Beam Financial, Inc. (Beam), a mobile banking app, will be banned from offering any service that may be used to deposit, store, or withdraw funds, and must give a full refund to users as part of a settlement with the Federal Trade Commission (FTC). It also is prohibited from misrepresenting the interest rates, restrictions, and
On March 25, the Federal Trade Commission (FTC or Commission) released an article reflecting on its work in 2020. The following are some of the most notable actions of the FTC in 2020:
On March 22, President Joe Biden announced his intent to nominate Lina Khan to be a commissioner of the Federal Trade Commission (FTC). Khan is an outspoken critic of big tech and a former legal advisor to FTC Commissioner Rohit Chopra, Biden’s nominee to lead the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau (CFPB). Khan’s anticipated nomination again
On March 3, the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau (CFPB) filed a complaint in the Northern District of Illinois against a third-party payment processor, BrightSpeed Solutions, Inc., and its founder and former CEO Kevin Howard. The CFPB’s complaint alleges that the defendants violated the Consumer Financial Protection Act (CFPA) and the Telemarketing and Consumer Fraud and
On March 18, Opportunity Financial, Inc. (OppFi) — a Chicago-based platform lender — announced that the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau (CFPB) is investigating its compliance with the Military Lending Act. The announcement — coupled with several others like it in recent months — confirms that the CFPB is closely monitoring fintechs.
OppFi is a consumer
On March 11, the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau (CFPB) announced that it is rescinding a January 2020 policy statement that limited the “abusive acts and practices” standard created by the 2010 Dodd-Frank Act. By rescinding the policy statement, the CFPB — under the direction of Acting Director Dave Uejio — signals a return to the
At the Nationwide Multistate Licensing System (NMLS) Annual Conference, state financial regulators released an updated cybersecurity examination tool for nonbank financial company supervision. The tool is designed for state regulators to use in examinations, but “companies are encouraged to use it to assess their cybersecurity health between examinations.”
State regulators are continuing to find new
On January 21, the CFPB issued a Small Entity Compliance Guide summarizing the October 2020 Debt Collection Rule. The Debt Collection Rule amends Regulation F, 12 CFR Part 1006 and becomes effective on November 30, 2021. The Debt Collection Rule governs the activities of debt collectors under the Fair Debt Collection Practices Act (FDCPA).
The