Prepaid Cards

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On January 25, the CFPB finalized certain changes to the original Final Prepaid Rule (the “Rule”) proposed last summer.  The amended Rule still contains onerous restrictions on credit features and complicated disclosure requirements, but the changes are generally positive for prepaid providers and incorporate feedback from industry representatives.  Importantly, due to concerns about implementation difficulties, the effective date of the Rule, which was originally October 1, 2017 and delayed to April 1, 2018, is now further delayed to April 1, 2019.… Continue Reading

The CFPB announced last Thursday that it expects to issue a final rule amending its final prepaid accounts rule “soon after the new year.”  In June 2017, the CFPB issued proposed amendments to the rule.

In its announcement, the CFPB also stated that, as part of that process, it expects to further extend the rule’s effective date. … Continue Reading

The New Jersey Legislature is considering a law to restrict prepaid-account fees.  Assembly Bill 4965 ( the NJ Bill) seeks to impose fee constraints, disclosure mandates, and limits on consumer liability for unauthorized transfers, among other things.  While many aspects of the proposed law mirror the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau’s Final Prepaid Rule (the Bureau’s Prepaid Rule), the NJ Bill’s fee restrictions and disclosure mandates exceed federal requirements set to go into effect on April 1, 2018. … Continue Reading

The CFPB’s final prepaid card rule has survived Republican efforts to nullify the rule under the Congressional Review Act (CRA).  The CRA establishes a special set of procedures through which Congress can nullify final regulations issued by a federal agency.  While a CRA joint resolution of disapproval must be approved by both Houses of Congress, it cannot be filibustered in the Senate and can be passed with only a simple majority. … Continue Reading

As it has done for other CFPB rules, the CFPB has published a small entity compliance guide for its prepaid card rule.  The final rule is generally effective on October 1, 2017.

We have blogged about Republican efforts that are underway in Congress to use the Congressional Review Act to enact a joint resolution of disapproval to nullify the prepaid card rule.… Continue Reading

The CFPB’s Final Rule on prepaid cards includes, in addition to the long form disclosure requirements discussed in our November 21st blog post, highly detailed requirements for providing “preacquisition” disclosures to consumers of the basic terms of the prepaid card account. These “Know Before You Owe” disclosures are set to go into force on October 1, 2017.… Continue Reading

The final Prepaid Card Rule requires not only so-called “packaging” or short form disclosures prior to acquisition of the prepaid card account, but also that a long form disclosure be provided to the consumer. Whereas the short form disclosures are intended to aid in comparison-shopping, the long form disclosure provides the complete, unabridged itemization of fees and program information.… Continue Reading

The CFPB has issued its October 2016 complaint report which highlights complaints about prepaid cards and complaints from consumers in North Carolina and the Charlotte metro area.  The CFPB began taking prepaid card complaints in July 2014.

Earlier this month, the CFPB issued its long-anticipated final rule for general purpose prepaid accounts. … Continue Reading

The CFPB has issued its long-anticipated final rule for general purpose prepaid accounts.  As expected, the new regulations expand the products covered by Regulation E, introduce significant new disclosure requirements, extend consumer liability protections to prepaid accounts and add onerous requirements for accounts with overdraft or credit features.  Many industry participants have already expressed disappointment with the CFPB’s decision to apply Regulation Z requirements to the overdraft features of prepaid accounts. … Continue Reading

The CFPB released a report, “Tools for saving: Using prepaid accounts to set aside funds,” that presents the results of a research project involving a pilot program offering an incentive to prepaid card users to use a savings feature.

In December 2014, as part of its Project Catalyst, the CFPB’s initiative for facilitating innovation in consumer-friendly financial products and services, the CFPB announced a new research pilot program using insights from behavioral economics and an American Express pilot program to evaluate the effectiveness of certain practices to encourage prepaid card users to develop regular saving behavior.… Continue Reading