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Taylor Gess

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Taylor focuses her practice on providing regulatory advice on matters related to federal and state consumer protection, consumer finance, and payments laws, including those that apply to payment cards, lines of credit, installment loans, electronic payments, online banking, buy-now-pay-later transactions, retail installment contracts, rental-purchase transactions, and small business loans.

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In this special joint episode of The Consumer Finance Podcast and Payments Pros, Taylor Gess and Kim Phan discuss key privacy and data security risks in point-of-sale finance. They dive into regulators’ growing view that every player in the payments chain shares responsibility for protecting data, highlighting best practices for vendor management, PCI DSS oversight, and incident response planning. The episode also touches on the shifting patchwork of state privacy and breach notification laws, GLBA exemptions, and the risks of data monetization, including when packaging and selling transaction data can trigger Fair Credit Reporting Act obligations.

In this crossover episode of The Consumer Finance Podcast and Payments Pros, Taylor Gess, Jason Cover, and Caleb Rosenberg explore the heightened attention from regulators and legislators on small business finance programs and trade credit. They discuss the growth of fintech-driven and embedded business-to-business financing, the shift from simple trade credit to more complex installment and term products, and how these offerings increasingly trigger disclosure, registration, rate cap, and fair lending requirements — sometimes even pulling in federal rules like Reg E and Reg B when consumer accounts are involved. This episode also emphasizes the expanding structure of state commercial financing laws in California, Texas, and other states, with a focus on new disclosure regimes, and novel consumer-type protections.

In this special joint episode of The Consumer Finance Podcast and Payments Pros, guest host Taylor Gess talks to Troutman Pepper Locke colleagues Stefanie Jackman, Caleb Rosenberg, and Jeremy Sairsingh about student lending and income share agreements (ISAs). They highlight the “One Big Beautiful Bill” and its sweeping overhaul of federal student loan repayment options and borrowing caps, break down differences between ISAs and traditional loans, and explain why state lawmakers and regulators are increasingly focused on these products. The episode also includes practical takeaways on licensing, servicing, and the potential future of credit reporting for private student loans and ISAs, offering industry participants a roadmap for navigating both federal and state-level changes.

In this crossover episode of Payments Pros and The Consumer Finance Podcast, guest host Taylor Gess dives into the rapidly evolving world of point-of-sale financing for medical and dental procedures with Troutman Pepper Locke Partners Jason Cover, Brent Hoard, and Erin Whaley. They unpack how HIPAA, business associate relationships, and information-sharing structures can impact financing programs in clinical settings. They explore state-level trends in California, Illinois, and New York, including new restrictions on provider involvement in financing, promotional offers, and payments. The discussion also highlights emerging risks around website tracking technologies, payment portals, and wiretapping-style lawsuits targeting digital health and payment ecosystems. Listeners will come away with a practical framework for structuring medical and dental financing arrangements, managing disputes, and anticipating the next wave of state-level regulation and enforcement.

In this crossover episode of The Consumer Finance Podcast and Payments Pros, guest host Taylor Gess dives into the rapidly evolving world of point-of-sale financing for medical and dental procedures with Troutman Pepper Locke Partners Jason Cover, Brent Hoard, and Erin Whaley. They unpack how HIPAA, business associate relationships, and information-sharing structures can impact financing programs in clinical settings. They explore state-level trends in California, Illinois, and New York, including new restrictions on provider involvement in financing, promotional offers, and payments. The discussion also highlights emerging risks around website tracking technologies, payment portals, and wiretapping-style lawsuits targeting digital health and payment ecosystems. Listeners will come away with a practical framework for structuring medical and dental financing arrangements, managing disputes, and anticipating the next wave of state-level regulation and enforcement.

On December 12, Wisconsin legislators introduced Senate Bill 759 (SB 759), which would substantially shift Wisconsin’s approach to consumer lending. The bill would:

  • Impose a 36% annual percentage rate (APR) cap on consumer loans made by licensed lenders;
  • Adopt predominant economic interest and totality of the circumstances tests that expand which entities “make” loans under the law and are subject to licensing;
  • Add broad anti‑evasion language; and
  • Require new, detailed reporting from licensed lenders to the Division of Banking within the Department of Financial Institutions (DFI).

In this special crossover episode of The Consumer Finance Podcast and Payments Pros, host Jason Cover is joined by colleagues Taylor Gess and Andrew Thurmond to unpack the legal and operational complexities of home solicitation and home improvement finance. The conversation analyzes the Federal Trade Commission’s Cooling-Off Rule and state analogs, highlighting practical pitfalls around oral and written cancellation notices, dealer obligations, and extended rescission periods or differing notice requirements in certain jurisdictions. The team explores how funding timing, change orders, electronic contracting, and foreign-language sales can impact risk.

In this crossover episode of Payments Pros and The Consumer Finance Podcast, guest host Taylor Gess is joined by Jason Cover and Jeremy Sairsingh to discuss buy now, pay later (BNPL) products as they continue to dive into the Point-of-Sale Finance Series. They highlight the complexities of BNPL offerings and the transformation of these payment models with varying fee structures and repayment terms. As these BNPL products mature, they challenge traditional definitions and regulatory frameworks, prompting a closer look at how consumers and providers are adapting to this financing option and its effects. With continuous industry innovations, regulators are working to keep pace, raising questions about the future direction of BNPL regulation and its impact.

The Consumer Financial Protection Bureau (CFPB or Bureau) has issued a new proposed rule that would substantially revise the 2023 small business lending data collection and reporting rule under the Equal Credit Opportunity Act (ECOA) and Regulation B, which implements Section 1071 of the Dodd-Frank Act. The proposal re-centers Section 1071 on “core” providers, products, and data, with a single compliance date and material carve-outs to reduce complexity and improve data quality. The proposal is open for comment for 30 days after publication in the Federal Register. However, just this week the CFPB filed a notice with the D.C. Circuit attaching a Department of Justice (DOJ) Office of Legal Counsel (OLC) opinion which concluded that the Bureau will only be legally funded through December 31, potentially affecting rulemaking and operations timelines.

The Consumer Financial Protection Bureau (CFPB or Bureau) has proposed an unprecedented, far‑reaching rewrite of Regulation B (Reg B) under the Equal Credit Opportunity Act (ECOA). If finalized, the proposed rule would eliminate disparate‑impact liability under ECOA, significantly narrow the scope of “discouragement” to focus on explicit statements directed at applicants or prospective applicants, and prohibit or tightly restrict the use of certain protected‑class criteria in Special Purpose Credit Programs (SPCPs) offered by for‑profit organizations. Existing SPCP‑originated credit would be grandfathered.

Comments are due 30 days after publication in the Federal Register, with a proposed effective date 90 days after publication.