FTA pushes for remittance fee reform

"We urge Director Rohit Chopra to update the CFPB’s outdated remittance rule and take on the high cost of international payments," the Financial Technology Association says in this op-ed piece.

By Penny Lee • May 2, 2022

Card companies called on congressional carpet

Visa and Mastercard will be in the hot seat next week at a hearing of the Senate Judiciary Committee led by their long-time nemesis, Sen. Dick Durbin. A notice for the hearing teases that the discussion will zero in on "excessive swipe fees" and a lack of competition in the industry.

By Lynne Marek • April 29, 2022

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Payments industry seeks to keep pace with fraudsters

As losses from fraud in payments have climbed, companies are seeking new tools to combat illicit schemes.

By Payments Dive staff

Mastercard shakes off Russia concerns, inflation woes

Mastercard's first-quarter revenue jumped 24% to $5.2 billion on robust consumer spending as coronavirus restrictions faded and cross-border payments picked up.

By Jonathan Berr • April 29, 2022

Senate Democrats berate Zelle over alleged fraud

In a letter to Zelle's CEO, two U.S. senators said the company's platform leaves consumers exposed to fraud, with little ability to recover lost funds. “Your company and the big banks who both own and partner with the platform have abdicated responsibility," they said.

By Robin Bradley • April 27, 2022

CFPB aims to level playing field between banks, fintech

Banks have long complained that fintechs are able to offer many of the same financial services without abiding by the same laws. In an effort to level the playing field, the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau said Monday it would invoke a largely unused legal provision. 

By Jonathan Berr • April 25, 2022

Crypto bank Anchorage ordered to revamp AML program

The Office of the Comptroller of the Currency said the bank — the first crypto firm to receive a national trust bank charter in January 2021 — must overhaul its anti-money laundering program after failing to implement internal controls for customer due diligence and procedures for monitoring suspicious activity. 

By Anna Hrushka • April 25, 2022

MoneyGram sued by CFPB, New York AG

“MoneyGram spent years failing its customers and failing to follow the law,” Consumer Financial Protection Bureau Director Rohit Chopra alleged. MoneyGram called the latest in a series of regulatory actions against the company a "frivolous" lawsuit.

By Jonathan Berr • April 22, 2022

Robinhood's acquisition of crypto firm puts UK, Europe in its sights

The purchase of Ziglu, which is in the good graces of the Financial Conduct Authority, marks the second attempt by the stock-trading app to broach the U.K. market. Terms of the deal were not disclosed Tuesday.

By Dan Ennis • April 19, 2022

Waiting for action on hidden cross-border fees

An executive with the cross-border payments company Wise Payments calls on the federal government to expose the hidden fees buried in international remittance transactions.

By Rina Wulfing • April 18, 2022

Lawmakers seek to cancel card fee increases

Four members of Congress are suddenly pushing Visa and Mastercard to cancel the credit card "swipe" fee increases they planned to impose this month. The lawmakers cited inflation and a lack of competition in the card industry.

By Lynne Marek • April 18, 2022

SEC issues guidance on crypto-asset accounting, disclosure

As theft of crypto-assets rises, the Securities and Exchange Commission is pushing companies to publicly report on the potential costs of such crimes and efforts to curb hacking risks.

By Jim Tyson • April 12, 2022

CBDC will take years to develop, Yellen says

Despite new technologies, payments often take too long, the treasury secretary said in her first remarks on digital assets since a March executive order on the topic. Regardless of where assets are stored, regulation should be "tech neutral," she said.

By Dan Ennis • April 8, 2022

FDIC: Banks should alert agency of their crypto-related pursuits

The regulator said it supports safe and sound innovations, but is concerned that the risks associated with crypto assets and crypto-related activities are not well understood.

By Anna Hrushka • April 8, 2022

Toomey bill envisions 'payment' stablecoins

The Republican senator's draft bill would preserve state-registered money transmitter status for most existing stablecoin issuers and would clarify that insured depository institutions are permitted to issue the digital currency.

By Anna Hrushka • April 8, 2022

There was no stopping credit card fee hikes this year

Merchants are incurring tens of millions of dollars in additional interchange, or "swipe," fee increases that the big credit card companies Mastercard and Visa are deploying. There was a loud silence about the inevitability of those boosts this year.

By Lynne Marek • April 7, 2022

Crypto buyers see long-term investment value

As cryptocurrency adoption grows worldwide, many Americans are increasingly interested in it, according to several new surveys. However, many consumers acknowledge they still don’t fully understand cryptocurrencies.

By Tatiana Walk-Morris • April 6, 2022

Russian Mir payments may benefit from US exit

While overall Russian card payments volume is expected to decline as U.S. card companies exit the country, Russia's Mir payments system and related cards may benefit, according to new research. U.S. payments companies are expected to forgo about $2.4 billion in annual revenue.

By Jonathan Berr • April 6, 2022

To ease fuel-price pain, subsidies, rebates gain momentum

Chicago and California propose giving prepaid gas cards to eligible residents and assistance to public transit users. State and federal efforts to suspend gas taxes face criticism for potential economic and environmental impacts.

By Dan Zukowski • April 5, 2022

Sen. Cruz seeks to restrict Fed role for CBDC

Sen. Ted Cruz's legislation, which follows a companion House bill introduced earlier this year, would prevent the Federal Reserve from issuing a central bank digital currency directly to consumers.

By Jonathan Berr • April 1, 2022

Small businesses adjust to inflation, supply chain disruptions: survey

A new survey from American Express and its Kabbage unit found nearly two-thirds of small businesses will keep their inflation-adjusted pricing for the next six months.

By Tatiana Walk-Morris • March 31, 2022

Visa urges cautious approach to BNPL regulations

"The CFPB should tailor its approaches to preserve consumers’ and merchants' ability to access a wide variety of installment options and maintain competition among BNPL solutions," Visa said in commenting to the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau.

By Jonathan Berr • March 30, 2022

Credit card late fees likely to keep climbing, CFPB says

Total credit card late fee volume is rising again after a dip during the pandemic, and current inflation levels mean the largest issuers are likely to keep increasing fees, the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau said.

By Caitlin Mullen • March 29, 2022

Congress mulls a different digital dollar

While talk of a digital dollar has mainly focused on creation of a central bank digital currency through the Federal Reserve, a group of House Democrats on Monday proposed legislation that pivots in a different direction, creating an electronic dollar through a new program administered by the Treasury Department.

By Lynne Marek • March 29, 2022

BNPL critics urge CFPB to protect consumers from payment app

Proponents and opponents of buy now-pay later services are weighing in on how the new installment financing should be regulated after the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau asked for input. The federal agency is absorbing the views as it conducts an inquiry into the industry's business practices.

By Jonathan Berr • March 28, 2022

Advocacy group points to BNPL 'warning signs'

As scrutiny of buy now-pay later comes to a head, a survey from advocacy organization Financial Health Network revealed financially vulnerable households are almost four times more likely to use BNPL to make purchases than those that are financially healthy.

By Caitlin Mullen • March 25, 2022