“More banks will be able to estimate costs to consumers of remittance transfers rather than quote exact third-party fees and exchange rates under a final rule issued by the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau. The rule released Monday expanded and made permanent temporary protections established in an earlier 2013 regulation. The new rule establishes a safe harbor for banks providing 500 or fewer transfers a year from complying with a requirement that they disclose the price of a remittance transfer, the exact exchange rate, the amount to be delivered and the date funds are available.”

“Government agencies may not always be able to use direct deposit to distribute funds because they do not have access to consumers’ account information, such as account and routing numbers, and because some consumers receiving payments do not have a pre-existing account that can accept direct deposits. In such cases, the disbursement of funds via alternative means, such as a newly-issued prepaid account, may be faster, more secure, more convenient, and less expensive—for both the government agency and the consumer—than making disbursements through other methods such as paper check.”

“Payday lenders have been mobilizing their customers to push the federal government to ease Obama-era regulations of the industry, according to research by a consumer advocacy group that favors the rules. Since the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau began soliciting public comment on a proposed rule governing small-dollar, high-interest consumer loans, the lenders have organized thousands of customers who have sent in duplicated comments in support of the change, said Allied Progress, the consumer group.”