According to Federal regulation 16 CFR 681.2, if a debit or credit card issuer receives notification of a change of address for a consumer’s debit or credit card account, the issuer must establish and implement reasonable policies and procedures to assess the validity of a change of address within a short period of time after the card issuer receives a request for an additional or replacement card for the same account.  However, the card issuer may not issue an additional or replacement card until the card issuer notifies the cardholder of the request at the cardholder’s former address, or by any other means of communication that the card issuer and the cardholder have previously agreed to use.

The card issuer may not issue an additional or replacement card until it provides to the cardholder a reasonable means of promptly reporting incorrect address changes, or otherwise assesses the validity of the change of address in accordance with the policies and procedures the card issuer has established.   Any written or electronic notice that the card issuer provides must be clear and conspicuous.  It must be provided separately from its regular correspondence with the cardholder.