, such statement may be placed below the attachment or link to the disclosures and shall direct the recipient to the space for signature. A recipient may sign the disclosure with a physical signature or a digital signature. A digital signature may be affixed by the recipient by any means that is compliant with the New York Electronic Signatures and Records Act, State Technology Law sections 103-109 ("ESRA"), including an "Accept" button or checking a digital box acknowledging agreement, provided the financer provides to the recipient the date stamp and receipt required by sub-section 600.5(j) herein. For any disclosure not required to comply with Section 600.18(a) of this Part, at the bottom of the disclosure, below any other information required by this Part, the provider shall print the following statement: "Applicable law requires this information to be provided to you to help you make an informed decision."

(c) If the term or estimated term of a transaction is:

(1) one year or less, the term or estimated term shall be disclosed in days, starting with the day after the transaction is consummated and including the day of the final payment; or

(2) greater than one year, the term or estimated term shall be disclosed in units of years and months, with any remaining days expressed as a portion of a month to the nearest two decimal points.

(d) The annual percentage rate shall be expressed to the nearest two decimal points. For example: "10.45%."

(e) The disclosures shall be presented to the recipient as a separate document from any other contract, agreement, or other disclosure document provided to the recipient, but may be mailed or transmitted in a package that contains other documents. In the case of electronically transmitted disclosures, a "separate document" may appear in the same attachment or link, but shall be separated by page breaks from other documents.

(f) Fonts.

(1) The provider may present the required disclosure in fonts and colors that are clear, complete, conspicuous, easy to compare with other disclosures, and consistent with the requirements of this Part.

(2) A provider shall use fonts for the disclosures substantially similar in size to:

(i) Times New Roman 12-point to 14-point font, for information appearing in the first and second columns where those columns are not combined with other columns;

(ii) Times New Roman 10-point to 12-point font, for information appearing in the third column, information appearing in cells where the second and third columns are combined, and information appearing in cells where the first, second, and third columns are combined; and

(iii) Times New Roman 16-point font for the content required by subdivision (a) of this section.

(3) Notwithstanding subdivision (g)(2) of this section, a provider may use a font substantially similar in size to Times New Roman 16-point font for "OFFER SUMMARY FOR" and content appearing in the first and second columns of the disclosure where those columns are not combined with other columns.

(4) A provider may deviate from the font requirements described in paragraphs (2) and (3) of subdivision (g) of this section if the provider makes a good faith determination that deviating from the standards is necessary (i) to comply with the Americans with Disabilities Act (42 U.S.C. § 12101et seq.), or (ii) for clarity based upon the medium (e.g. mobile device) in which the disclosure will be presented.

(g) A provider shall ensure that the width of the columns in the required disclosure is such that the disclosure does not unnecessarily extend onto multiple pages. A provider that formats the columns in the required disclosure such that the ratio between the first, second and third columns is 3:3:7 complies with the requirements of this section.

(h) Where a provider is required or permitted to provide a short explanation under this section, the provider shall provide an explanation of not more than 60 words.

(i) Each of the cells in the required disclosures shall be outlined.

(j) If disclosures are provided to a recipient electronically, then to comply with Section 600.5(b) of this Part the provider shall include a method for the recipient to submit an electronic signature that complies with ERSA, receive an automatic date stamp upon submission of such signature, and obtain a copy of the signed disclosure in a format that the recipient may save indefinitely for future reference. A format that the recipient may save indefinitely includes hard copy disclosures, and electronic documents containing the required disclosures that the customer can save indefinitely for future reference.

(k) Except with respect to sales-based financing, if a provider must make estimates or assumptions to provide any disclosure required by this section, then the provider shall:

(1) base those estimates or assumptions on the best information reasonably available to the provider at the time of the disclosure;

(2) state clearly that any disclosure based upon an estimate or assumption is an "estimate" by adding the word "estimate" to the descriptive language of any required disclosure under this section; and

(3) state clearly any assumptions or estimates used as the basis for the disclosure in any explanation or description associated with the disclosure (even if such statement of assumptions or estimates requires the addition of an additional row in the applicable table prescribed by this Part).

(l) When making the disclosures required by this section, for transactions where the applicable interest rate adjusts over time and the interest rate applicable for the entire term of the transaction cannot be calculated in advance, the provider shall assume that the applicable interest rate is the initial interest rate for any period of time when the interest rate cannot be calculated in advance.

(m) Numerical values, including but not limited to percentages, dates, and dollar amounts, shall be expressed numerically, (e.g., 23), and not alphabetically, (e.g., twenty-three).

(n) If a provider issues a disclosure where the amount financed includes funds used to pay down or pay off other amounts owed by the recipient that may change over time, and the amount due in connection with those amounts owed changes prior to consummation of the agreement between the financer and the recipient, the provider need not provide a new disclosure to the recipient solely because the amount due in connection with those amounts owed has changed.

(o) A provider may disregard the effects of the following in making calculations and disclosures:

(1) that payments must be collected in whole cents;

(2) that dates of scheduled payments and advances may be changed because the scheduled date is not a business day;

(3) that months have different numbers of days; and

(4) the occurrence of leap years.

(p) Notwithstanding subdivision (o)(1) of this section, any dollar amount disclosed to a recipient shall not be disclosed using fractions of a cent (e.g. "$4.025" or "$4.02 and 1/2 cents.")

N.Y. Comp. Codes R. & Regs. Tit. 23 § 600.5

Adopted New York State Register February 1, 2023/Volume XLV, Issue 05, eff. 2/1/2023