Introduction

This guide is intended to provide you with a general overview of the requirements you’ll need to consider when creating marketing collateral. In addition to narrative guidance, we have provided representative examples of advertising and marketing collateral as well as the legal language and disclosures required to be in compliance with bank regulatory expectations.

All Marketing Collateral must be reviewed and approved by Unit before publishing. Collateral includes any item mentioning the bank product, such as:

• Emails
• Websites or landing pages
• Social media advertising (e.g., Facebook ads, Instagram ads)
• Social media posts (e.g., Facebook posts, Twitter posts)
• Out-of-home advertising (e.g., Subway ads, billboards)
• Digital display advertising (e.g., Banner ads)
• Videos
• Press Releases

The Unit Compliance team is able to assist if you have additional questions or concerns about applicable laws, regulations, or Unit or Partner standards for marketing activities.

General Dos and Don’ts

Do

Don't

Make sure your disclosures meet a “clear and conspicuous” standard. Make sure your disclosures are for the End User. Make sure text is legible on the background. If disclosures are separate from the claim they modify, tie them together with a hyperlink, reference text or a reference symbol (e.g., *). Clearly explain all requirements or qualifications required to obtain the product or features. Only make statements that can be supported by evidence. For example, state that “data is encrypted” instead of highlighting “bank grade security,” since you can provide evidence of encryption vs. bank grade security. Disclose all account fees on website and as part of onboarding before client inputs personal information. If the term “banking” is mentioned in the marketing or ad, bold the required disclosure.

Refer to yourself as a bank (e.g Unit Bank). “Bank” may be used as a verb (e.g. “bank with Unit”), but you must provide proper disclosures in such cases. Refer to banks in a derogatory way. Since we partner with a bank, we need to be mindful of messaging. Advertise a feature that only a small portion of the client base could actually qualify for Advertise your product as “free” or “no cost,” if any of the following fees are charged: fees on minimum balance requirements, transaction fees, service fees, flat monthly fees, or any fees imposed to deposit, withdraw, or transfer funds.

Ad Example - Wallet

In the example ad below, the ad is promoting a wallet app without showing a virtual or physical card.

Always call the product the same name as in your terms & conditions

1. Only use the word bank in its verb form.
2. Be specific with how you mention no fees (ie. no monthly fee, free international transfers).
3. If you mention banking services, you must include the following disclosure:

Required Disclosure Text - Wallet
*(Client Name) is a financial technology company and is not a bank. Banking services provided by (Bank Name); Member FDIC.

Ad Example - APY

In the example ad below, APY is advertised. When the Annual Percentage Yield (APY) is mentioned in an ad, this triggers certain required disclosures.

1. The abbreviation “APY” may be used provided the term “annual percentage yield” is stated at least once in the advertisement.
2. If you mention APY, you must include the following disclosure:

Required Disclosure Text - APY

*Annual Percentage Yield (APY) of 3.00% is effective as of 4/30/2021. This is a variable rate and may change after the account is opened. Minimum opening deposit is $100 and you must maintain an average balance of $1,000 to earn the stated Annual Percentage Yield. Fees could affect earnings on the account. (Client Name) is a financial technology company and is not a bank. Banking services provided by (Bank Name); Member FDIC. The (Client Name) Visa® Debit Card is issued by (Bank Name) pursuant to a license from Visa U.S.A. Inc. and may be used everywhere Visa debit cards are accepted.

Ad Example - Cash Back

In the example ad below, the ad is promoting a cash back offer tied to a timeframe.

1. The key to making this statement compliant is to be specific about when the reward will be credited to the account. Is the reward credited the same day or at the end of the month? If at the end of the month - you should not say instantly. 
2. If you mention cash back, you must include the following disclosure:

Required Disclosure Text - Cash Back
*Unit is a financial technology company and is not a bank. Banking services provided by (Bank Name); Member FDIC.  The (Client Name) Visa® Debit Card is issued by (Bank Name) pursuant to a license from Visa U.S.A. Inc. and may be used everywhere Visa debit cards are accepted.

Ad Example - Cash Advance

In the example ad below, the ad is promoting a cash advances offer.

1. Asterisk is required at the end of the statement and must include language about additional terms & conditions and link to a landing page with the full disclosure. 
2. If you mention cash advance, you must include the following disclosure:

Required Disclosure Text - Cash Advance
*Terms and eligibility requirements apply. See (Hyperlink Terms) for more details. Unit is a financial technology company, not a bank. Banking services provided by (Bank Name); Member FDIC.  The (Client Name) Visa® Debit Card is issued by (Bank Name) pursuant to a license from Visa U.S.A. Inc. and may be used everywhere Visa debit cards are accepted.

Landing Page Example - Cash Advance

Ads mentioning cash advances must link to a landing page with full terms and conditions regarding advances.

The following is a representative example only.

Email Example

All emails that advertise banking services (as in the example below) must:

1. Include a mailing address
2. Include an easy way for the End User to unsubscribe from emails
3. Include the following disclosure

Required Disclosure Text - Email
*(Client Name) is a financial technology company, not a bank. Banking services provided by (Bank Name); Member FDIC. The (Client Name) Visa® Debit Card is issued by (Bank Name) pursuant to a license from Visa U.S.A. Inc. and may be used everywhere Visa debit cards are accepted.

Social Media Example

In the example below, the social media post uses the term "banking" and is promoting a debit card. All such posts must:

1. Link to a landing page where the legal disclosure is at the bottom of the page
2. Share required disclosure text in the comments (on Facebook or Instagram) or as a reply to the original post.
3. Include the following disclosure

Required Disclosure Text - Social Media
*Terms and eligibility requirements apply. See (Hyperlink Terms) for more details. (Client Name) is a financial technology company, not a bank. Banking services provided by (Bank Name); Member FDIC. The (Client Name) Visa® Debit Card is issued by (Bank Name) pursuant to a license from Visa U.S.A. Inc. and may be used everywhere Visa debit cards are accepted.

Press Release Example

You are required to include the following text immediately following your company boilerplate. 

Required Disclosure Text - Press Release
*(Client Name) is a financial technology company, not a bank. Banking services provided by (Bank Name); Member FDIC.  The (Client Name) Visa® Debit Card is issued by (Bank Name) pursuant to a license from Visa U.S.A. Inc. and may be used everywhere Visa debit cards are accepted.

Both your partner bank and Unit must review all press releases in advance of publication.

If you are being interviewed or written about in the press, please let the publication know the ground rules. For example, they should not refer to you as a "bank." If possible, they should also state that the accounts are FDIC-insured and are provided through your partner bank.

Paid Search or Organic Search

The keywords you target must not be discriminatory (i.e., exclude by race, ethnicity, sex, age, religion, handicap, familial status). That said, it's fine to target terms like “best business bank” or “consumer banking.”

What's more important is the text that appears when people search for you:

• You must include a disclosure that you are not a bank and who the banking services are provided by
• You are responsible all language that appears when users search (e.g., title bar language, metadata/search result description, URL, etc.)
• If applicable, company Wikipedia description that Google displays when people search for your brand