Disclaimer: The Electronic Commerce Security Act (ECSA) was repealed and replaced with the Uniform Electronic Transaction Act (UETA), effective June 25, 2021. Please note that this change may affect the continued accuracy of this guidance as it pertains to the ECSA.

We are unaware of any laws or regulations prescribing how many times a bank must attempt to contact a customer after mail that has been sent to the customer is returned as undeliverable. Similarly, we are unaware of any recordkeeping requirements for returned mail.

However, when your bank receives customer mailings that are returned as undeliverable, we recommend attempting to contact your customers to determine if they have a new mailing address.

While we do not believe your bank is required to retain undelivered mail, in our view, it would be prudent to retain electronic copies of any account statements or notices sent to your customer and to maintain contemporaneous records of the dates and content of the mail returned to the bank as undeliverable. Retaining such documents in electronic form should be sufficient to establish compliance with any applicable notice or other delivery requirements.

Further, we note that under the Uniform Commercial Code, customers have a duty to report unauthorized check transactions with reasonable promptness, which is measured from the time that your institution “sends or makes available” an account statement to the customer. For this reason, some deposit account agreements provide that when a customer’s mail is returned as undeliverable, the bank will discontinue mailing statements and will consider statements to be “made available” to the customer on the day that the account statement is generated.

For resources related to our guidance, please see:

• Electronic Signatures in Global and National Commerce (ESIGN) Act, 15 USC 7001(a)(1) (“Notwithstanding any statute, regulation, or other rule of law (other than this subchapter and subchapter II), with respect to any transaction in or affecting interstate or foreign commerce — (1) a signature, contract, or other record relating to such transaction may not be denied legal effect, validity, or enforceability solely because it is in electronic form . . . .”)

• Financial Institutions Electronic Documents and Digital Signature Act, 205 ILCS 705/10(a) (“If in the regular course of business, a financial institution possesses, records, or generates any document, representation, image, substitute check, reproduction, or combination thereof . . . that accurately reproduces, comprises, or records the agreement, transaction, act, occurrence, or event . . . [it] shall have the same force and effect under the laws of this State as one comprised, recorded, or created on paper or other tangible form by writing, typing, printing, or similar means.”)

• Electronic Commerce Security Act, 5 ILCS 175/5-110 (“Information, records, and signatures shall not be denied legal effect, validity, or enforceability solely on the grounds that they are in electronic form.”)

• Electronic Commerce Security Act, 5 ILCS 175/5-115(b)(2) (“Where a rule of law requires information to be ‘written’ or ‘in writing’, or provides for certain consequences if it is not, an electronic record satisfies that rule of law . . . The provisions of this Section shall not apply to any rule of law governing the creation or execution of a will or trust, living will, or healthcare power of attorney . . . .”)

• Illinois UCC, 810 ILCS 5/4-406(c) (If a bank sends or makes available a statement of account or items . . . the customer must exercise reasonable promptness in examining the statement or the items to determine whether any payment was not authorized. . . )