Happy post-election, post-socially-distanced Thanksgiving, and pre-New Year’s newsletter. Banks, non-banks, and FinTechs can look forward to eight days of announcements from the Biden transition team with their latkes and...more
12/11/2020
/ Arbitration ,
Banking Sector ,
Bitcoin ,
BSA/AML ,
Consumer Financial Protection Bureau (CFPB) ,
Cryptocurrency ,
Data Breach ,
Debt Collection ,
Fair Credit Reporting Act (FCRA) ,
Fair Lending ,
Federal Savings Associations ,
Financial Services Industry ,
FinCEN ,
FinTech ,
FRB ,
Main Street Lending Programs ,
Mobile Payments ,
OCC ,
Private Attorneys General Act (PAGA) ,
SBA ,
TCPA ,
Third-Party Service Provider
The Florida Office of Financial Regulation (“OFR”) has rejected a petition for a declaratory statement seeking confirmation that payment processing activity involving the receipt of funds and transmission of such funds does...more
A new proposed rulemaking (the “NPRM”) would lower the current $3,000 threshold for the applicability of the Bank Secrecy Act (“BSA”) Recordkeeping Rule and Travel Rule to $250 for covered funds transfers that begin or end...more
We join the nation in mourning the passing of Supreme Court Justice Ruth Bader Ginsburg. Over her 20-year career before appointment to the D.C. circuit court, Justice Ginsburg fought for equal rights in the workplace, among...more
10/16/2020
/ Arbitration ,
BSA/AML ,
California Consumer Privacy Act (CCPA) ,
Consumer Financial Protection Bureau (CFPB) ,
Coronavirus/COVID-19 ,
CRA ,
Credit Cards ,
Cybersecurity ,
ECOA ,
Fair Lending ,
FDIC ,
FFIEC ,
Financial Institutions ,
FinCEN ,
FRB ,
Governor Newsom ,
Interim Final Rules (IFR) ,
Main Street Lending Programs ,
OCC ,
Public Assistance ,
Ruth Bader Ginsberg ,
Safe Harbors ,
SBREFA ,
TCPA ,
Underwriting ,
Volcker Rule
Earlier this year, the California Department of Business Oversight (DBO) issued a draft rulemaking relating to the scope of the agent of a payee exemption (the “Exemption”) under the Money Transmission Act, Cal. Fin. Code §...more
A recent federal district court ruling in a criminal anti-money laundering case suggests that the transmission of virtual currency on behalf of another person requires a state money transmission license—even if the state’s...more
Developments in virtual currency regulation have been top-of-mind with recently announced initiatives from the New York Department of Financial Services. Companies engaging in virtual currency activity should also, however,...more
Is it just us or does March 4 — the date of our last issue — feel like a million years ago? Like you, and not necessarily in this order, we have been: doing our work; keeping up with COVID-19-related laws, guidance, and...more
7/15/2020
/ Advanced Notice of Proposed Rulemaking (ANPRM) ,
Arbitration ,
Auto-Dialed Calls ,
BSA/AML ,
CARES Act ,
Consent Order ,
Consumer Financial Protection Bureau (CFPB) ,
Coronavirus/COVID-19 ,
CRA ,
Dodd-Frank ,
E-SIGN ,
Fair Lending ,
FASB ,
FDIC ,
Federal Reserve ,
FinCEN ,
FinTech ,
HMDA ,
Interim Final Rules (IFR) ,
Money Market Mutual Fund Liquidity Facility (MMLF) ,
OCC ,
Paycheck Protection Program Lending Facility (PPPLF) ,
Popular ,
Remittance Transfer Rule ,
Request For Information ,
RESPA ,
SPVs ,
TCPA ,
Volcker Rule
For what appears to be only the second time, the Financial Crimes Enforcement Network (“FinCEN”) has assessed a civil money penalty (“CMP”) against an individual for Bank Secrecy Act (“BSA”) violations based on alleged...more
A year after issuing an invitation for comments, the California Department of Business Oversight (“DBO”) has finally released a much-anticipated draft rulemaking relating to the scope of the “agent of a payee” exemption (the...more
Punxsutawney Phil didn’t see his shadow, so we’re expecting an early spring. Maybe that’s why mini-CFPBs are sprouting or expanding on both coasts. Governor Cuomo announced several key measures impacting financial services...more
The Federal Trade Commission (FTC) appears to be using its ongoing review of current rules and guides to revisit its approach to driving home the message that the relationship between a social media “influencer” and the brand...more
One 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...more
As we enter 2020, the payments and money transmission regulatory landscape continues to evolve on a state-by-state basis. One key development to kick off the year is newly adopted regulations in Massachusetts affirming that...more
The holidays came early for financial institutions when the Supreme Court agreed to hear a challenge to the constitutionality of the CFPB. We can expect fireworks in the New Year as two experienced Supreme Court practitioners...more
The Federal Trade Commission is trying yet another approach to convey the message that the relationship between a social media “influencer” and the brand he or she is endorsing must be disclosed. This new guidance from FTC...more
Perhaps the biggest recent news in the ever-changing money transmission regulatory landscape is the draft model language for standardized regulation of multistate money services businesses that was proposed by the Conference...more
It seems like a natural progression for a company that provides any sort of payments-related information processing to migrate from handling data about payments to seeking to handle the payments themselves. But it can be a...more
We start this issue with a feeling of déjà vu all over again. Decisions made during the mortgage crisis are back in the news with a powerhouse legal ruling and the Treasury’s initial thinking on how to turn back time. First,...more
9/12/2019
/ Appeals ,
Arbitration ,
BSA/AML ,
Consumer Financial Protection Bureau (CFPB) ,
Debt Collection ,
Fair Credit Reporting Act (FCRA) ,
Fair Lending ,
FDIC ,
Federal Trade Commission (FTC) ,
Financial Services Industry ,
FinCEN ,
GAO ,
HUD ,
Libor ,
Money Laundering ,
No-Action Letters ,
Reporting Requirements ,
Secured Overnight Funding Rate (SOFR) ,
Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) ,
SHIELD Act ,
TCPA ,
Volcker Rule
The fireworks have started early this year. On May 2, a federal court in New York rejected the OCC’s motion to dismiss the lawsuit brought by the NY DFS challenging the OCC’s fintech charter. The decision has something for...more
6/18/2019
/ Appeals ,
Arbitration ,
BSA/AML ,
Consumer Financial Protection Bureau (CFPB) ,
Fair Lending ,
Financial Institutions ,
Financial Services Industry ,
FinTech ,
OCC ,
TCPA ,
UDAP
On May 28, 2019, a Nevada resident, Morgan Rockcoons, was sentenced in the U.S. District Court for the Southern District of California to 21 months in prison for wire fraud and unlicensed money transmission. In connection...more
On May 9, 2019, the Financial Crimes Enforcement Network (“FinCEN”) issued a guidance, Application of FinCEN’s Regulations to Certain Business Models Involving Convertible Virtual Currencies (CVC) (“Guidance”), together with...more
Last year, we noted that the Banking Department of the Vermont Department of Financial Regulation had taken the position that its money transmission law “does not exempt a payment processor or an agent of a payee from [money...more
On April 18, 2019, the Financial Crimes Enforcement Network (“FinCEN”) issued a press release announcing a civil money penalty for violations of the Bank Secrecy Act’s (“BSA”) anti-money laundering (“AML”) compliance program...more
With one eye on the New York Department of Financial Services (“NYDFS”) cybersecurity rules and the other on two of its own Commissioners who dissented, the Federal Trade Commission (“FTC”) has proposed a sweeping overhaul to...more