This subpart is the offering of the zero-percent certificate of indebtedness by the Secretary of the Treasury (Secretary), and will continue until suspended or terminated by the Secretary. This subpart is also the governing regulations for the zero-percent certificate of indebtedness.

A TreasuryDirect® zero-percent certificate of indebtedness is a non-interest-bearing security that is issued daily, with a one-day maturity, which automatically rolls over at maturity until you request redemption. A zero-percent certificate of indebtedness has a minimum purchase amount of one cent. The only purpose of a zero-percent certificate of indebtedness is to accumulate funds for the purchase of another eligible security in the TreasuryDirect system. A zero-percent certificate of indebtedness within a minor's account is the property of the minor alone. The payroll zero-percent certificate of indebtedness is a restricted form of the zero-percent certificate of indebtedness that is held separately from the zero-percent certificate of indebtedness and used only for purchases made through the payroll savings plan.

The Secretary may suspend and rescind the suspension of sales of the zero-percent certificate of indebtedness by announcement at any time.

Upon the termination of this offering by the Secretary, the zero-percent certificate of indebtedness ceases to roll over; the proceeds will be paid by the ACH method to the bank account at a financial institution that you designated in your TreasuryDirect ® account as your primary bank account.

The regulations in part 363 apply to a zero-percent certificate of indebtedness. We expressly disclaim representations or warranties regarding a zero-percent certificate of indebtedness that in any way conflict with these regulations and other applicable law.

A zero-percent certificate of indebtedness is issued in electronic form only in the TreasuryDirect ® system.

Zero-percent certificates of indebtedness do not pay any interest. However, the Secretary may prescribe a rate of interest, or change the interest rate, for zero-percent certificates of indebtedness by announcement at any time. The new rate would apply to zero-percent certificates of indebtedness issued thereafter, as provided in the announcement. The Secretary's determination of the rate will be final.

A zero-percent certificate of indebtedness is automatically registered in the name of the TreasuryDirect ® account owner.

We are not liable for any deposits of funds for the purchase of a zero-percent certificate of indebtedness that are made in error by your financial institution or employer.

A zero-percent certificate of indebtedness is nontransferable. You may not deliver a zero-percent certificate of indebtedness to another TreasuryDirect ® account as a gift.

A zero-percent certificate of indebtedness may not be pledged or used as collateral for the performance of an obligation.

(a) Primary and linked accounts. You may purchase a zero-percent certificate of indebtedness through one or more of the following four methods:

(1) Payroll deduction, in which your employer sends funds through the ACH method to your TreasuryDirect® account;

(2) Deposit by your financial institution, in which your financial institution sends funds by the ACH method to your TreasuryDirect® account on a recurring or one-time basis;

(3) Through the Buy Direct function of your TreasuryDirect® account, in which you direct us to debit funds from your financial institution account to purchase a zero-percent certificate of indebtedness. This method is limited to an amount no greater than $1000 per transaction. When you use the Buy Direct function to debit funds to purchase all or a portion of a zero-percent certificate of indebtedness, you will not be permitted to schedule a redemption to your financial institution from the zero-percent certificate of indebtedness within five business days after the settlement date of the debit entry; and

(4) By using the proceeds from the redemption of a savings bond, the proceeds of a maturing security, or an interest payment from a security to purchase a zero-percent certificate of indebtedness.

(b) Payroll savings plan. You may purchase a payroll zero-percent certificate of indebtedness for your payroll savings plan through payroll deduction, in which your employer sends funds through the ACH method to your TreasuryDirect® payroll savings plan, or through a credit using the ACH method by your financial institution, in which your financial institution sends funds by the ACH method to your TreasuryDirect® payroll savings plan.

A zero-percent certificate of indebtedness is issued the business day after the purchase transaction is made.

You may purchase an eligible security by redeeming all or a portion of your zero-percent certificate of indebtedness and applying the proceeds toward the purchase of another eligible security. To do this, your zero-percent certificate of indebtedness must be of sufficient value to cover the cost of the security. If you are paying for a security using the redemption proceeds of a zero-percent certificate of indebtedness, you must pay the full amount of the purchase price of the security using the redemption proceeds.

You can redeem part or all of the value of your zero-percent certificate of indebtedness at any time, with one exception: if you purchased all or a portion of your zero-percent certificate of indebtedness through a debit using the ACH method, you may not schedule a redemption from your zero-percent certificate of indebtedness within five business days after the date of the debit entry.

(a) You may delete a pending purchase of a zero-percent certificate of indebtedness initiated from your TreasuryDirect ® account.

(b) You may delete a pending purchase of a security using a zero-percent certificate of indebtedness as payment.

(c) You may not delete a pending redemption of all or part of the value of a zero-percent certificate of indebtedness.

Only an individual TreasuryDirect® account owner may purchase a payroll zero-percent certificate of indebtedness, only through his or her primary account, and only through the payroll savings plan.

You may purchase a payroll zero-percent certificate of indebtedness through your TreasuryDirect® account using your payroll savings plan. (See §§ 363.59 and 363.60 for more information on opening a payroll savings plan.) The only method of purchase for a payroll zero-percent certificate of indebtedness is a credit of funds from your employer or financial institution using the ACH method. You cannot purchase a payroll zero-percent certificate of indebtedness by using a debit from your financial institution.

You may redeem all or a portion of your accumulated payroll zero-percent certificate of indebtedness to any financial institution that is of record in your TreasuryDirect® account.