With a few days to spare as the clock ticked toward a March 20th effective date, New York Governor Kathy Hochul kept good on an earlier promise to revise the state's coerced debt law (the "Coerced Debt Law"). ...more
The long and winding road that has been the revisions to the New York City Debt Collection Regulation appears to be at an end. On February 26, 2026, the New York City Department of Consumer and Worker Protection ("DCWP")...more
In late February, in the midst of an historic East Coast Blizzard, the New York Department of Financial Services ("DFS") issued its pre-proposed regulations to implement the state's 2025 statute regulating buy-now-pay-later...more
3/2/2026
/ Buy Now Pay Later (BNPL) ,
Comment Period ,
Consumer Financial Products ,
Consumer Lenders ,
Consumer Protection Laws ,
Disclosure Requirements ,
Lenders ,
NYDFS ,
Proposed Rules ,
State and Local Government ,
Truth in Lending Act (TILA)
In mid-December New York joined a growing number of states that regulate coerced debt. The law, found in a new Article of the New York General Business Laws, will become effective on March 20th....more
1/28/2026
/ Coercion ,
Consumer Protection Laws ,
Corporations Code ,
Creditors ,
Debt Collection ,
Debtors ,
Enforcement Actions ,
Financial Abuse ,
Fraud ,
New Legislation ,
Regulatory Requirements
In this article, we share a timeline of monthly "bites" for the past year applicable to student lending....more
1/21/2026
/ Consumer Financial Protection Bureau (CFPB) ,
Consumer Lenders ,
Debt Collection ,
Debt-Relief Industry ,
Department of Justice (DOJ) ,
Discriminatory Lending Practices ,
ECOA ,
Enforcement Actions ,
Guidance Documents ,
Licensing Rules ,
Reporting Requirements ,
Student Loans
In this article, we share a timeline of monthly "bites" for the past year applicable to banking....more
1/8/2026
/ Banking Sector ,
Consumer Financial Protection Act (CFPA) ,
Consumer Financial Protection Bureau (CFPB) ,
ECOA ,
Electronic Fund Transfer Act ,
Enforcement Actions ,
FDIC ,
FinTech ,
Fintech Charter ,
Open Banking ,
Overdraft Fees ,
Peer-to-Peer ,
Personal Data ,
Regulation E ,
Savings Accounts ,
Settlement ,
State Attorneys General ,
Truth in Savings Act
The Massachusetts Division of Banks ("DOB") has revised its regulation that governs the conduct of debt collectors, student loan servicers, and third-party loan servicers. The revised regulation became effective in late...more
11/3/2025
/ Amended Regulation ,
Banks ,
Consumer Protection Laws ,
Debt Collection ,
Financial Services Industry ,
Licensing Rules ,
Loan Servicer ,
New Regulations ,
Regulatory Requirements ,
Reporting Requirements ,
State and Local Government ,
Student Loans ,
Unfair or Deceptive Trade Practices
While much focus has recently been paid to the Massachusetts Attorney General's "junk fee" regulation, which includes newly effective negative option requirements, focus on automatic renewal cancellation policies remains a...more
10/3/2025
/ Automatic Renewals ,
Cancellation Rights ,
Consumer Contracts ,
Consumer Protection Laws ,
Disclosure Requirements ,
Enforcement Actions ,
Federal Trade Commission (FTC) ,
FTC Act ,
Negative Option Rule ,
New Regulations ,
Subscription Services ,
Unfair or Deceptive Trade Practices
In early March, the Massachusetts Attorney General's Office finalized the commonwealth's regulations on unfair and deceptive fees, which it refers to in its press release as "junk fee" regulations, while simultaneously...more
4/8/2025
/ Advertising ,
Automotive Industry ,
Consumer Financial Products ,
Consumer Protection Laws ,
Disclosure Requirements ,
Federal Trade Commission (FTC) ,
Fees ,
Final Rules ,
Hidden Fees ,
Marketing ,
State Attorneys General ,
Truth in Lending Act (TILA) ,
User Fees
In early March, nearly a year and a half after it was initially proposed, the Massachusetts Attorney General's Office finalized the Commonwealth's "junk fee" regulation (the "Final Rule") while simultaneously issuing a...more
4/1/2025
/ Advertising ,
Banking Sector ,
Banks ,
Deposit Accounts ,
Disclosure Requirements ,
Fees ,
Final Rules ,
New Guidance ,
Regulation DD ,
State Attorneys General ,
Truth in Savings Act ,
Unfair or Deceptive Trade Practices
A bill before the New York State Assembly would, if passed, have major implications for a variety of financing transactions in the Empire State. Titled the End Loan Sharking Act, Assembly Bill 9585 would subject a variety of...more
4/3/2024
/ Commercial Loans ,
Consumer Financial Products ,
Consumer Lenders ,
Corporate Financing ,
Financial Institutions ,
Financial Services Industry ,
Financing ,
Interest Rates ,
Licensing Rules ,
Pending Legislation ,
Usury
As the Kansas City Chiefs were winning the big game, New York made a big change to its law governing credit card surcharges.
While definitions of the term may vary, a "surcharge" is generally understood to mean a higher...more
3/4/2024
/ Compliance ,
Consumer Financial Products ,
Credit Card Surcharges ,
Credit Cards ,
Enforcement Authority ,
First Amendment ,
Merchants ,
Municipalities ,
New Guidance ,
New Legislation ,
Statutory Violations ,
Surcharges ,
Truth in Lending Act (TILA)
When my kids were much younger, we started a New Years' Eve tradition of writing down our predictions for the upcoming year. Our practice of forecasting the year in sports, world events, and the anticipated life milestones of...more
In this article, we share a timeline of our monthly "bites" for 2023 applicable to payments, along with some additional related information....more
1/31/2024
/ Amicus Briefs ,
Buy Now Pay Later (BNPL) ,
Consumer Financial Products ,
Consumer Financial Protection Bureau (CFPB) ,
Digital Wallets ,
Enforcement Actions ,
Financial Services Industry ,
FinTech ,
Military Service Members ,
Mobile Payments ,
Money Transfer ,
OCC ,
Payment Systems ,
Prepaid Payment Products ,
Proposed Rules ,
Unemployment Benefits
In this article, we share a timeline of our monthly "bites" for 2023 applicable to student lending along with some information related to financial products and services offered to students....more
1/26/2024
/ Annual Reports ,
Consumer Financial Products ,
Consumer Financial Protection Bureau (CFPB) ,
Consumer Lenders ,
Debt Relief ,
Debt-Relief Industry ,
Enforcement Actions ,
Federal Student Loans ,
Fees ,
Payment Plans ,
Settlement ,
Standard Form Contracts ,
Student Loans ,
Terms and Conditions ,
Tuition
Massachusetts Attorney General Andrea Joy Campbell has issued a draft regulation aiming the commonwealth's deceptive trade practices statute at "junk fees" practices, automatic renewal / continuous service contracts, and...more
Over the past year, there have been numerous efforts by federal regulators - in particular the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau - to rein in "junk fees." The CFPB defines a "junk fee" to be an unnecessary and unavoidable...more
11/3/2023
/ Banking Sector ,
Consumer Financial Products ,
Consumer Financial Protection Bureau (CFPB) ,
Deposit Accounts ,
Excessive Fees ,
Fees ,
New Legislation ,
NYDFS ,
Overdraft Fees ,
Regulatory Oversight ,
User Fees
Growing up in New England we both heard that there were three things you should never discuss in public. Politics and religion were two. The third could differ....more
4/5/2023
/ Advisory Opinions ,
Consumer Financial Protection Bureau (CFPB) ,
Credit Cards ,
Debt Collection ,
FDCPA ,
Federal Trade Commission (FTC) ,
Fees ,
Financial Services Industry ,
Policy Statement ,
Regulation F ,
Supervisory Guidance
Many things in life are subject to recalibration and reconsideration. For some of us, the run that used to be an easy jog in your twenties is difficult in your thirties, painful in your forties, and unthinkable by fifty. When...more
In last month's issue of Insights we discussed a new licensing regime in the Commonwealth of Massachusetts specific to student loan servicers. As of the publication date of that article the rules such servicers must follow...more
The Commonwealth of Massachusetts is aiding student loan consumer protection efforts, and is ramping up the level of scrutiny applied to student loan servicers. Effective July 1st, it will join a growing list of states that...more
The New York City Department of Consumer and Worker Protection ("DCWP") (formerly the Department of Consumer Affairs) promulgated new debt collection rules this spring to provide protections to consumers with limited English...more
10/2/2020
/ Burden of Proof ,
City of New York ,
Consumer Protection Laws ,
Creditors ,
Debt Collection ,
Debt Collectors ,
Debtors ,
FDCPA ,
Foreign Language ,
Local Ordinance ,
New Rules ,
Popular ,
State and Local Government ,
Unfair Trade Practices Act
We are living in and through unprecedented times. The coronavirus pandemic sweeping across the globe has had a number of crippling effects on the nation - pushing its healthcare system to the brink, driving many out of the...more
New York has been the American epicenter for the exploding coronavirus pandemic. Informed by recent systemic challenges to the financial services sector, New York's regulators have responded.
Among the responses is an...more
4/24/2020
/ Borrowers ,
CARES Act ,
Coronavirus/COVID-19 ,
Credit Reporting Agencies ,
Default ,
Department of Education ,
Forbearance Agreements ,
Late Fees ,
Late Payments ,
Lenders ,
Licensing Rules ,
Loan Servicing ,
NYDFS ,
Private Student Loans ,
Relief Measures ,
Student Loans
The New York Department of Financial Services ("DFS") has finalized the last piece of the Empire State's student loan servicer puzzle. On October 1st, the DFS issued a Student Loan Servicers Regulation (the "Regulation") that...more
12/27/2019
/ Debt Collection ,
Federal Student Loans ,
Higher Education Act ,
Loan Servicer ,
New Regulations ,
NYDFS ,
Private Student Loans ,
Regulation Z ,
State Regulators ,
Student Loan Servicers Regulation ,
Student Loans