On April 7, 2016, Sen. Jeff Merkley (D-OR) introduced the “Stopping Abuse and Fraud in Electronic Lending Act of 2016,” or “SAFE Lending Act of 2016,” amending the Truth in Lending Act (“TILA”) and the Electronic Fund Transfer Act (“EFTA”) to include new limitations on small-dollar loans and prepaid cards. S. 2760 is cosponsored by Sen. Bernie Sanders (I-VT), Sen. Al Franken (D-MN), and Sen. Elizabeth Warren (D-MA), among others. Significantly, S. 2760 would impose limitations that would be more restrictive than those in the CFPB’s proposed framework for a payday loan rulemaking (dated March 26, 2015) and its proposed rulemaking on prepaid cards (dated November 13, 2014).

Highlights of S. 2760 are summarized below.