Photo of Keith J. Barnett

Keith’s experience representing clients in the financial services industry as a litigation, compliance, regulatory, investigations (internal and regulatory), and enforcement attorney spans 20 years. Keith represents clients against government regulators (CFPB, FTC, SEC, CFTC), industry regulators (FINRA), and private litigants in federal courts, state courts, and before arbitration and administrative law panels in the financial services industry.

On August 15, the Federal Reserve Board (Fed) issued final guidelines, outlining the tiered approach it will use when evaluating the growing requests from fintech firms and cryptocurrency companies for access to master accounts. The guidelines make clear that while requests from institutions with federal deposit insurance will be subject to a streamlined review, institutions

On July 29, the Federal Trade Commission (FTC) filed a complaint and executed a stipulated order with payment processor First American Payment Systems LP (First American) and companies that market its services — Eliot Management Group LLC (Eliot) and Think Point Financial LLC (Think Point) (collectively, the defendants). The FTC alleged that the defendants violated

In this episode of The Crypto Exchange, Troutman Pepper attorneys Keith Barnett and Carlin McCrory welcome Marsha Jones from the Third Party Payment Processors Association to discuss a portion the ENABLERS Act, which proposes to update federal anti-money laundering laws to include payment processors within the definition of “financial institution.” The ENABLERS Act is co-sponsored by Representatives Joe Wilson (R-SC), Tom Malinowski (D-NJ), Maria Elvira Salazar (R-FL), Steve Cohen (D-TN), Abigail Spanberger (D-VA), and Richard Hudson (R-NC). Keith, Carlin, and Marsha discuss the significant ramifications that the ENABLERS Act will have on payments processors if it is passed. This is a must listen for payment processors, banks, and money transmitters!

On May 25, the Federal Trade Commission (FTC) entered a Stipulated Order for Monetary Judgment against Publishers Business Services, Inc. (PBS), and its officers, Brenda Dantuma Schang, Dries Dantuma, Dirk Dantuma, and Jeffrey Dantuma imposing a suspended judgment of $14.47 million.

In 2008, under “Operation Tele-PHONEY,” the FTC joined forces with more than 30 international,

In second episode of The Crypto Exchange, Troutman Pepper Consumer Financial Services Partner Ethan Ostroff welcomes back Keith Barnett and Carlin McCrory to discuss opinions released over the past year involving money transmission and the Money Transmission Act and how they impact stakeholders in the digital asset and payment spaces.

In the first episode of The Crypto Exchange, Troutman Pepper Consumer Financial Services Partner Ethan Ostroff welcomes his colleagues Keith Barnett and Carlin McCrory to discuss recent developments with convenience fees in the payments industry. With both of their practices focusing on payments-related issues, Keith and Carlin take a deep dive into the recent CFPB advisory opinion on convenience fees and how it affects payment processors, money transmitters, and loan servicers. Additionally, they explore how the CFPB’s advisory affects card network rules and how the rules mesh with state laws.

As peer-to-peer money transfer services (or cash apps) become more popular, there has been an increase in the number of scams enticing consumers to transfer funds to fraudsters. The law currently provides that the banks that own the cash apps are only required to reimburse transactions not authorized by the customer — meaning if a

Troutman Pepper’s The Crypto Exchange podcast explores the trends, challenges, and legal issues our clients and others in the industry face daily. Featuring insights from the firm’s FinTech and Payments practice groups, our podcast examines everything from NFTs to Web3, bitcoin to blockchain, fintech to regtech, and payment processing to data processing. Our Troutman Pepper attorneys, along with industry experts and insiders, will walk you through the federal and state regulatory, legal, and business intricacies of this rapidly evolving industry sector.

On June 20, the Louisiana Office for Financial Institutions (OFI) proposed a Rule on licensure, registration, and regulation of persons engaging, or planning to engage, in virtual currency business activity in Louisiana. The Rule follows the mandate set by Louisiana’s Virtual Currency Business Act (VCBA), effective August 1, 2020, requiring virtual currency businesses to hold

Please join Troutman Pepper Partner Chris Willis and his guests and fellow Partners Keith Barnett and Ethan Ostroff as they discuss the recent request for comment from California’s Department of Financial Protection and Innovation on cryptocurrency-related financial products and services under the California Consumer Financial Protection Law. Keith and Ethan share their ideas about what this request for comment says about the direction California may take in the world of cryptocurrency.