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On December 3, 2020, the SEC announced that FinHub (the Strategic Hub for Innovation and Financial Technology) was being upgraded to an independent office. Acknowledging the importance of the all things fintech (emerging technologies and innovation in financial services), the SEC stated that creating a stand-alone office:

“[S]trengthens the SEC’s ability to continue fostering innovation in emerging technologies in our markets consistent with investor protection. The office will continue to lead the agency’s work to identify and analyze emerging financial technologies affecting the future of the securities industry, and engage with market participants, as technologies develop.”

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Continue Reading SEC Takes Another Step to Prioritize Fintech Innovation

As we previously explained, the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau’s (“CFPB”) recently finalized Advisory Opinion Policy allows any person or entity to request an advisory opinion from the agency.  When the CFPB finalized that Policy on November 30, 2020, it concurrently issued its first two advisory opinions: one addressing earned wage access (“EWA”) programs, and one concerning private education loan products.  This article specifically comments on the important EWA advisory opinion.

EWA programs generally allow employees to access wages they have already worked for and accrued, but have not yet been paid.  In its EWA advisory opinion, the CFPB stated that EWA programs incorporating several specific features do “not involve the offering or extension of ‘credit,’” and thus, do not fall under the purview of Regulation Z, which implements the Truth In Lending Act (“TILA”).

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Continue Reading CFPB Unveils In First Advisory Opinion That TILA Does Not Apply to Certain Earned Wage Access Products

The recent final rule (the “Rule”) implementing the Fair Debt Collection Practices Act (“FDCPA”) only directly governs parties defined as “debt collectors” by the FDCPA, principally meaning those who collect delinquent debt for others.[1]  However, this Rule from the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau, accompanied by a 560-page Preamble, will also likely influence the collection activities of “creditors” — i.e., those collectors that fall outside that “debt collector” definition — in various ways.[2]  The Rule also will affect how creditors should work with the debt collectors they hire.  In this Alert, we focus specifically on these different impacts of the Rule on creditors.  The Rule will take effect one year from the date it is published in the Federal Register.
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Continue Reading What Creditors Need to Know About the Final Debt Collection Rule

On October 27, the North American Securities Administrators Association[1] held its 2020 symposium on Fintech and Cybersecurity. A key theme of the symposium was the impact that the pandemic has had on fintech, cybersecurity, and regulating the financial markets  –  given that regulators and securities industry professionals are largely working from home. The panelists also discussed new technological innovations that are likely to impact both the fintech industry and cybersecurity.
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Continue Reading 2020 NASAA Fintech and Cyber Security Symposium – A Download of Key Comments

On July 31, 2020, Varo Money Inc. announced that it was granted a national bank charter by the U.S. Office of the Comptroller of the Currency (OCC).  The charter will allow Varo, a mobile banking fintech, to launch a national bank and offer a range of financial services and products that are backed by the Federal Deposit Insurance Corp (FDIC).

The announcement marks a historic moment for fintech companies, as Varo will become the first fintech company to obtain a national bank charter with the OCC.

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Continue Reading Mobile Banking Startup Varo Money Becomes First Fintech Company Granted a National Bank Charter

On July 23, 2020, the New York Department of Financial Services (“DFS”) filed its appellate brief asking the Second Circuit Court of Appeals to uphold the lower court’s decision to block the Office of Comptroller of the Currency’s (“OCC”)’s special purpose national bank charter (“fintech charter”).

The DFS initially challenged the OCC’s fintech charter in…

Update: On July 23, 2020, the New York Department of Financial Services (“DFS”) filed its appellate brief asking the Second Circuit Court of Appeals to uphold the lower court’s decision to block the Office of Comptroller of the Currency’s (“OCC”)’s special purpose national bank charter (“fintech charter”). Please see our July 28 post for more…

Fintech companies Intuit, PayPal and Square have officially been approved to participate in the U.S. Small Business Administration’s (SBA) $349 billion Paycheck Protection Program (PPP), which was enacted as part of the CARES Act last month. To recap, the PPP provides aid in the form of potentially forgivable loans to eligible small businesses, which loans…

The latest regulations coupled with the Treasury Department guidance have left many scratching their heads as to whether fintech companies will be able to provide small business loans under the recently enacted Paycheck Protection Program (PPP), a crucial part of the U.S. legislature’s latest attempts to address the serious economic impacts of the COVID-19 pandemic. …