Consumer Financial Services Archives - The National Law Forum

Venmo’ Money: Another Front Opens in the Data Wars

National Law Forum — Sat, 18 Jan 2020 17:02:15 +0000

When I see stories about continuing data spats between banks, fintechs and other players in the payments ecosystem, I tend to muse about how the more things change the more they stay the same. And so it is with this story about a bank, PNC, shutting off the flow of customer financial data to a fintech, in this case, the Millennial’s best friend, Venmo. And JP Morgan Chase recently made an announcement dealing with similar issues.

Venmo has to use PNC’s customer’s data in order to allow (for example) Squi to use it to pay P.J. for his share of the brews. Venmo needs that financial data in order for its system to work. But Venmo isn’t the only one with a mobile payments solution; the banks have their own competing platform called Zelle. If you bank with one of the major banks, chances are good that Zelle is already baked into your mobile banking app. And unlike Venmo, Zelle doesn’t need anyone’s permission but that of its customers to use those data.

You can probably guess the rest. PNC recently invoked security concerns to largely shut off the data faucet and “poof”, Venmo promptly went dark for PNC customers. To its aggrieved erstwhile Venmo-loving customers, PNC offered a solution: Zelle. PNC subtly hinted that its security enhancements were too much for Venmo to handle, the subtext being that PNC customers might be safer using Zelle.

Access to customer data has been up until now a formidable barrier to entry for fintechs and others whose efforts to make the customer payment experience “frictionless” have depended in large measure on others being willing to do the heavy lifting for them. The author of Venmo article suggests that pressure from customers may force banks to yield any strategic advantage that control of customer data may give them. So far, however, consumer adoption of mobile payments is still miniscule in the grand scheme of things, so that pressure may not be felt for a very long time, if ever.

In the European Union, the regulators have implemented PSD2 which forces a more open playing field for banking customers. But realistically, it can’t be surprising that the major financial institutions don’t want to open up their customer bases to competitors and get nothing in return – except a potential stampede of customers moving their money. And some of these fintech apps haven’t jumped through the numerous hoops required to be a bank holding company or federally insured – meaning unwitting consumers may have less fraud protection when they move their precious money to a cool-looking fintech app.

A recent study by the Pew Trusts make it clear that consumers are still not fully embracing mobile for any number of reasons. The prime reason is that current mobile payment options still rely on the same payments ecosystem as credit and debit cards yet mobile payments don’t offer as much consumer protection. As long as that is the case, banks and fintechs and merchants will continue to fight over data and the regulators are likely to weigh in at some point.

It is not unlike the early mobile phone issue when one couldn’t change mobile phone providers without getting a new phone number – that handcuff kept customers with a provider for years but has since gone by the wayside. It is likely we will see some sort of similar solution with banking details.

ARTICLE BY Philip P. Gura of Womble Bond Dickinson (US) LLP.

For more on fintech & banking data, see the National Law Review Financial Institutions & Banking law page.

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House Financial Services Committee Passes Credit Reporting Bills

National Law Forum — Wed, 17 Jul 2019 13:46:53 +0000

Four bills dealing with credit reporting were passed last Thursday by the House Financial Services Committee. While there has been bipartisan support for credit reporting reform, none of the bills received any Republican votes.

The bills, which are listed below, would make various amendments to the FCRA (Fair Credit Reporting Act), including those described below:

The “Improving Credit Reporting for All Consumers Act” would impose new requirements for conducting reinvestigations of consumer disputes and related standards, require consumer reporting agencies to create a webpage providing information about consumer dispute rights, require furnishers to retain records necessary to substantiate the accuracy and completeness of furnished information, create a right for consumers to appeal the results of a reinvestigation, prohibit automatic renewals of consumer reporting and credit scoring products and services, and require a credit scoring model to treat multiple inquiries for a credit report or credit score made in connection with certain consumer credit products within a 120-period as a single inquiry.
The “Restoring Unfairly Impaired Credit and Protecting Consumers Act” would shorten the time period during which adverse information can stay on a consumer report, require the expedited removal of fully paid or settled debts from consumer reports, impose restrictions on the reporting of information about medical debts, require a consumer reporting agency to remove adverse information relating to a private student loan where the CFPB has certified that the borrower has a valid “defraudment claim” with respect to the educational institution or career education program, allow victims of financial abuse to obtain a court order requiring the removal of adverse information, and prohibit a credit scoring model from taking into account in an adverse manner the consumer’s participation in certain credit restoration or rehabilitation programs or the absence of payment history for an existing account resulting from such participation.
The “Free Credit Scores for Consumers Act of 2019” would expand the information that must be given to consumers about credit scores, require nationwide consumer reporting agencies to provide a free credit score when providing a free annual consumer report requested by the consumer, and require free consumer reports and credit scores to be provided under certain circumstances.
The “Restricting Use of Credit Checks for Employment Decisions Act” would prohibit the use of consumer reports for most employment decisions other than where the person using the report is required by federal, state, or local law to obtain the report or the report is used in connection with a national security investigation.

The House Financial Services Committee is scheduled to mark up more bills dealing with credit reporting today.

Article by John L. Culhane, Jr. of Ballard Spahr LLP.

For more financial legislation, please see the Financial Institutions & Banking page of the National Law Review.

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Register today for the ABA's Consumer Financial Services Basics 2014 – October 6-7 in Baltimore

National Law Forum — Tue, 23 Sep 2014 14:53:59 +0000

The National Law Review is pleased to bring you information about the upcoming American Bar Association event, the 5th Annual Consumer Financial Services Basics 2014 conference.

This live meeting is designed to expose practitioners to key areas of consumer financial services law, whether you need a primer or a refresher. In the pressure cooker of today’s financial services industry, the breadth and complexity of the issues you are facing will dominate any seminar dissecting recent developments alone. It is time to take a step back and think through some of these complex issues with a faculty that combines decades of practical experience with law school analysis. The classroom approach is used to review the background, assess the current policy factors, step into the shoes of regulators, and develop an approach that can be used to interpret and evaluate the scores of laws and regulations that affect your clients.

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Join the ABA on October 6-7 in Baltimore: Consumer Financial Services Basics 2014

National Law Forum — Wed, 03 Sep 2014 18:53:58 +0000

The National Law Review is pleased to bring you information about the upcoming American Bar Association event, the 5th Annual Consumer Financial Services Basics 2014 conference.

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Register for the ABA Consumer Financial Services Basics 2014 – October 6-7, University of Maryland, Baltimore

National Law Forum — Wed, 20 Aug 2014 14:51:23 +0000

The National Law Review is pleased to bring you information about the upcoming American Bar Association event, the 5th Annual Consumer Financial Services Basics 2014 conference.

The post Register for the ABA Consumer Financial Services Basics 2014 – October 6-7, University of Maryland, Baltimore appeared first on The National Law Forum.

Consumer Financial Services Basics – ABA Conference

National Law Forum — Thu, 27 Sep 2012 20:00:07 +0000

The National Law Review is pleased to bring you information regarding the upcoming Consumer Financial Services Basics Conference sponsored by the ABA:

When

October 08 – 09, 2012

Where

American University

Washington College of Law

Washington, DC

Program Description

Facing the most comprehensive revision of federal consumer financial services (CFS) law in 75 years, even experienced consumer finance lawyers might feel it is time to get back in the classroom. This live meeting is designed to expose practitioners to key areas of consumer financial services law, whether you need a primer or a refresher.It is time to take a step back and think through some of these complex issues with a faculty that combines decades of practical experience with law school analysis. The classroom approach is used to review the background, assess the current policy factors, step into the shoes of regulators, and develop an approach that can be used to interpret and evaluate the scores of laws and regulations that affect your clients.Program FocusThis program will explain each of the major sources of regulation of consumer financial products in the context of the regulatory techniques and policies that are the common threads in a complex pattern, including:

Price regulation and federal preemption of state price limitations
Truth in lending and disclosure requirements
Marketing, advertising and unfair or deceptive conduct
Account servicing and collections
Regulating the “fairness” of financial institution conduct
Data security, fraud prevention and identity protection
Consumer reporting: FCRA & FACT Act
Fair lending and fair access to financial services
Remedies: regulators and private plaintiffs
Regulatory and legislative priorities for 2012 and beyond

Who Should Attend…The learning curve for private practitioners, in-house lawyers and government attorneys to understand the basics and changes to CFS law is very steep. This program is a great way to jump up that curve for:

Private practitioners with 1-10 years of experience who focus on CFS products or providers
In-house counsel at financial institutions and non-bank lenders
Government attorneys, in financial practices regulatory agencies
Compliance officers (who may be, but need not be, attorneys)

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Consumer Financial Services Basics – ABA Conference

National Law Forum — Tue, 18 Sep 2012 20:00:44 +0000

The National Law Review is pleased to bring you information regarding the upcoming Consumer Financial Services Basics Conference sponsored by the ABA:

When

October 08 – 09, 2012

Where

American University

Washington College of Law

Washington, DC

Program Description

Price regulation and federal preemption of state price limitations
Truth in lending and disclosure requirements
Marketing, advertising and unfair or deceptive conduct
Account servicing and collections
Regulating the “fairness” of financial institution conduct
Data security, fraud prevention and identity protection
Consumer reporting: FCRA & FACT Act
Fair lending and fair access to financial services
Remedies: regulators and private plaintiffs
Regulatory and legislative priorities for 2012 and beyond

Private practitioners with 1-10 years of experience who focus on CFS products or providers
In-house counsel at financial institutions and non-bank lenders
Government attorneys, in financial practices regulatory agencies
Compliance officers (who may be, but need not be, attorneys)

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Consumer Financial Services Basics – ABA Conference

National Law Forum — Sun, 09 Sep 2012 20:00:27 +0000

The National Law Review is pleased to bring you information regarding the upcoming Consumer Financial Services Basics Conference sponsored by the ABA:

When

October 08 – 09, 2012

Where

American University

Washington College of Law

Washington, DC

Program Description

Price regulation and federal preemption of state price limitations
Truth in lending and disclosure requirements
Marketing, advertising and unfair or deceptive conduct
Account servicing and collections
Regulating the “fairness” of financial institution conduct
Data security, fraud prevention and identity protection
Consumer reporting: FCRA & FACT Act
Fair lending and fair access to financial services
Remedies: regulators and private plaintiffs
Regulatory and legislative priorities for 2012 and beyond

Private practitioners with 1-10 years of experience who focus on CFS products or providers
In-house counsel at financial institutions and non-bank lenders
Government attorneys, in financial practices regulatory agencies
Compliance officers (who may be, but need not be, attorneys)

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Consumer Financial Services Basics – ABA Conference

National Law Forum — Tue, 28 Aug 2012 20:00:13 +0000

The National Law Review is pleased to bring you information regarding the upcoming Consumer Financial Services Basics Conference sponsored by the ABA:

When

October 08 – 09, 2012

Where

American University

Washington College of Law

Washington, DC

Program Description

Price regulation and federal preemption of state price limitations
Truth in lending and disclosure requirements
Marketing, advertising and unfair or deceptive conduct
Account servicing and collections
Regulating the “fairness” of financial institution conduct
Data security, fraud prevention and identity protection
Consumer reporting: FCRA & FACT Act
Fair lending and fair access to financial services
Remedies: regulators and private plaintiffs
Regulatory and legislative priorities for 2012 and beyond

Private practitioners with 1-10 years of experience who focus on CFS products or providers
In-house counsel at financial institutions and non-bank lenders
Government attorneys, in financial practices regulatory agencies
Compliance officers (who may be, but need not be, attorneys)

The post Consumer Financial Services Basics – ABA Conference appeared first on The National Law Forum.

Consumer Financial Services Basics – ABA Conference

National Law Forum — Fri, 17 Aug 2012 20:00:13 +0000

The National Law Review is pleased to bring you information regarding the upcoming Consumer Financial Services Basics Conference sponsored by the ABA:

When

October 08 – 09, 2012

Where

American University

Washington College of Law

Washington, DC

Program Description

Price regulation and federal preemption of state price limitations
Truth in lending and disclosure requirements
Marketing, advertising and unfair or deceptive conduct
Account servicing and collections
Regulating the “fairness” of financial institution conduct
Data security, fraud prevention and identity protection
Consumer reporting: FCRA & FACT Act
Fair lending and fair access to financial services
Remedies: regulators and private plaintiffs
Regulatory and legislative priorities for 2012 and beyond

Private practitioners with 1-10 years of experience who focus on CFS products or providers
In-house counsel at financial institutions and non-bank lenders
Government attorneys, in financial practices regulatory agencies
Compliance officers (who may be, but need not be, attorneys)

The post Consumer Financial Services Basics – ABA Conference appeared first on The National Law Forum.