Agency Rulemaking & Guidance

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Illinois has become the first state to enact restrictions on credit and debit card interchange fees – commonly known as swipe fees – linked to taxes and gratuities. The Interchange Fee Prohibition Act (the “Act”), embedded as Section 150-10 of the state’s latest revenue bill, signed on June 7 by Governor J.B. Pritzker, aims to accommodate retailers who have long contested the fairness of these fees. The Act forbids card issuers, payment card networks, acquirer banks and payment processors from charging retailers for swipe fees on gratuities and “any use and occupation tax or excise tax” imposed by the State or a local government. The Act will become effective in July 2025.Continue Reading Swipe Fee Showdown: Illinois Passes Novel Payments Law

On October 19, the CFPB proposed a rule that would require depository and nondepository entities to make available to consumers and authorized third parties certain data relating to consumers’ transactions and accounts (see our previous post on this rulemaking here and here). The proposed rule would also establish obligations for third parties accessing a consumer’s data, including privacy protections for that data, and provide basic standards for data access to promote fair, open, and inclusive industry standards.Continue Reading CFPB Issues Proposed Rule to Regulate Personal Financial Data Rights

On March 15, the CFPB issued a Request for Information (RFI) about data broker business practices to inform planned rulemaking under the FCRA and provide the CFPB with insight into the full scope of the data broker industry. In particular, CFPB is seeking information about (i) new business models that sell consumer data and (ii) consumer harm and market abuses.Continue Reading CFPB Launches Inquiry into the Business Practices of Data Brokers

On February 28, 2023, the FTC and the CFPB issued a joint request for information (“RFI”) seeking public comment on background checks used to screen potential tenants for rental housing. As part of the RFI, the FTC and the CFPB are asking current tenants, prospective tenants, advocacy groups, commercial and individual landlords, property managers, background screening companies, other consumer reporting agencies, and others to weigh in on a wide array of issues that affect tenant screening, such as:Continue Reading CFPB, FTC Seek Public Comment on Tenant Background Checks

On July 27, CFPB Director Chopra was interviewed in multiple publications, here and here, about, among other topics, how the CFPB could seek to help mortgage borrowers strained by the Federal Reserve’s battle against inflation and how the agency is looking at cryptocurrency. Below are some of the more important updates from the interviews.
Continue Reading CFPB’s Chopra Has Payments and Crypto In Focus

Recently, the Federal Reserve Board (Fed) published its annual Cybersecurity and Financial System Resilience report describing measures it has taken to strengthen cybersecurity in the financial services sector, including the supervision and regulation of financial institutions and third-party service providers.
Continue Reading Fed Reports on Cybersecurity and Financial System Resilience

On July 11, CFPB Director Rohit Chopra drafted a blog post detailing the Bureau’s efforts to comply with President Biden’s Executive Order on Promoting Competition in the American Economy aimed, in part, to address the Administration’s concerns about pressing antitrust and competition issues affecting consumers. The CFPB was directed by the Order to explore ways to make it easier for consumers to switch financial institutions and to aggressively enforce the prohibition of UDAAPs in consumer financial products and services pursuant to the Dodd-Frank Act.
Continue Reading CFPB Continues Efforts to Promote Competition in Financial Markets