We are not aware of any guidance specific to advertising a checking account referral program for existing customers.

We note that Regulation P’s privacy requirements generally prohibit your bank from disclosing “the fact that an individual is or has been one of your customers or has obtained a financial product or service from you.” To avoid violating your customers’ privacy rights, we recommend obtaining a new checking account customer’s authorization before notifying the referring customer that they are entitled to a referral fee — a fact that likely should be incorporated into your disclosures regarding the referral fees in your advertisements.

We do not believe that minimal payments for deposit account referrals would trigger tax reporting requirements. The IRS requires Form 1099-NEC filings for each nonemployee paid at least $600 for services performed during the year. Since the referral bonus you plan to pay will be minimal, we do not anticipate that your payments would trigger this filing requirement.

For resources related to our guidance, please see:

• Regulation P, 12 CFR 1016.10(a) (“Except as otherwise authorized in this part, you may not, directly or through any affiliate, disclose any nonpublic personal information about a consumer to a nonaffiliated third party unless: . . .”)

• Regulation P, 12 CFR 1016.3(p)(1) (“Nonpublic personal information means: . . . (i) Personally identifiable financial information . . .”)

• Regulation P, 12 CFR 1016.3(q)(2)(i) (“Personally identifiable financial information includes: . . . (C) The fact that an individual is or has been one of your customers or has obtained a financial product or service from you . . .”)

• Illinois Banking Act, 205 ILCS 5/48.1(c) (“Except as otherwise provided by this Act, a bank may not disclose to any person, except to the customer or his duly authorized agent, any financial records or financial information obtained from financial records relating to that customer of that bank unless: (1) the customer has authorized disclosure to the person . . .”)

• IRS, Am I Required to File a Form 1099 or Other Information Return? (“Made a Payment. If, as part of your trade or business, you made any of the following types of payments, use the link to be directed to information on filing the appropriate information return.

• For each person to whom you have paid at least $600 for the following during the year (Form 1099-NEC): Services performed by someone who is not your employee (including parts and materials)”)