This title may be cited as Maryland Uniform Commercial Code - Funds Transfers.

Except as otherwise provided in § 4A-108 of this subtitle, this title applies to funds transfers defined in § 4A-104 of this subtitle.

In this title: “Payment order” means an instruction of a sender to a receiving bank, transmitted orally, electronically, or in writing, to pay, or to cause another bank to pay, a fixed or determinable amount of money to a beneficiary if: The instruction does not state a condition to payment to the beneficiary other than time of payment; The receiving bank is to be reimbursed by debiting an account of, or otherwise receiving payment from, the sender; and The instruction is transmitted by the sender directly to the receiving bank or to an agent, funds-transfer system, or communication system for transmittal to the receiving bank. “Beneficiary” means the person to be paid by the beneficiary’s bank. “Beneficiary’s bank” means the bank identified in a payment order in which an account of the beneficiary is to be credited pursuant to the order or which otherwise is to make payment to the beneficiary if the order does not provide for payment to an account. “Receiving bank” means the bank to which the sender’s instruction is addressed. “Sender” means the person giving the instruction to the receiving bank. If an instruction complying with subsection (a)(1) of this section is to make more than 1 payment to a beneficiary, the instruction is a separate payment order with respect to each payment. A payment order is issued when it is sent to the receiving bank.

In this title: “Funds transfer” means the series of transactions, beginning with the originator’s payment order, made for the purpose of making payment to the beneficiary of the order. The term includes any payment order issued by the originator’s bank or by an intermediary bank intended to carry out the originator’s payment order. A funds transfer is completed by acceptance by the beneficiary’s bank of a payment order for the benefit of the beneficiary of the originator’s payment order. “Intermediary bank” means a receiving bank other than: The originator’s bank; or The beneficiary’s bank. “Originator” means the sender of the first payment order in a funds transfer. “Originator’s bank” means: The receiving bank to which the payment order of the originator is issued if the originator is not a bank; or The originator if the originator is a bank.

In this title: “Authorized account” means a deposit account of a customer in a bank designated by the customer as a source of payment of payment orders issued by the customer to the bank. If a customer does not so designate an account, any account of the customer is an authorized account if payment of a payment order from that account is not inconsistent with a restriction on the use of that account. “Bank” means a person engaged in the business of banking and includes a savings bank, savings and loan association, credit union, and trust company. A branch or separate office of a bank is a separate bank for purposes of this title. “Customer” means a person, including a bank, having an account with a bank or from whom a bank has agreed to receive payment orders. “Funds–transfer business day” of a receiving bank means the part of a day during which the receiving bank is open for the receipt, processing, and transmittal of payment orders and cancellations and amendments of payment orders. “Funds–transfer system” means a wire transfer network, automated clearing house, or other communication system of a clearing house or other association of banks through which a payment order by a bank may be transmitted to the bank to which the order is addressed. Reserved. “Prove” with respect to a fact means to meet the burden of establishing the fact (§ 1–208(b)(8)). Other definitions applying to this title and the sections in which they appear are: “Acceptance”                  § 4A–209 “Beneficiary”                  § 4A–103 “Beneficiary’s bank”              § 4A–103 “Executed”                       § 4A–301 “Execution date”                  § 4A–301 “Funds transfer”                  § 4A–104 “Funds–transfer system rule”         § 4A–501 “Intermediary bank”              § 4A–104 “Originator”                       § 4A–104 “Originator’s bank”              § 4A–104 “Payment by beneficiary’s bank to     § 4A–405 beneficiary” “Payment by originator to beneficiary”    § 4A–406 “Payment by sender to receiving bank”    § 4A–403 “Payment date”                  § 4A–401 “Payment order”                  § 4A–103 “Receiving bank”                  § 4A–103 “Security procedure”              § 4A–201 “Sender”                       § 4A–103 The following definitions in Title 4 of this article apply to this title: “Clearing house”                 § 4–104 “Item”                       § 4–104 “Suspends payments”              § 4–104 In addition, Title 1 of this article contains general definitions and principles of construction and interpretation applicable throughout this title.

The time of receipt of a payment order or communication cancelling or amending a payment order is determined by the rules applicable to receipt of a notice stated in § 1–202 of this article. A receiving bank may fix a cutoff time or times on a funds–transfer business day for the receipt and processing of payment orders and communications cancelling or amending payment orders. Different cutoff times may apply to payment orders, cancellations, or amendments, or to different categories of payment orders, cancellations, or amendments. A cutoff time may apply to senders generally or different cutoff times may apply to different senders or categories of payment orders. If a payment order or communication cancelling or amending a payment order is received after the close of a funds–transfer business day or after the appropriate cutoff time on a funds–transfer business day, the receiving bank may treat the payment order or communication as received at the opening of the next funds–transfer business day. If this title refers to an execution date or payment date or states a day on which a receiving bank is required to take action, and the date or day does not fall on a funds-transfer business day, the next day that is a funds-transfer business day is treated as the date or day stated, unless the contrary is stated in this title.

Regulations of the board of governors of the Federal Reserve System and operating circulars of the Federal Reserve Banks supersede any inconsistent provision of this title to the extent of the inconsistency.

Except as provided in subsection (b) of this section, this title does not apply to a funds transfer any part of which is governed by the Electronic Fund Transfer Act of 1978 (Title XX, Public Law 95–630, 92 Stat. 3728, 15 U.S.C. § 1693 et seq.) as amended from time to time. This title applies to a funds transfer that is a remittance transfer as defined in the Electronic Fund Transfer Act (15 U.S.C. § 1693o–1) as amended from time to time, unless the remittance transfer is an electronic fund transfer as defined in the Electronic Fund Transfer Act (15 U.S.C. § 1693a) as amended from time to time. In a funds transfer to which this title applies, in the event of an inconsistency between an applicable provision of this title and an applicable provision of the Electronic Fund Transfer Act, the provision of the Electronic Fund Transfer Act governs to the extent of the inconsistency.