Credit unions are one step closer to long-sought clarity under the Telephone Consumer Protection Act (TCPA), following the FCC’s vote to advance a proposal that reflects key recommendations from America’s Credit Unions, the only credit union trade association who actively engaged with the FCC and Congress on this issue from the very start.
“The FCC’s proposed updates reflect the balance we’ve fought for, including protecting consumers while ensuring credit unions can communicate vital account information when it matters most,” said Jim Nussle, President and CEO of America’s Credit Unions. “Through consistent advocacy across administrations, we helped shape modern TCPA reforms that work for both consumers and community lenders, and we’ll keep leading as the FCC finalizes these changes.”
The proposal comes after months of relentless advocacy by America’s Credit Unions, including multiple meetings with FCC leaders and staff across every office since the TCPA was last updated in early 2024. If finalized, the new rules would simplify compliance, reduce litigation risk, and lower costs for credit unions by establishing clear, auditable consent and opt-out processes for member communications.
The FCC’s proposed updates would:
- Allow financial institutions to designate clear, exclusive methods for members to revoke prior consent, improving compliance consistency;
- Modify outdated requirements that force institutions to treat a single opt-out as applicable to all call types; and
- Eliminate limits that prevented institutions from using additional verified contact numbers when making critical fraud or security calls.
America’s Credit Unions previously secured a one-year delay of the 2024 revocation-of-consent rules, leveraging that time to engage the FCC on necessary changes. The association will submit formal comments in strong support of the proposed rule and continue to ensure credit unions’ voices are heard throughout the rulemaking process.