The National Credit Union Administration (NCUA) Board has approved a final rule that provides federally insured credit unions (FICUs) with more flexibility in determining when a share account can be insured separately as a joint account. The final rule facilitates the prompt payment of share insurance for qualifying joint accounts by permitting FICUs to satisfy the signed membership or account signature card requirement with information contained in account records establishing co-ownership of the share account. Examples that would fulfil the signature card requirement include the issuing of a mechanism for accessing the account, such as a debit card, to each co-owner or evidence of usage of the joint share account by each co-owner. This final rule mirrors a change made by the Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation (FDIC) in August 2019 for federally insured deposit institutions. The final rule will be effective 30 days after it is published in the Federal Register.
