The Consumer Finance Podcast

Subscribe to The Consumer Finance Podcast via RSS

In this installment of The Consumer Finance Podcast’s point‑of‑sale finance series, Chris Willis is joined by colleagues Jason Cover and Taylor Gess to break down how electronic contracting really works in modern point‑of‑sale credit programs. They explain the interplay between state Uniform Electronic Transactions Act (UETA) laws and the federal E‑SIGN Act, including when you need formal E‑SIGN consent, how E-SIGN preemption of state UETA adoptions operates, and the general rule of validity. The conversation walks through practical design issues for online and mobile flows, clear and conspicuous disclosures, and “click‑to‑agree” mechanics, as well as pitfalls like relying on E‑SIGN where a statute still requires a specific delivery method. The episode closes with a forward‑looking discussion about agentic artificial intelligence, how existing “electronic agent” concepts in UETA and E‑SIGN may apply, and what point‑of‑sale creditors should be watching as technology and contracting practices evolve.

In this episode of The Consumer Finance Podcast, Chris Willis is joined by Troutman Pepper Locke Partners Stefanie Jackman and Brent Hoard to take a close look at the world of medical debt collection. The discussion covers how HIPAA applies to medical debt, what it really means to be a “business associate,” and common privacy challenges that can turn routine collection efforts into regulatory headaches. They also focus on key federal and state debt collection regimes, including the FDCPA, the No Surprises Act, and increasingly complex credit reporting requirements. The group provides insight on collection strategies for health care providers and third-party collectors that are both compliant and workable in practice. For anyone handling medical-related receivables, this episode serves as a practical guide to safeguarding patient information, maintaining tax-exempt status, and enhancing collections while staying within regulatory boundaries.

In this episode of The Consumer Finance Podcast, Chris Willis is joined by colleagues Joe DeFazio, Brad Knapp, and Punit Marwaha for a practical introduction to consumer bankruptcy from the creditor’s perspective. The panel walks through the core bankruptcy chapters that consumer financial services companies encounter most often and explains how the automatic stay, co-debtor stay, and discharge injunction operate in real-world servicing and collection environments. They discuss treatment of secured and unsecured debts, reaffirmation agreements, and hot-button issues like the dischargeability of qualified education loans. The conversation also highlights common traps for mortgage servicers, auto lenders, and unsecured creditors, including repossessions, garnishments, foreclosure timing, and plan objections, as well as preference actions and clawbacks.

In this joint episode of The Consumer Finance Podcast and Payments Pros, guest host Taylor Gess is joined by Stefanie Jackman to discuss amended debt collection regulations and restrictions for creditors, including tight communication limits and enhanced validation requirements. The conversation dives into the rise of coerced debt statutes, shortcomings of traditional identity theft frameworks, and how creditors should adjust training, intake, and escalation protocols to avoid reputational and legal risk. The discussion also explores state medical debt reporting bans, the preemption challenges, and cautious furnishing in the FCRA landscape.

In this special joint episode of The Consumer Finance Podcast and Payments Pros, guest host Taylor Gess joins Chris Willis and Lori Sommerfield to unpack fair lending risks in point-of-sale finance. They explain how traditional fair lending concepts under the Equal Credit Opportunity Act and Fair Housing Act play out when merchants interact directly with consumers, highlighting risks around discouraging credit applications, discretionary offers, differential assistance, and steering between prime and subprime products. The conversation explores practical risk mitigation tools, such as standardized sales scripts and consumer disclosures, merchant training, and attorney-directed mystery shopping, along with lessons drawn from unfair or deceptive acts or practices enforcement in point-of-sale settings.

In this episode of The Consumer Finance Podcast, Chris Willis is joined by Mark Furletti, James Stevens, and Taylor Gess to unpack the surge in bank charter applications from fintechs, crypto firms, and even traditional community banking entrepreneurs. The panel explores the appeal of national trust banks and industrial banks, as well as access to Fed payment rails and stablecoin issuance. They walk through the impacts of charter type, location, interest rate “exportation,” and preemption of state usury laws, including the nuanced role of branch-state activities. The conversation also offers a look at life inside the regulatory perimeter — exams, board oversight, and evolving supervisory focus — so nonbanks can realistically assess both the benefits and challenges of pursuing a bank charter in today’s regulatory environment.

In this episode of The Consumer Finance Podcast, Chris Willis is joined by Troutman Pepper Locke Partners Chad Fuller and Virginia Flynn for a practical, forward-looking discussion of the TCPA landscape as part of the CFS Year in Review and Look Ahead series. They explain how courts’ reduced reliance on agency interpretations is creating both opportunity and uncertainty, why plaintiffs’ attorneys are shifting hard toward do-not-call (DNC) and prerecorded-message theories, and how ongoing battles over consent, revocation, and text-message exposure are changing class action risk. The conversation closes with guidance for in-house counsel on tightening DNC compliance, managing vendors, and structuring consent and opt-out processes.

In this episode of The Consumer Finance Podcast, Chris Willis is joined by Consumer Financial Services Partners Stefanie Jackman and Nicholas O’Conner to dissect the shifting risk landscape for servicers, collectors, and debt buyers as federal scrutiny eases and state regulators surge to the forefront. As a segment of the Year in Review and Look Ahead series, the trio talks about Reg F’s post-Loper Bright staying power, the explosive growth of state medical debt restrictions and FCRA preemption battles, and the rapid spread of coerced debt/economic abuse statutes reshaping account handling. They also explore the evolving role of debt settlement companies and their use of AI, in addition to offering practical tips on building national policies and procedures to prepare for the next wave of litigation and enforcement.

In this episode of The Consumer Finance Podcast, Chris Willis is joined by Troutman Pepper Locke Partners Heryka Knoespel and Mary Zinsner for a year-in-review and look-ahead tour through the sometimes wild world of UCC and banking litigation. From check cashers and sovereign citizens to elder financial exploitation, the panel unpacks the major trends banks faced in 2025, including a steady stream of retail deposit disputes and increasingly inventive plaintiff theories to recover funds — often running headlong into the UCC’s traditional allocation of risk.

In this episode of The Consumer Finance Podcast, Chris Willis and Lori Sommerfield unpack the rapid reshaping of the fair lending and UDAAP regulatory enforcement landscape as part of the Year in Review and Look Ahead series. They cover the federal government’s efforts to roll back use of the disparate impact theory, reduce redlining and other enforcement actions, and implement the new debanking initiative, along with the CFPB’s evolving expectations concerning ECOA and Section 1071, and growing state-level oversight as state attorneys general, state regulators, and new state AI/disparate impact regimes fill the federal gap. With long statutes of limitations and 2026 rulemakings ahead, they underscore why financial institutions cannot relax fair lending and UDAAP compliance, even amid apparent federal retreat.