WASHINGTON — America’s Credit Unions and the Defense Credit Union Council have joined six other trade groups in urging the Federal Communications Commission to revise a rule that could cause a consumer who opts out of one type of automated message to stop receiving unrelated alerts, including warnings about possible fraud.
In a Sept. 23 letter, the groups backed a draft FCC order that would let a business treat an opt-out request as applying to the category of messages the consumer responded to, provided the business explains how it will interpret the request. The groups asked the commission to adopt the order at its Sept. 30 open meeting, with two additional changes.
The dispute centers on the FCC’s 2024 interpretation of consent revocation under the Telephone Consumer Protection Act. According to the trade groups, that rule requires a caller to stop all calls and texts that require consent when a consumer revokes consent, even if the consumer intended to stop only one type of message.
Under the example in their letter, a consumer who replies “stop” to a past-due payment text could also lose fraud alerts, low-balance warnings and multifactor authentication messages. The groups cited an October 2025 poll conducted by Morning Consult for the American Bankers Association in which 62% of respondents said they were concerned the rule could cause their bank to stop sending all messages, including fraud alerts.
Groups Seek Two Changes
The signers supported the draft order but asked the FCC to clarify how businesses can tell consumers to opt out. If a business designates a text reply as the exclusive way to revoke consent, it should be allowed to give one standard instruction, such as “Press ‘STOP’ to opt out,” the groups said. They argued that businesses should not have to list all seven opt-out terms identified in the 2024 order: “stop,” “quit,” “end,” “revoke,” “opt out,” “cancel” and “unsubscribe.”
They also asked the FCC to allow businesses a reasonable time, no later than the end of the next business day, to send a follow-up text clarifying which messages a consumer wants to stop. Alternatively, they asked the commission to seek public comment on extending that period.
The groups said the draft builds on revisions proposed in June by the ABA, the National Consumer Law Center and ACA International.
Fraud Alert Exemption
The letter also backed a proposed change to an existing exemption for certain time-sensitive messages to financial institution customers. The FCC granted the exemption in 2015 for messages about suspected fraud, breaches of personal information, steps customers can take to address those incidents and actions needed to receive pending mobile money transfers.
Under the existing exemption, financial institutions can send those messages only to a wireless number provided by the customer, the groups said. They argued that the condition has discouraged use of the exemption because of litigation concerns.
The draft order would permit an exempted call to a number obtained from a “reliable source.” The examples cited in the letter include an authorized spouse or family member, a number obtained when a customer calls the financial institution, or records received from another financial institution.
Along with the two credit union groups, the letter was signed by the American Bankers Association, ACA International, American Financial Services Association, Consumer Bankers Association, Electronic Transactions Association and Student Loan Servicing Alliance.
