H.B. 888 - Fair Access to Financial Services Act

• Creates Chapter 53D of North Carolina General Statutes establishing the Fair Access to Financial Services Act, effective October 1, 2021.

• Requires financial institutions (banks, credit unions, payment processors, credit card companies) to make all financial products and services available on proportionally equal terms to all persons engaged in lawful activities.

• Prohibits financial institutions from denying financial products or services to any person engaged in lawful activity based on personal, ideological, moral, or political opinions.

• Grants the Commissioner of Banks authority to conduct examinations, receive consumer complaints, revoke or suspend charters/licenses, and adopt rules for enforcement; empowers the Administrator of Credit Unions with similar enforcement authority over credit unions.

• Establishes that financial institutions must reimburse examination costs, allows information sharing with regulatory bodies while maintaining confidentiality protections, and permits appeals to the State Banking Commission.