§ 4-8. A card issuer can ask whether there are funds in the account

This section concerns a service where a card issuer (the party that has issued a card-based payment instrument) asks the account provider, meaning the bank that holds the account, whether there are funds available for a payment. The bank must then answer immediately.

Three conditions must be met. You, as the payer, must have consented to the bank providing such information. You must have initiated the card payment for the amount in question and consented to the card issuer making the request. And the account must be accessible online when the request comes in. Example: the payer uses a card to make a payment, and the card issuer asks the bank for confirmation. If the three conditions are met, the bank answers yes or no.

You can ask the bank to tell you who made the request and what answer the bank gave. The card issuer must authenticate itself to the bank before each request and use secure communication. The rules do not apply to card-based payment instruments that are e-money. Nor do they provide a basis for reserving amounts in the payment account.

Reserving amounts is regulated separately in § 4-10, which requires, among other things, that the payer has given specific consent to an exact amount being set aside. § 4-9 allows you and the bank to agree on spending limits for payment instruments. § 4-7 concerns cancellation, and § 4-11 and § 4-12 concern execution time and crediting.