CFPB, Federal Agencies, State Agencies, and Attorneys General
The American Fintech Council (AFC), a trade group whose members include providers of earned wage access (EWA) products, has sent a letter to Director Chopra urging the CFPB to take steps towards development of a “pragmatic regulatory approach” for regulating EWA products.
In its letter, AFC discusses the “patchwork approach” to regulating EWA products that is emerging at the state level. … Continue Reading
On December 22, 2023, the Attorney General of Montana released an opinion (the “Opinion”) concluding that certain earned wage access (EWA) products are not “consumer loans” or “deferred deposit loans” under Montana law and do not, therefore, require licensure by the Montana Division of Banking and Financial Institutions. The Opinion only applies to EWA products that are:
The Consumer Financial Protection Bureau has sent a letter to the California Department of Financial Protection and Innovation (DFPI) commenting on the DFPI’s proposal that would require providers of “income-based advances” to register with or obtain a license from the DFPI and comply with the fee and interest rate limits of the California Financing Law (CFL).… Continue Reading
On August 28, 2023 (the “Effective Date”), SB 103, signed into law by Missouri’s governor, will become the nation’s second statutory framework for earned wage access (EWA) providers. The Missouri law closely resembles Nevada’s recently enacted law to license and regulate EWA providers.
SB 103 enacts a new RSMo § 361.749(2), which expressly provides that “[n]o person shall engage in the business of earned wage access services in [Missouri] without first registering as an earned wage access services provider” with the Missouri Division of Finance (the “Division”). … Continue Reading
Earlier this month, the Maryland Office of Financial Regulation (“OFR”) issued guidance (the “Guidance”) to provide clarity on how the OFR views Earned Wage Access (“EWA”) products and describe the requirements entities offering EWA products must adhere to.
Providing some background for the Guidance, EWA is a financial concept that allows employees to access a portion of their earned but unpaid wages before a regular payday. … Continue Reading
On June 13, Nevada’s governor signed into law Senate Bill 290 creating the nation’s first statutory framework for earned wage access (EWA) providers operating in the state. The law appoints the state’s Commissioner of Financial Institutions to oversee the industry.
Earned wage access products allow consumers to access their earned wages before their scheduled pay date. … Continue Reading
The Government Accountability Office (GAO) has issued a new report entitled “Financial Technology: Products Have Benefits and Risks to Underserved Consumers, and Regulatory Clarity Is Needed.”
The report focuses on the following four types of fintech products:
Mark Brnovich, the Arizona Attorney General, recently issued an opinion regarding whether earned wage access (EWA) products are “consumer lender loans” under the state’s Consumer Lenders Act (CLA) such that a person who makes, procures, or advertises an EWA product must be licensed as a “consumer lender.” The AG concluded that an EWA product offered as a no-interest and non-recourse product is not a “consumer lender loan” under the CLA.… Continue Reading
We begin with a discussion of the goals and themes of FTA’s recent summit and AFC’s advocacy regarding retention of the strategic plan option under the Community Reinvestment Act. We then discuss consumer benefits of buy-now-pay-later (BNPL) and regulatory concerns raised by the CFPB in its BNPL report, state level regulatory issues facing fintechs, the Treasury’s report on bank/fintech relationships and takeaways for fintechs, consumer benefits of earned wage access products and artificial intelligence and regulatory concerns raised by the CFPB, and reactions to the CFPB’s Section 1033 rulemaking.… Continue Reading
PayActiv, which as the first EWA provider began an EWA program about 13 years ago, partners with employers to offer their employees EWA. We first discuss what EWA is, the structure of the employer model used by PayActiv and other EWA providers, and how employers participate in and employees access their wages in the employer model. … Continue Reading
