One of the most important questions facing non-bank providers of payments services is whether they are subject to regulation under U.S. state money transmission laws. Though almost all U.S. states regulate money transmitters, there are a number of states that provide exemptions for entities that act as an agent of the payee. While a small… Read More
Category Archives: State Regulators
Subscribe to State Regulators RSS FeedThe 2018 California Consumer Privacy Act: California Scraps Ballot Initiative and Passes Sweeping Data Privacy Regulation
Posted in Privacy, Regulatory Developments, State RegulatorsWith the passage of the California Consumer Privacy Act of 2018 (AB 375), the United States now has its first truly sweeping privacy regime. On Thursday, June 28, 2018, California Governor Jerry Brown signed into law what is arguably the most expansive privacy legislation in U.S. history. The Act is the product of backroom wrangling… Read More
Are You a Money Transmitter in Vermont?
Posted in Electronic Payments, Regulatory Developments, State RegulatorsThe Banking Department of the Vermont Department of Financial Regulation recently entered into a consent order with a money transmission licensing applicant. The consent order makes it clear that “Vermont does not exempt a payment processor or an agent of a payee from [money transmission] licensure.” Vermont’s position is at odds with the recent trend… Read More
Financial Services Report – Summer 2018
Posted in Arbitration, Auto Lending, CFPB, Credit Cards, Disparate Impact, Electronic Payments, Enforcement Actions, Fair Lending, Investigations, Mobile Payments, Mortgage, Payday Lending, Preemption, Privacy, Regulatory Developments, State RegulatorsNo more pencils, no more books. No more CFPB indirect auto lending guidance. No more CFPB Consumer Advisory Board. No more Volcker Rule and risk-based capital for community banks. No more Eric Schneiderman. It’s the end of the school year, and we’ve seen enormous changes on the financial services regulatory landscape since our last Report…. Read More
South Carolina’s Money Transmission Law Comes into Effect
Posted in Regulatory Developments, State RegulatorsYesterday, the Office of the South Carolina Attorney General issued a press release announcing that it has created a Money Services Division within the AG’s office and that, effective May 14, the Division is accepting applications for licensure under South Carolina’s money transmission law. This law, officially known as the South Carolina Anti-Money Laundering Act,… Read More
Financial Services Report – Spring 2018
Posted in Arbitration, CFPB, Credit Cards, Electronic Payments, Enforcement Actions, Fair Lending, Investigations, Mobile Payments, Mortgage, Payday Lending, Preemption, Privacy, Regulatory Developments, State RegulatorsThe 2018 Winter Olympics are over. We watched two 17-year-olds win gold medals in sports that didn’t exist when we were 17. The Garlic Girls, with nicknames from their favorite breakfasts, and the U.S. men’s team won medals in curling. No Miracle on Ice for the U.S. men’s hockey team, but the U.S. women’s team… Read More
Financial Services Report – Winter 2017
Posted in Arbitration, Auto Lending, CFPB, Credit Cards, Enforcement Actions, Fair Lending, Foreclosure, Indirect Auto Lending, Mobile Payments, Mortgage, Payday Lending, Preemption, Privacy, Regulatory Developments, State RegulatorsThe holidays came early for the financial services industry. First, the Senate voted to repeal the CFPB’s rule banning class waivers in arbitration agreements in consumer financial contracts. Then, Richard Cordray stepped down as CFPB Director. Former Director Cordray’s attempt to name his interim successor hours before submitting his formal resignation created dueling interim directors… Read More
Are You a Money Transmitter in Connecticut? In Hawaii?
Posted in Electronic Payments, Regulatory Developments, State RegulatorsOne of the defining aspects of the payments revolution of the past few years—at least from a regulatory perspective—has been the question of whether a particular payments service is subject to regulation as money transmission. A number of states have determined that under certain conditions, state money transmission licensing laws do not apply to services provided… Read More
Equifax Fallout: NYDFS Acts Again
Posted in Privacy, State RegulatorsThe massive Equifax breach continues to prompt responses from a wide-range of regulators. While this is not surprising in light of the scale and nature of the incident, a number of regulators are taking more aggressive and more public actions in just a short time following public announcement of the breach. While there is a… Read More
Financial Services Report – Fall 2017
Posted in Arbitration, CFPB, Credit Cards, Credit Reports, Electronic Payments, Enforcement Actions, Fair Lending, Investigations, Mortgage, Preemption, Privacy, Regulatory Developments, State Regulators, UDAAPThrough hurricanes, wild fires, the publication of Hillary Clinton’s book, the birth of Amal and George Clooney’s twins, and the Dodgers’ historic losing streak, Director Richard Cordray and the CFPB’s Final Arbitration Rule are still standing. As my colleague Ollie Ireland explained, these days, it’s easier to predict the weather than it is to predict… Read More
Financial Services Report – Summer 2017
Posted in Add On Products, Arbitration, CFPB, Credit Cards, Credit Reports, Enforcement Actions, Fair Lending, Foreclosure, Investigations, Mobile Payments, Mortgage, Payday Lending, Preemption, Privacy, Regulatory Developments, State Regulators, Student LendingSummer blockbuster season is officially upon us. Have you seen Wonder Woman yet? What about Guardians of the Galaxy Part 2? It’s déjà vu all over again with Baywatch, Pirates of the Caribbean, Alien, Planet of the Apes, Transformers, Cars, Spider Man, and more Inconvenient Truths from Al Gore all coming to a theatre near… Read More
Supreme Court “Expresses” Unanimous View That Credit Card Disclosure Rules Regulate Speech
Posted in Credit Cards, State RegulatorsOn March 29, 2017, the U.S. Supreme Court held that a New York law restricting the way merchants may communicate prices to their customers regulates speech and, thus, is subject to review under the First Amendment. Specifically, the Court held that New York General Business Law § 518 (“Section 518”) should not be viewed as regulating… Read More
Financial Services Report – Spring 2017
Posted in Arbitration, CFPB, Credit Cards, Credit Reports, Electronic Payments, Enforcement Actions, Fair Lending, Foreclosure, Investigations, Military Issues, Mobile Payments, Mortgage, Payday Lending, Preemption, Privacy, Regulatory Developments, State Regulators, Student LendingIn like a lion, out like a lamb—it works for weather; does it work for new administrations? We’ll have to wait and see. We’ll have to wait and see about the length of CFPB Director Richard Cordray’s tenure and the fate of Dodd-Frank, as it appears the Trump administration is focusing on other priorities. So… Read More
The Madden Saga Continues: On Remand, Madden Survives Summary Judgment and District Court Certifies Class
Posted in Credit Cards, State RegulatorsOn February 27, 2017, the U.S. District Court for the Southern District of New York in part denied a renewed motion by Midland Funding, LLC (“Midland”) to dispose of claims brought by Saliha Madden (“Madden”) under the Fair Debt Collection Practices Act and the New York General Business Law. The Order also certified two classes… Read More
Financial Services Report – Winter 2016
Posted in Arbitration, Auto Lending, CFPB, Credit Cards, Disparate Impact, Electronic Payments, Enforcement Actions, Fair Lending, Foreclosure, Military Issues, Mobile Payments, Mortgage, Payday Lending, Preemption, Privacy, Regulatory Developments, State Regulators, UDAAPHope you survived all of those awkward Thanksgiving holiday conversations—amazing how divided people are on whether the court got it right in the PHH case, isn’t it? So on we go into the holiday season, while visions of Dodd-Frank repeal dance in our heads. No long winter’s nap for the CFPB, not with the inauguration… Read More
Financial Services Report – Spring 2016
Posted in Arbitration, Auto Lending, CFPB, Credit Cards, Credit Reports, Disparate Impact, Electronic Payments, Enforcement Actions, Fair Lending, Foreclosure, Mobile Payments, Mortgage, Payday Lending, Preemption, Privacy, Regulatory Developments, State Regulators, UDAAPWhy another law firm newsletter? Over ten years ago, Will Stern answered that question in the first Editor’s Note of the first Financial Services Report. Some things have changed since then—we no longer print and mail paper copies, and we report on issues that were not even a twinkle in anyone’s eye back then (the… Read More
Are You a “Payment Processor”? Washington State Appears to Significantly Expand Scope of Its Money Transmission Act
Posted in Regulatory Developments, State RegulatorsOne of the defining aspects of the payments revolution of the past few years—at least from a regulatory perspective—has been the question of whether any particular payments service is subject to regulation as money transmission. State money transmission laws were crafted to address what we would today call “traditional” money transmitters—i.e., major, well-known brands that… Read More
#ThrowbackThursday: Consumer Arbitration Update
Posted in Arbitration, State RegulatorsIn July 2005, Morrison & Foerster published the client alert “Consumer Arbitration Update.” Summary: A case decided by the California Supreme Court may have marked the end of the use of arbitration as a means of dispute resolution for companies that do business with consumers using standard form contracts. Now, a company that uses consumer… Read More
NY DFS Signals a Detailed Framework for Cybersecurity Compliance
Posted in Privacy, Regulatory Developments, State RegulatorsOn November 9, 2015, the New York State Department of Financial Services (“DFS”) sent a letter to a number of state and federal financial regulators signaling that DFS may issue comprehensive cybersecurity regulations for financial institutions subject to DFS’s authority. The stated purpose of the letter was to “spark additional dialogue, collaboration and, ultimately, regulatory… Read More
The NYDFS Finalizes its BitLicense Proposal
Posted in Electronic Payments, State RegulatorsOn June 3, 2015, the New York Department of Financial Services (NYDFS) issued a final rule regarding its “BitLicense” regulatory regime (“Final Rule”). The Final Rule follows an initial proposal from July 2014 and a revised proposal from February 2015 (“Revised Proposal”). At a high level, the Final Rule requires licensing for any person that… Read More
CFPB Intends to Regulate Payday Lenders
Posted in CFPB, Payday Lending, Regulatory Developments, State RegulatorsAccording to a report in The New York Times’ Dealbook, the payday lending regulations the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau is drafting would govern a broader range of short-term loans than some may like, with car title loans and installment loans falling under the guidelines, and would create measures aimed at curbing what the Bureau has… Read More