In a significant and highly anticipated move, President Donald Trump has fired Rohit Chopra, the Director of the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau (CFPB or Bureau). Rohit Chopra, who had been serving as the Director of the CFPB since 2021, confirmed his departure in a letter to President Trump dated February 1, 2025. Chopra’s tenure was characterized by aggressive efforts to curb what he termed as “junk” fees and regulate Big Tech’s financial services.
On January 10, the Alaska Legislature introduced Senate Bill 39 that aims to amend the state’s Small Loan Act. This proposed legislation seeks to implement significant changes, including the introduction of a predominant economic interest test, the repeal of Alaska’s payday loan law, and amending the maximum interest rate that can be charged on loans up to $25,000.
In this episode of The Consumer Finance Podcast, host Chris Willis is joined by James Kim and Jesse Silverman, co-leaders of Troutman Pepper Locke’s fintech industry group. They discuss the current regulatory environment for earned wage access products, as well as potential developments in 2025. The conversation covers the evolving positions of the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau (CFPB) and the differing approaches taken by states such as Connecticut, Wisconsin, California, and Maryland. Tune in to understand the complexities and practical implications for earned wage access providers in this dynamic regulatory landscape.
Earlier this month, the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau (CFPB or Bureau) issued new policy statements regarding its Compliance Assistance Sandbox (CAS) and No-Action Letters (NAL) programs. These policies ostensibly aim to promote innovation, competition, ethics, and transparency in the consumer financial products and services market. However, the policies also introduce significant restrictions, particularly concerning applications from firms with prior federal or state enforcement actions and those represented by former CFPB attorneys.
As part of a flurry of last minute regulatory activity by the Biden administration’s Consumer Financial Protection Bureau (CFPB or Bureau), on January 15, the CFPB published an advisory opinion in the Federal Register rescinding a previous advisory opinion which the Bureau issued during the first Trump administration in November 2020. The 2020 advisory opinion had described how a specific type of “earned wage” product did not constitute the offering or extension of “credit” under the Truth in Lending Act (TILA) and Regulation Z. The new advisory opinion is effective immediately.
This article was republished on insideARM on January 23, 2025, in their newsletter on January 27, 2025, and was mentioned in this insideARM article on February 3, 2025.
As the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau (CFPB or Bureau) anticipates a shift in its leadership with the incoming administration of President Trump, the Bureau has released a report titled “Strengthening State-Level Consumer Protections.” This report appears to be a strategic move by the CFPB to influence state-level consumer protection laws before the anticipated shift in federal regulatory policy, and the Bureau’s recommendations appear to be items that would need to be the subject of legislation, if they are to occur. As detailed below, the changes advocated by the CFPB would strengthen the position of both state regulators and private plaintiffs in actions against industry participants.
On January 10, the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau (Bureau) issued a notice of proposed interpretive rule (Proposed Rule). The deadline for comments is March 31, 2025. The Proposed Rule would apply the Electronic Fund Transfer Act (EFTA)—which protects consumers against errors and fraud—to new types of digital payment mechanisms, including stablecoins and other digital currencies.
This week, New York became the latest state to introduce legislation aimed at regulating Earned Wage Access (EWA) services. Assembly Bill 258 titled — “An Act to Amend the Banking Law, in Relation to Providing for Income Access Services in the State” — contains several significant provisions that, if passed, will significantly impact EWA providers in New York.
On December 16, the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau (CFPB or Bureau) released a special edition of its Supervisory Highlights, detailing a range of activities identified by CFPB examiners across the student loan origination and servicing markets. According to the Bureau, student loans represent the second-largest form of U.S. consumer debt at more than $1.7 trillion in total outstanding balances. The Bureau has been heavily focused on student lending issues for the past several years, and this latest special edition of Supervisory Highlights underlines that focus.
On December 6, the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau (CFPB or Bureau) announced an order asserting supervisory authority over Google Payment Corp. (GPC), a subsidiary of Google LLC. This decision was based on alleged “risks to consumers” associated with GPC’s retired peer-to-peer (P2P) payment product. The CFPB’s order, however, does not assert that GPC violated any laws or engaged in wrongdoing. Instead, it relies on a relatively small number of unverified consumer complaints to justify future examinations, even though GPC stopped offering the product.