On March 3, 2021, the CFPB filed a lawsuit in the U.S. District Court for the Northern District of Illinois against BrightSpeed Solutions, Inc., a third-party payment processor, and Kevin Howard, BrightSpeed’s founder and former chief executive officer. In its complaint, the CFPB alleges that between 2016 and 2018, Howard and BrightSpeed knew or
Payment Systems
California’s Proposed “Mini-CFPB” May Increase Scrutiny of Auto Lenders and Other Industry Participants
Earlier this month, California Gov. Gavin Newsom revealed plans to create a state version of the federal Consumer Financial Protection Bureau (CFPB) as part of the state’s proposed 2020-2021 budget. According to the governor’s Budget Summary, “[t]he federal government’s rollback of the CFPB leaves Californians vulnerable to predatory businesses and leaves companies without the…
Navigating ADA Compliance Issues in an Online World
The landscape remains murky as to whether and how Title III of the Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA) applies to websites. As the financial services industry moves increasingly and inexorably from a “bricks and mortar” presence to a virtual environment, these issues are likely to only become more prominent. With differing authority from…
Lessons from the CFPB’s First Remittance Transfer Rule Consent Order
In 2010, Congress amended the Electronic Funds Transfer Act (EFTA) by creating “a comprehensive system of consumer protections for money sent by U.S. consumers to individuals and businesses in foreign countries.” In 2013, the CFPB issued the Remittance Transfer Rule to implement the EFTA’s new requirements and updated its EFTA exam procedures to incorporate the…
Gambling on a DOJ Enforcement Action: State of the Wire Act
Banks and payment processors involved with acceptance or processing of funds relating to gambling or state lottery systems can breathe a sigh of relief—at least for now—based upon a New Hampshire district court judge’s recent interpretation of the Wire Act, which rejected a much broader Department of Justice (DOJ) position that initially sent shockwaves throughout…
Does the New Debt Collection Rule Apply to First-Party Creditors?
Last November, Bradley’s Financial Services Perspectives team predicted that the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau’s (CFPB) then upcoming Notice of Proposed Rulemaking (NPRM) for the Fair Debt Collection Practices Act (FDCPA) might cause concern for first-party creditors. By way of background, the statutory scope of the FDCPA does not reach first-party creditors, instead applying only to…