PlainBillCongress, translated.Legislation. Context. Public interest.Referred to the House Committee on Financial Services.
Congressional Research Service
No official summary is available in the imported record yet.
People & committees
Rep. Higgins, Clay [R-LA-3] · R–LA
Legislative record
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Referred to the House Committee on Financial Services.
Introduced in House
Introduced in House
Primary sources
Text links open the official source. We also preserved the text version used in the PlainBill explanation below.
Source last updated: Sep 11, 2026. Consult Congress.gov for the current record.
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PlainBill explanation
Based on the full Introduced in House · 2026-09-03 text. This explanation has not received human editorial review. This overview describes the proposal’s major provisions; it does not establish what its real-world effects would be.
This proposal would require issuers of pre-approved credit cards to provide older cardholders with alerts about suspected fraud. It would also require banks and credit unions to train employees who detect fraud and notify older account holders within 24 hours of account activity indicating possible financial exploitation. A required federal rule would establish these duties.
shall issue a final rule requiring— (1) any card issuer that issues a pre-approved credit card to a senior citizen to provide fraud alerts for such credit card upon activation
(5) Fraud alert The term fraud alert means a notice provided by a card issuer to an individual of suspected fraudulent activity connected to a credit card associated with such individual and managed by such card issuer
(2) each depository institution and credit union to provide training to employees who perform fraud detection services on how to identify account activity that is indicative of financial exploitation of a senior citizen and notify any senior citizen that possesses an account with the depository institution or credit union within 24 hours of any such account activity occurring in such account
The bill would be named the Janie Wynn Protecting Elders from Financial Exploitation Act.
1. Short title This Act may be cited as the Janie Wynn Protecting Elders from Financial Exploitation Act.
The Director of the Bureau of Consumer Financial Protection would have to issue a final rule within 180 days after enactment, consulting the Treasury Secretary and the Director of the Financial Crimes Enforcement Network.
Not later than 180 days after the date of the enactment of this Act, the Director of the Bureau of Consumer Financial Protection, in consultation with the Secretary of the Treasury and the Director of the Financial Crimes Enforcement Network, shall issue a final rule
For a pre-approved credit card issued to a senior citizen, the rule would require fraud alerts upon activation to the cardholder and, unless waived, a person the cardholder chooses. That person must be at least 25 and either a relative or spouse, or someone who has described their relationship with the cardholder to the issuer.
(1) any card issuer that issues a pre-approved credit card to a senior citizen to provide fraud alerts for such credit card upon activation to— (A) the cardholder; and (B) except as provided in subsection (b), an individual selected by the cardholder who is at least 25 years old and— (i) is a relative or spouse of the cardholder; or (ii) has provided a description to the card issuer of the nature of their relationship with the cardholder;
The rule would allow the cardholder to waive alerts to the selected contact by signing an acknowledgment of increased financial-exploitation risk. The issuer would have to keep that waiver until at least five years after the card is deactivated. This exception would apply only to the selected contact’s alerts.
(b) Exception The Director of the Bureau of Consumer Financial Protection shall include in the rule required under subsection (a) a waiver of the requirements of paragraph (1)(B) of such subsection if— (1) the cardholder signs a waiver acknowledging an increased risk of financial exploitation; and (2) the card issuer retains a copy of such waiver until at least 5 years after the date that the pre-approved credit card is deactivated.
Card fraud alerts would have to arrive by phone call, email, or text message, describe the suspected activity in enough detail to alert the recipient, and explain how to contact the issuer at any hour on any day.
(5) Fraud alert The term fraud alert means a notice provided by a card issuer to an individual of suspected fraudulent activity connected to a credit card associated with such individual and managed by such card issuer that— (A) is communicated by means of a phone call, email, or text message; (B) describes the suspected fraudulent activity in sufficient detail to alert the individual of such activity, including account activity that is indicative of financial exploitation of a senior citizen; and (C) includes information on how to communicate with the card issuer regarding the suspected fraudulent activity at any time of the day and on any day of the week.
Depository institutions and credit unions would have to train employees who perform fraud detection to recognize signs of financial exploitation of older customers. They would also have to notify affected older account holders within 24 hours of the activity occurring, rather than within 24 hours of its discovery.
(2) each depository institution and credit union to provide training to employees who perform fraud detection services on how to identify account activity that is indicative of financial exploitation of a senior citizen and notify any senior citizen that possesses an account with the depository institution or credit union within 24 hours of any such account activity occurring in such account
Listed warning signs would include irregular use of cash machines, credit cards, online banking, or wire transfers; irregular cash withdrawals or card charges; missing regular deposits; activity in previously inactive accounts; and additions of authorized users.
including— (A) the irregular use of— (i) an automated teller machine; (ii) a credit card; (iii) an online banking service; or (iv) a wire transfer; (B) an irregular cash withdrawal; (C) an irregular credit card charge; (D) the absence of a regularly occurring deposit; (E) account activity in a previously inactive account; (F) the addition of an authorized user to an account;
Other listed warning signs would include address changes, insufficient funds to cover a charged payment, requests for higher credit limits, and charged purchases of gift cards or prepaid debit cards totaling more than $100. They would also include electronic payments through the Automated Clearing House network to recipients never previously paid from that account, and gaps in the numbers of checks cashed from the account.
(G) a change of address associated with an account; (H) an inability to cover a charged payment due to insufficient funds in an account; (I) a request for a credit limit increase; (J) a charged payment for the purchase of gift cards or prepaid debit cards in an aggregate amount greater than $100; (K) an electronic payment from an account through the Automated Clearing House network to a recipient with no history of prior payment from such account; and (L) a gap in the check number of checks cashed from an account.
A covered pre-approved credit card would be one issued after someone accepts an invitation to apply based on the issuer’s assessment that the person likely qualifies. This definition would include invitations offering elevated or priority consideration for approval.
(6) Pre-approved credit card The term pre-approved credit card means a credit card issued as a result of the acceptance of an offer extended to an individual to apply for such credit card based on a determination by the card issuer that such individual likely satisfied the qualifications for obtaining such credit card, including an offer extended to an individual to apply for such credit card that grants elevated or priority consideration for approval to the individual.
The bill would use definitions from existing laws for cardholders, card issuers, depository institutions, credit unions, exploitation, and senior citizens. Those incorporated definitions would determine the precise coverage of these terms.
(1) Cardholder; card issuer The terms cardholder and card issuer have the meanings given such terms, respectively, in section 103 of the Truth in Lending Act (15 U.S.C. 1602). (2) Credit union The term credit union means a Federal credit union, a State credit union, or a State-chartered credit union (as such terms are defined, respectively, in section 101 of the Federal Credit Union Act (12 U.S.C. 1752)). (3) Depository institution The term depository institution has the meaning given such term in section 3 of the Federal Deposit Insurance Act (12 U.S.C. 1813). (4) Exploitation; senior citizen The terms exploitation and senior citizen have the meanings given such terms, respectively, in section 303 of the Economic Growth, Regulatory Relief, and Consumer Protection Act (12 U.S.C. 3423).
The supplied September 11, 2026 source snapshot records introduction in the House and referral to the House Committee on Financial Services on September 3, 2026.
Source snapshot updated 2026-09-11T20:25:01Z. 2026-09-03: Referred to the House Committee on Financial Services. 2026-09-03: Introduced in House
A closer look
Reviewed version: Introduced in House · 2026-09-03. These findings describe provisions and who may benefit; they are not judgments of waste, corruption, or motive.
This review covers the supplied bill text. “None identified” does not rule out provisions in later versions or accompanying reports and disclosures.
Provisions outside the bill’s main subject, or policy changes attached to appropriations.
None identified in the reviewed text
No unrelated provision or policy change attached to appropriations was identified in the complete supplied introduced text. This conclusion does not establish absence in other versions or accompanying materials.
Spending directed to particular recipients or places outside ordinary competitive or formula-based allocation.
None identified in the reviewed text
No congressionally directed spending for particular recipients or places was identified in the complete supplied introduced text. This conclusion is limited to that version and does not establish absence in accompanying materials.
Narrow exceptions, exemptions, or preferential treatment that warrant a closer look.
None identified in the reviewed text
No materially narrow preferential treatment was identified in the complete supplied introduced text. Coverage of older customers serves the proposal’s main purpose, and the cardholder waiver is a generally available choice within that coverage. This conclusion is limited to the supplied version.
Full text preserved for this analysis. Legislative record snapshot: Sep 11, 2026. How PlainBill uses AI