Rohit Chopra, director of the CFPB, testifies during the Senate Banking, Housing and Urban Affairs Committee hearing entitled “The Consumer Financial Protection Bureau’s Semi-Annual Report to Congress” at the Dirksen Building on November 30, 2023.
Tom Williams | Cq-roll Call, Inc. | Getty Images
The Consumer Financial Protection Bureau released a final version of a on Thursday rule It says it will soon monitor non-bank companies that offer financial services such as payments and wallet apps.
Technology giants and payments companies that handle at least 50 million transactions annually will be subject to the overhaul, which is intended to ensure that newer entrants adhere to the laws that banks and credit unions adhere to, the CFPB said in a report. edition.
The CFPB said seven non-banks are eligible for the new audit. Payment services from Apple, Googling And Amazon, as well as fintech companies including PayPal And Block and peer-to-peer services Venmo and Zelle are affected by the change.
While the CFPB already had some authority over digital payments companies because of its oversight of electronic fund transfers, the new rule allows it to treat tech companies more like banks. It subjects the companies to “proactive investigations” to ensure compliance with the law, allowing the company to request documents and interview employees.
“Digital payments have gone from novelty to necessity, and our oversight must reflect this reality,” said CFPB Director Rohit Chopra. “The rule will help protect consumer privacy, guard against fraud and prevent illegal account closures.”
A year ago, the CFPB said it wanted to expand its oversight to technology and fintech companies that offer financial services but have avoided greater scrutiny by partnering with banks. Americans are increasingly using payment apps as de facto bank accounts, storing cash and making everyday purchases via their mobile phones.
The most popular apps covered by the rule collectively process more than 13 billion consumer payments a year and have seen “particularly strong adoption” among low- and middle-income users, the CFPB said Thursday.
“What started as a convenient alternative to cash has grown into a critical financial tool, processing more than a trillion dollars in payments between consumers and their friends, families and businesses,” the regulator said.
The original proposal would subject companies that process at least five million transactions annually to some of the same investigations the CFPB conducts on banks and credit unions. That threshold was increased to 50 million transactions in the final rule, limiting the expansive powers of about 17 companies to just seven, the agency said Thursday.
Payment apps that only work at a certain retailer, for example Starbucksare excluded from the rule.
The new CFPB rule is one of the rare cases in which the U.S. banking industry publicly supported the regulator’s actions; Banks have long believed that technology companies entering the financial services industry should be scrutinized more closely.
The CFPB said the rule will take effect 30 days after publication in the Federal Register.
It is unknown whether the new Trump administration will decide to change or eliminate the new rule, but it is possible that expanded oversight of tech companies will align with future CFPB leadership.