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A leading payments industry news source for more than 17 years. Glenbrook curates the news and keeps you abreast of the important daily headlines in payments.
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February 7, 2025
On the web
FinCEN Announces $37,000,000 Civil Money Penalty Against Brink’s Global Services USA, Inc. for Violations of the Bank Secrecy Act
FinCEN
"The Department of the Treasury’s Financial Crimes Enforcement Network (FinCEN) assessed a $37,000,000 civil money penalty against Brink’s Global Services USA, Inc. (Brink’s) for willful violations of the Bank Secrecy Act (BSA), the primary U.S. anti-money laundering (AML) law that safeguards the financial system from illicit use, and its implementing regulations."
February 5, 2025
On the web
Hawley, Sanders Push for 10 Percent Cap on Credit Card Interest
The Hill
"Sens. Josh Hawley (R-Mo.) and Bernie Sanders (I-Vt.) introduced a bill Tuesday seeking to cap credit card interest rates at 10 percent. Hawley and Sanders said credit card interest rates have become 'exploitative,' citing a recent Forbes report that found the average credit card interest rate is 28.6 percent."
February 4, 2025
On the web
Payments Canada Opens Public Consultation on Expansion of Membership
Open Banking Expo
"Payments Canada membership eligibility is set to expand to include payment service providers, as defined in the Retail Payment Activities Act, that perform retail payment activities; credit union locals that are members of a central or a cooperative credit association; and finally, to clearing houses of designated clearing and settlement systems."
February 3, 2025
Top Post
Statement on Designation of Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent as Acting Director of the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau
Consumer Financial Protection Bureau
"On January 31, 2025, President Trump designated Secretary of the Treasury Scott Bessent as Acting Director of the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau (CFPB)."
January 16, 2025
On the web
CFPB Orders Operator of Cash App to Pay $175 Million and Fix Its Failures on Fraud
Consumer Financial Protection Bureau
"The Consumer Financial Protection Bureau (CFPB) ordered Block, the operator of the peer-to-peer payments app Cash App, to refund and pay other redress to consumers up to $120 million and pay a penalty of $55 million into the CFPB’s victims relief fund."
January 14, 2025
On the web
CFPB Proposes to Include Virtual Currency Transactions Under the EFTA
Goodwin Law
"The Consumer Financial Protection Bureau (CFPB) issued a proposed interpretive rule that, if finalized as written, would bring certain virtual currency products and services, such as stablecoins and digital wallets, within the scope of the Electronic Funds Transfer Act (EFTA) and Regulation E."
CFPB Research Reveals Heavy Buy Now, Pay Later Use Among Borrowers with High Credit Balances and Multiple Pay-in-Four Loans
Consumer Financial Protection Bureau
"More than 60 percent of users had simultaneous loans, borrowers held higher balances on other credit lines, and most loans went to consumers with subprime or lower credit scores"
January 10, 2025
On the web
CFPB Seeks Input on Digital Payment Privacy and Consumer Protections
Consumer Financial Protection Bureau
"The CFPB announced that it is seeking public input on strengthening privacy protections and preventing harmful surveillance in digital payments, particularly those offered through large technology platforms."
January 9, 2025
Top Post
CFPB Approves Application from Financial Data Exchange to Issue Standards for Open Banking
Consumer Financial Protection Bureau
"The Consumer Financial Protection Bureau (CFPB) issued an order recognizing Financial Data Exchange, Inc. (FDX) as a standard setting body under the CFPB’s Personal Financial Data Rights rule."
January 2, 2025
On the web
CFPB Sues Walmart and Branch Messenger for Illegally Opening Deposit Accounts for More Than One Million Delivery Drivers
Consumer Financial Protection Bureau
"The Consumer Financial Protection Bureau (CFPB) sued Walmart and Branch Messenger for forcing delivery drivers to use costly deposit accounts to get paid and for deceiving workers— “last mile” drivers in Walmart’s Spark Driver program—about how they could access their earnings."
December 20, 2024
Top Post
CFPB Sues JPMorgan Chase, Bank of America, and Wells Fargo for Allowing Fraud to Fester on Zelle
Consumer Financial Protection Bureau
"Today, the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau (CFPB) sued the operator of Zelle and three of the nation’s largest banks for failing to protect consumers from widespread fraud on America’s most widely available peer-to-peer payment network."
December 18, 2024
On the web
CFPB Takes Action on Bait-and-Switch Credit Card Rewards Tactics
Consumer Financial Protection Bureau
"The Consumer Financial Protection Bureau (CFPB) announced major actions today to protect consumers from illegal credit card practices and help people save money on interest and fees. In a circular to other law enforcement agencies, the CFPB warned that some credit card companies operating rewards programs may be breaking the law, including by illegally devaluing rewards points and airline miles."
December 13, 2024
On the web
UK Payments Regulator Consults on Cross-Border Card Fees Cap
Reuters
"Britain's payments regulator said on Friday it would consult on whether to introduce a cap on cross-border card fees charged when European consumers buy online from UK businesses, after concluding they had been increased to 'unduly high levels'."
On the wires
CFPB Closes Overdraft Loophole to Save Americans Billions in Fees
CFPB
"Today, the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau took action to close an outdated overdraft loophole that exempted overdraft loans from lending laws. The agency’s final rule on overdraft fees applies to the banks and credit unions with more than $10 billion in assets that dominate the U.S. market."
December 12, 2024
Top Post
CFPB Closes Overdraft Loophole to Save Americans Billions in Fees
Consumer Financial Protection Bureau
"The Consumer Financial Protection Bureau (CFPB) took action to close an outdated overdraft loophole that exempted overdraft loans from lending laws. The agency’s final rule on overdraft fees applies to the banks and credit unions with more than $10 billion in assets that dominate the U.S. market."
December 6, 2024
Top Post
CFPB Orders Federal Supervision of Google Following Contested Designation
Consumer Financial Protection Bureau
"The Consumer Financial Protection Bureau (CFPB) today published an order establishing supervisory authority over Google Payment Corp."
November 26, 2024
On the web
Brazil Antitrust Body Rules Apple Must Lift Restrictions on In-App Payments
Reuters
"Brazilian antitrust regulator Cade said on Monday that Apple must lift restrictions on payment methods for in-app purchases, among other things, as the watchdog moved to proceed with an investigation into a complaint filed by Latin America e-commerce giant MercadoLibre."
November 21, 2024
On the web
CFPB Finalizes Rule on Federal Oversight of Popular Digital Payment Apps to Protect Personal Data, Reduce Fraud, and Stop Illegal “Debanking”
Consumer Financial Protection Bureau
"The Consumer Financial Protection Bureau (CFPB) finalized a rule to supervise the largest nonbank companies offering digital funds transfer and payment wallet apps. The rule will help the CFPB to ensure that these companies – specifically those handling more than 50 million transactions per year – follow federal law just like large banks, credit unions, and other financial institutions already supervised by the CFPB."
November 15, 2024
On the web
FDIC Survey Finds 96 Percent of U.S. Households Were Banked in 2023
FDIC
"Nearly 96 percent of all U.S. households were banked in 2023, according to just-released national survey by the Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation (FDIC). The 2023 FDIC National Survey of Unbanked and Underbanked Households found that 4.2 percent of U.S. households (representing 5.6 million households) lacked a bank or credit union account."
November 14, 2024
Top Post
Consumer Financial Protection Bureau Targets Google for Supervision: Big Tech’s New Regulatory Challenge
CEO Today
"The Consumer Financial Protection Bureau (CFPB) recently announced its intent to bring Google under its regulatory supervision, a move that could establish a new era of oversight for tech companies delving into financial services. This unprecedented development signifies a potential shift in how the U.S. government approaches Big Tech’s increasing influence in finance and consumer markets."
On the web
Statement of CFPB Director Rohit Chopra on the FTC’s Click‑to‑Cancel Rule
Consumer Financial Protection Bureau
"Like with many other products and services across the economy, consumers are finding that financial products and services are now being marketed through “subscriptions” and “membership” arrangements. The Consumer Financial Protection Bureau (CFPB) has observed that these revenue models create incentives for firms to make it difficult to cancel recurring payments and charges."
November 12, 2024
On the web
CFPB Report Details Carveouts for Financial Institutions in State Data Privacy Laws
Consumer Financial Protection Bureau
"The Consumer Financial Protection Bureau (CFPB) released a report examining federal and state-level privacy protections for consumers’ financial data. The report notes that protections under federal regulations for financial data have limits."
CFPB Orders Navy Federal Credit Union to Pay More Than $95 Million for Illegal Surprise Overdraft Fees
Consumer Financial Protection Bureau
"The Consumer Financial Protection Bureau (CFPB) took action against Navy Federal Credit Union for charging illegal overdraft fees. From 2017 to 2022, Navy Federal charged customers surprise overdraft fees on certain ATM withdrawals and debit card purchases, even when their accounts showed sufficient funds at the time of the transactions."
November 7, 2024
On the web
CFPB Orders NFCU to Pay More Than $95 Million for Illegal Surprise Overdraft Fees
Consumer Financial Protection Bureau
Today, the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau took action against Navy Federal Credit Union for charging illegal overdraft fees. From 2017 to 2022, Navy Federal charged customers surprise overdraft fees on certain ATM withdrawals and debit card purchases, even when their accounts showed sufficient funds at the time of the transactions.
EU Regulators Investigate if Visa, Mastercard Fees Harm Retailers, Document Shows
Reuters
EU antitrust regulators are investigating whether the fees charged by Visa and Mastercard have a negative impact on retailers, an EU document seen by Reuters showed. The European Commission, which enforces EU competition rules, sent questionnaires about both Visa and Mastercard to retailers and payment service providers in September, giving them until October to respond.
October 23, 2024
Top Post
CFPB Orders Apple and Goldman Sachs to Pay Over $89 Million for Apple Card Failures
Consumer Financial Protection Bureau
"The Consumer Financial Protection Bureau (CFPB) took action against Apple and Goldman Sachs for customer service breakdowns and misrepresentations that impacted hundreds of thousands of Apple Card users. The CFPB found that Apple failed to send tens of thousands of consumer disputes of Apple Card transactions to Goldman Sachs, and when Apple did send disputes to Goldman Sachs, the bank did not follow numerous federal requirements for investigating the disputes."
October 22, 2024
Top Post
CFPB Finalizes Personal Financial Data Rights Rule to Boost Competition, Protect Privacy, and Give Families More Choice in Financial Services
Consumer Financial Protection Bureau
"the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau (CFPB) finalized a rule that will give consumers greater rights, privacy, and security over their personal financial data. The rule requires financial institutions, credit card issuers, and other financial providers to unlock an individual’s personal financial data and transfer it to another provider at the consumer’s request for free."
October 16, 2024
Top Post
Federal Trade Commission Announces Final “Click-to-Cancel” Rule Making It Easier for Consumers to End Recurring Subscriptions and Memberships
Federal Trade Commission
"The Federal Trade Commission today announced a final “click-to-cancel” rule that will require sellers to make it as easy for consumers to cancel their enrollment as it was to sign up. Most of the final rule’s provisions will go into effect 180 days after it is published in the Federal Register."
October 4, 2024
Top Post
OCC Backs Banks in Fight Against Illinois Interchange Law
American Banker
"The Office of the Comptroller of the Currency has filed a legal brief supporting the banking industry's challenge to Illinois' prohibition on interchange fees, stating the law interferes with federal banking authority. [Subscription Required]"
September 26, 2024
On the web
Proposed New Rules to Better Protect Customers of Payments Firms
FCA
"The FCA is stepping in to better protect customers when payments and e-money firms go out of business."