Servicemembers Civil Relief Act | U.S. Bank (2024)

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Servicemembers Civil Relief Act | U.S. Bank? ›

SCRA benefits

Reduced interest rates — Creditors must reduce the interest rate on debts to 6% for liabilities incurred before you enter active duty. If the debt is a mortgage, the reduced rate extends for one year after active military service.

It covers such issues as rental agreements, security deposits, prepaid rent, eviction, installment contracts, credit card interest rates, automobile leases, mortgage interest rates, mortgage foreclosure, civil judicial proceedings, and income tax payments.

Military checking benefits

All current and former members of the United States Armed Forces are automatically enrolled in the U.S. Bank Smart Rewards ^® Plus tier ¹, at a minimum, regardless of balance. Benefits include waiving the $6.95 monthly maintenance fee ¹ on U.S. Bank Smartly ^® Checking ² accounts.

You can request an interest rate reduction from your lender at any time while you are serving on active duty and up to 180 days after release from active duty. A lender can't revoke your loan or credit account, change the terms of your credit, or refuse to grant you credit just because you exercised your SCRA rights.

SCRA is short for “The Servicemembers Civil Relief Act”. This law protects your financial and legal affairs while you are on active duty military service. For example, SCRA requires your creditors to provide certain relief from debt that you incurred before entering active duty.

The Servicemembers' Civil Relief Act (SCRA), 50 U.S.C., Section 3937, sets a six percent (6.0 %) per annum ceiling on interest charges (including service charges, renewal charges and fees) during the period of a servicemember's military service for obligations made prior to the date of entry onto active duty when the ...

What doesn't SCRA cover? A number of financial transactions are not protected, including: New loans or debt: Contracts entered into during your service are not protected by the SCRA. This act applies specifically to loans taken out prior to active service.

Benefits start on the date active duty orders are received, and SCRA protection generally terminates one year after the date of discharge of active duty; in limited situations, a servicemember's dependents may also be eligible.

Military service is defined under the SCRA as including: 1) full-time active duty members of the five military branches (Army, Navy, Air Force, Marine Corps, Coast Guard and Space Force); 2) reservists on federal active duty; and 3) members of the National Guard on federal orders for a period of more than 30 days.

What perks does U.S. Bank have? ›

Unlock the benefits of relationship banking when you open a U.S. Bank Smartly® Checking account and enroll in the Smart Rewards® program. You'll get access to cash-back rewards, fee discounts, rate bonuses, and overdraft fee forgiveness.

If you are eligible for MLA benefits, then U.S. Bank should automatically waive your annual fees. This is true whether you are active duty, guard, Reserve, or a military spouse. For guard and Reserve you usually need to be on 30+ day active duty orders.

This benefit is available to individuals in active duty military service that have received permanent change of station order or deployment orders for a period of at least 90 days. As a result, this benefit is only available during a service member's period of active duty.

Servicemembers Get Money Back

Additionally, the SCRA requires that any request for a lower interest rate be followed by some form of refund. So all the extra money that the servicemember paid as his or her interest rate that grew over the years? It must be given back upon the request for a backdated interest rate.

The SCRA enables servicemembers to devote their time and attention to the defense needs of the Nation by providing protections related to such things as rental agreements, security deposits, prepaid rent, evictions, installment contracts, credit card interest rates, automobile repossessions, mortgage interest rates, ...

The MLA provides protections to servicemembers and their dependents for credit extended while the servicemember is serving on active duty. In contrast, the SCRA protects servicemembers and their dependents with obligations incurred prior to entry into active duty.

The SCRA can help service members who come into the military with high-interest debt. It limits interest rates on debt to 6%, including debt held jointly with a military spouse. The interest rate reduction covers the time when a service member first entered active-duty status to the day they are no longer active.

Types of credit covered by the Military Lending Act

The new legislation covers payday loans, credit cards, unsecured loans, vehicle title loans, deposit advance loans, some installment loans, certain student loans and tax refund anticipation loans.