Payments Pros – The Payments Law Podcast

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.Jordan highlights the importance of data portability in banking, comparing it the telecommunications industry's phone number portability. He suggests that the rule will increase competition, forcing banks to offer better services to retain customers.The proposed 1033 rule requires financial institutions, starting with the largest, to make consumer data, including bill pay data, accessible to third parties and consumers. This may necessitate significant architectural changes and costs, but ensures consumers' legal right to share their data without incurring unnecessary fees.The discussion concludes with Jordan forecasting that the proposed 1033 rule will enhance banking services by fostering competition and simplifying the process for customers to switch banks. He foresees the emergence of earned wage access products as a tool to assist individuals in better financial management. Additionally, Jordan supports the secondary use of data for personalized financial advice and advocates for the rule's extension to encompass payroll and merchant data.

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.Keith and Carlin also note that the report discusses CFPB identifying unfair practices by financial institutions, which have been charging consumers representment nonsufficient funds (NSF) fees without providing an opportunity to prevent additional fees after the first failed attempt. According to the CFPB, some institutions have used incomplete data that failed to capture all instances of representment NSF fees charged to consumers. The CFPB is currently seeking comprehensive reporting on when consumers were charged multiple representment fees and ensuring proper reimbursement. As noted in the report, institutions are refunding more than $22 million to consumers in response to these directives. NSF fees have been a particular point of criticism for the CFPB, arguing that they are too high and are charged without providing a service to the consumer. Therefore, institutions have been urged by the CFPB to eliminate NSF fees.The report also addresses unanticipated overdraft fees and the CFPB's findings on pandemic relief benefits. The CFPB obtained data from several institutions related to the fees assessed over the course of 2022.Lastly, Keith and Carlin discuss that the CFPB has identified unfair practices related to auto servicers' handling of refunds and add-on products after loans terminate early. Some servicers failed to ensure consumers receive refunds, while others miscalculated refund amounts. The CFPB found that servicers engaged in unfair practices when they miscalculated add-on product refund amounts after loans terminated early.

Carlin McCrory, digital consumer payment expert, joins a special joint episode to discuss the CFPB's proposed larger participant rule for consumer payments providers. The group discusses the implications of the rule, including increased enforcement activity and the broad scope. The rule is expected to be finalized and become effective around fall 2024.

In this episode of Payments Pros, Keith Barnett and Carlin McCrory are joined by Pidgin's Senior Vice President of Innovation Kevin Olsen to discuss faster payments and the FedNow service.Faster payments, such as real-time payments (RTP) and FedNow, are transactions completed in seconds, available 24/7, and restricted to U.S. financial institutions. Since its launch in July 2023, FedNow has seen rapid adoption due to its public nature and industrywide development. Kevin highlights various use cases for FedNow, including person-to-person, account-to-account, and business transactions, as well as potential government and emergency uses.Kevin and the Payments Pros hosts also discuss how financial institutions and fintechs can access FedNow, the onboarding process, and the areas in which faster payments can be improved.

This episode of Payments Pros spotlights an episode from The Crypto Exchange, where Kalama Lui-Kwan joins Payments Pros hosts Keith Barnett and Carlin McCrory to discuss consumer protection under Regulation E. They delve into a July 2022 letter from Democratic senators, urging the CFPB to hold banks liable for consumer losses when the consumers provide alleged fraudsters with access to their own accounts through payment apps. Keith and Carlin examine the senators' concerns and the potential significant impact on financial institutions from any changes that the CFPB makes.

In the latest episode of Payments Pros, hosts Keith Barnett and Carlin McCrory are joined by Jean Gonnell and Agustin Rodriguez, co-leaders of Troutman Pepper’s Cannabis practice, to discuss the legal complexities that financial institutions face when dealing with the cannabis industry.Jean and Agustin give a high-level overview of the basics of cannabis, including federal and state regulations, and the specific expectations for financial institutions operating in this space. They also explain the rigorous state-level regulatory systems for marijuana, including seed-to-sale tracking, testing requirements, and security measures.Our guests examine the impact of cannabis regulation on financial institutions. They discuss the challenges posed by the Bank Secrecy Act, money transmitter laws, and the Money Laundering Control Act for financial institutions serving marijuana-related businesses.Our Cannabis Practice provides advice on issues related to applicable federal and state law. Marijuana remains an illegal controlled substance under federal law.

In the latest episode of Payments Pros, hosts Keith Barnett, Josh McBeain, and Carlin McCrory discuss Earned Wage Access (EWA), a system that allows employees to receive their earned wages before the employer's payroll cycle.Keith, Josh, and Carlin delve into the potentially applicable federal laws related to EWA, starting with the Truth in Lending Act (TILA). They discuss the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau's (CFPB) advisory opinion on EWA products and the confusion it caused in the industry. They also discuss other federal laws that may apply to EWA products, such as the Equal Credit Opportunity Act (ECOA), the Military Lending Act (MLA), Regulation E, and the Payday Lending Rule.In addition to the federal laws, Keith, Josh, and Carlin discuss state lending and licensing laws, and highlight recent state EWA laws and regulatory activity related to EWA, including laws passed in Missouri and Nevada, advisory opinions issued in Arizona and Maryland, and EWA activity in California.Finally, the group also discusses enforcement issues related to EWA, including the rescinding of a no-action letter by the CFPB and the potential for enforcement under state laws.

In this discussion, James Rowe and Nanci McKenzie from Affirmative Technologies share their expertise in ACH processing and risk management. They dive into the importance of ACH risk monitoring and the need for predictive models to evaluate originator risks. The duo also introduces their innovative ACH risk scoring tool, akin to a FICO score, to help financial institutions manage unauthorized transaction risks effectively. Key insights revolve around regulatory expectations and the evolution of risk management in the fast-paced payments landscape.

In this episode of Payments Pros, Keith Barnett welcomes his colleagues Rich Zack and Christy Tuttle to discuss how U.S. government sanction programs impact payment processors, banks, and the payments industry in general.Keith, Rich, and Christy discuss the current atmosphere of sanctions in the payments industry and the recent joint guidance issued to banks by the OCC, the Fed, and FDIC. The guidance instructs banks on the regulators' expectations during bank examinations concerning third-party relationships, including payment processors, card issuers, blockchain, and anyone who has a form of bank partnership. The guidance covers initial due diligence, risk assessment, monitoring, ongoing due diligence, and termination of the relationship. Noncompliance with these requirements has led to sanctions against banks, payment processors, card issuers, and money transmitters.Keith, Rich, and Christy also discuss the role of the Office of Foreign Asset Control (OFAC) in enforcing sanctions, particularly in light of the war in Ukraine, as well as the other agencies that enforce sanctions. Lastly, they also discuss what companies in the payments space can do to avoid violating sanctions, and what they should do if a violation is discovered.

In this episode of Payments Pros, Carlin McCrory welcomes Stout’s Disputes, Compliance, and Investigations Managing Director Terri Sands to discuss the evolvement in payments and the launch of FedNow.Carlin and Terri discuss how FedNow will affect financial institutions, as well how they see businesses and consumers utilizing the service. Additionally, with this new evolvement in the payments space, financial institutions using FedNow need to be cautious of fraud. Terri discusses how Stout is working with their financial institution clients to implement FedNow, developing strategic planning documents for approaching next generation fraud, and getting management buy-in on the necessary fraud protections.