In the first installment of a two-part Payments Year in Review series, Keith Barnett, Carlin McCrory, and Josh McBeain delve into the payments landscape of 2023 and share their predictions for 2024.
Continue Reading <em>2023 Payments Year in Review</em>: CFPB and FTC Regulatory Trends
According to a recent year-in-review report by WebRecon, reversing the trend of the last two years, filings under the Telephone Consumer Protection Act (TCPA) increased in 2023 as compared to 2022. Likewise, complaints filed with the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau (CFPB) were up for the year. Fair Credit Reporting Act (FCRA) and Fair Debt Collection Practices Act (FDCPA) filings, however, were both down from the previous year. In all, the FCRA maintained its lead in the number of filings, followed by the FDCPA, and with the TCPA in third place.
Continue Reading Year-End Report Reveals Increased TCPA Filings and CFPB Complaints in 2023
Yesterday, the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau (CFPB or Bureau) issued a proposed rule with request for public comment to prohibit covered financial institutions from charging nonsufficient funds fees (NSF) for payment transactions that are instantaneously declined. The proposed rule would treat fees for transactions declined in real time to be unlawful under the Consumer Financial Protection Act.
Continue Reading CFPB Continues War on Fees, Even Rare Ones
This article was republished on insideARM on February 6, 2024.
On January 2, the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau (CFPB) filed an amicus curiae brief urging the U.S. Court of Appeals for the First Circuit to reverse a district court’s decision finding that a debt collector lacked the requisite knowledge and intent to violate the Fair Debt Collection Practices Act (FDCPA) when it sent a debt-collection communication prior to any knowledge of the debtor’s bankruptcy filing.
Continue Reading CFPB Amicus Brief Supports FDCPA Claim for Unknowing Stay Violation
On January 17, the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau (CFPB or Bureau) issued a proposed rule with request for public comment to amend exemptions to Regulation Z so the Truth in Lending Act (TILA)/Regulation Z would apply to certain overdraft “credit” provided by insured financial institutions with more than $10 billion in assets, in furtherance of the Bureau’s crusade on “junk fees.” At a highlevel, the CFPB’s proposed rule would provide covered financial institutions with two options for offering overdraft “credit”: (1) a “courtesy” overdraft service with “breakeven” fees exempt from TILA/Regulation Z; or (2) a “covered overdraft credit” line/loan in connection with debit card or routing/account number transactions with “above breakeven” fees subject to TILA/Reg. Z. Under the proposal, an institution subject to the rule would have to provide full TILA disclosures and comply with other substantive TILA requirements for overdraft fees if they exceed costs or a low CFPB safe harbor amount.
Continue Reading New Year Same Focus on Fees: CFPB Proposes to Amend Regulation Z to Raise New Barriers to Overdraft Charges
In this episode of Payments Pros, Keith Barnett and Carlin McCrory are joined by Jordan Wright, CEO of Atomic Financial, to discuss the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau’s (CFPB) proposed 1033 rule. This rule aims to limit the misuse or sale of consumer data, and is expected to be finalized by summer 2024.
Continue Reading Redefining Banking: A Conversation on the CFPB’s Proposed 1033 Rule
Late last month, the Revenue Based Finance Coalition (RBFC), a trade group of sales-based financing providers, filed a complaint in the U.S. District Court for the Southern District of Florida challenging the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau’s (CFPB or Bureau) final rule under § 1071 of the Dodd-Frank Wall Street Reform and Consumer Protection Act (Final Rule). As discussed here, § 1071 amended the Equal Credit Opportunity Act (ECOA) to impose significant data collection and reporting requirements on small business creditors. Specifically, RBFC objects to the CFPB’s characterization of sales-based financing as a form of credit subject to the Final Rule’s collection and reporting requirements.
Continue Reading Sales-Based Financing Trade Group Files Suit Challenging CFPB’s Section 1071 Rule
On January 11, the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau (CFPB or Bureau) issued two “advisory opinions” addressing the CFPB’s views of the obligations of consumer reporting agencies (CRAs) under the Fair Credit Reporting Act (FCRA). The advisory opinions are interpretive rules issued under the Bureau’s authority to interpret the FCRA pursuant to § 1022(b)(1) of the Consumer Financial Protection Act of 2010.
Continue Reading CFPB Continues Focus on Consumer Reporting and the FCRA With New “Guidance” on Background Checks and Consumer Disclosures
As discussed here, during the summer of 2023, Representative Roger Williams (R-Texas) and Senator John Kennedy (R-La.) introduced identical Congressional Review Act (CRA) resolutions in the U.S. House and Senate (H.J. Res. 66 and S. J. Res. 32, respectively) disapproving the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau’s (CFPB or Bureau) implementation of the small business data collection and reporting final rule under § 1071 of the Dodd-Frank Wall Street Reform and Consumer Protection Act (Final Rule). Under the CRA, a rule promulgated by an administrative agency “shall not take effect (or continue), if the Congress enacts a joint resolution of disapproval.” On October 18, by a bipartisan vote of 53-44, the Senate approved its resolution. On November 29, the House likewise passed a resolution of disapproval by a vote of 221-202.
Continue Reading Senate Fails to Override President Biden’s Veto of Joint Resolution to Overturn CFPB’s Section 1071 Final Rule
In this episode of Payments Pros, Keith Barnett and Carlin McCrory discuss the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau’s (CFPB) fall supervisory highlights, focusing on “junk fees.” The report covers examinations in areas of deposits, auto servicing, and remittances completed between February and August 2023. The recent report reveals that their efforts have resulted in institutions refunding more than $140 million to consumers. The report primarily focuses on deposits as an area of supervisory observations.
Continue Reading Decoding the CFPB’s Recent Report: An Examination of “Junk Fees” and Their Impact on Consumers