The Electronic Fund Transfer Act (EFTA) is a law passed by Congress dealing with the transferring of electronic funds. It provides many consumer protections including disclosure requirements, protections against unauthorized transfers, the protection of specific accounts, and much more. The EFTA is implemented by regulation E.

The EFTA contains an anti-waiver proposition meaning that no rights given by the EFTA may be waived or ignored. Furthermore, state laws may not be inconsistent with the EFTA. The EFTA governs electronic fund transfers authorizing financial institutions to debit or credit a consumer's account. The EFTA generally refers to a “consumer account” established primarily for personal, family, or household purposes. Accounts that are primarily used for business purposes are generally not covered by the EFTA. Accounts used for investment purposes would generally fall under the realm of “personal” and would be covered by the EFTA. Regulation E states that the EFTA refers to the transferring of electronic funds between either a consumer and a financial institution or a consumer and a third party. 

The EFTA covers a wide variety of accounts. The first is a demand deposit and savings account. Demand deposit accounts refer to checking accounts. Any checking or savings account offered by a bank provider is within the scope of the EFTA. The second is a prepaid account. Prepaid accounts include payroll card accounts, government benefit accounts, and other types of prepaid cards that are usable at ATMs or for person-to-person transfers. Payroll card accounts are issued by an employer to employees used to pay wages. Government benefit accounts are either electronic benefit transfer cards used to pay needs-based benefits, or the electronic distribution of benefits by the federal government. The third type of account is any other consumer asset account. These accounts are essentially any account besides a checking or savings account that is offered by a bank provider. The fourth type of account are ones held by brokers or dealers that are used to buy or sell securities or commodities. The EFTA does exempt certain transfers of securities or commodities but does not exempt the accounts themselves. The fifth type of account are accounts that are used to buy or sell crypto-assets. The sixth and final type of account that is covered by the EFTA are accounts using multi-function cards or hybrid credit/debit cards. However, it is only covered by the EFTA if the transaction taking place is an extension of only the credit side of the card and not the debit.