A key issue for earned wage access (EWA) programs is whether they constitute “credit” for purposes of federal consumer financial protection laws such as TILA, ECOA, and the CFPA, or under state law. The Treasury Department’s General Explanations of the Administration’s Fiscal Year 2023 Revenue Proposals includes a proposal concerning how EWA programs should be
earned wage access
This week’s podcast: What will 2022 hold for fintechs in the consumer financial services industry—a discussion with special guest Todd Baker, Senior Fellow at the Richman Center for Business, Law & Public Policy at Columbia University
Rising interest rates and inflation are two key factors that are expected to create a more challenging business environment in 2022. Based on his work at the intersection of technology and financial services, Todd shares his perspective on how this new environment is likely to impact providers of various types of consumer financial services, particularly…
CFPB Acting General Counsel addresses “confusion” caused by CFPB advisory opinion on earned wage access program
By Ballard CFS Group on
In a letter to three representatives of consumer advocacy groups, CFPB Acting General Counsel Seth Frotman indicated that due to “repeated reports of confusion” caused by the CFPB’s November 2020 advisory opinion (AO) on earned wage access (EWA) programs, he plans to recommend to Director Chopra “that the CFPB consider how to provide greater clarity…
Consumer groups urge CFPB to regulate fee-based earned wage access products as credit
By John L. Culhane, Jr. & Heather S. Klein on
Posted in CFPB, Regulatory and Enforcement
A group of 96 organizations and individuals, who describe themselves as consisting of “consumer, labor, civil rights, legal services, faith, community and financial organizations and academics,” have sent a letter to the CFPB urging the Bureau to regulate fee-based earned wage access (EWA) products as credit subject to the Truth in Lending Act. EWA products…
CA Dept. of Financial Protection and Innovation signs MOUs with five earned wage access companies
By Ballard CFS Group on
Since the California Consumer Financial Protection Law (CCFPL) became effective on January 1, the state’s Department of Financial Protection and Innovation (DFPI) has wasted no time in asserting its expanded jurisdiction over consumer financial services providers. (The DFPI is the new name given to the state’s Department of Business Oversight (DBO) by the CCFPL.)
Having…