Government agencies continue to scrutinize third-party payment processors for high-risk transactions and, when appropriate, respond to alleged violations with investigations and enforcement actions. Industry members are most likely familiar with the numerous enforcement actions brought in recent years by the Federal Trade Commission, the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau, and the Department of Justice. Recently, however,
Investigation of Ashley Madison by FTC and State AGs Ends in Settlement Agreement
On December 14, the FTC, along with a coalition of 13 states and the District of Columbia, entered into a settlement agreement with Ashley Madison over allegations that the online dating site deceived consumers and failed to protect 36 million users’ account and profile information in relation to a massive July 2015 data breach.
Payment Card Industry Security Standards Council Announces New Protections for Payment Devices
The Security Standards Council of the Payment Card Industry (“PCI”) announced updates to its payment device standard, which will enable stronger protections for cardholder data, including data such as cardholders’ personal identification numbers (PINs) and cardholder data stored on the magnetic stripe of cards or on mobile devices. The updated standard addresses the increased threats
District of Arizona Grants Summary Judgment to JPMorgan Chase on FCRA Background Screening Class Action
In a case with important positive implications for banks conducting federally-required background checks on job applicants and employees, in Amanda Mix v. JPMorgan Chase, No. 2:15-cv-01102-JJT, the United States District Court for the District of Arizona granted JPMorgan Chase’s summary judgment motion on Plaintiff’s background screening class action. Plaintiff claimed that Chase violated the Fair
D.C. Circuit Rules CFPB “For Cause” Removal of the Director Unconstitutional, but Declines to Shut it Down
Until October 10, none of the constitutional or scope of enforcement authority challenges to the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau’s (“CFPB” or Bureau”) power have been successful. That changed on October 11 when the U.S. Court of Appeals for the District of Columbia held the Director of the Bureau has too much unilateral, unchecked power and
Navy Federal Credit Union Ordered to Pay $28.5M for Debt Collection Violations
The nation’s largest credit union, Navy Federal Credit Union, has been ordered to pay $28.5 million for alleged violations of the Consumer Financial Protection Act of 2010.
Navy Federal Credit Union limits its membership to military personnel and their immediate family members. According to the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau, during January 2013 and July 2015,
Supreme Court Grants Cert. In FDCPA Claim Related to Filing of Stale Claims in Bankruptcy
On October 11, 2016, the United States Supreme Court granted the petition for certiorari of Midland Funding, LLC v. Johnson, an appeal from the Eleventh Circuit bringing to a head two issues that has been boiling for several years: (i) whether the filing of an accurate proof of claim for an unextinguished time-barred debt
Summary Judgment Granted to Safeway in Putative TCPA Class Action
On October 11, 2016, the District Court for the Northern District of California granted summary judgment to Safeway, Inc. in a Telephone Consumer Protection Act (TCPA) putative class action arising from the receipt of prerecorded telephone messages promoting Safeway’s flu shots.
Plaintiff first received a seasonal flu shot from Safeway in 2014. In connection with
CFPB Issues Final Prepaid Card Rule
On October 5, the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau issued its much anticipated final rules regulating prepaid card accounts. The final rules follow the proposed rules that the Bureau issued in December 2014, and are mostly unchanged from the proposed rules. The new rules apply to “prepaid accounts,” which the Bureau defines as accounts that are
Illinois Court Refuses to Dismiss Case After Tender of Monetary Relief as Courts Continue to Wrestle with Campbell-Ewald Aftermath
In Practice Management Support Services v. Cirque Du Soleil, Inc., the United States District Court for the Northern District of Illinois denied the defendants’ motion for summary judgment that followed a Rule 67 motion to deposit $15,000 to moot the plaintiff’s claim for relief under the Telephone Consumer Protection Act. The plaintiff seeks, on