State AGs, Industry Groups Submit Comments Addressing CFPB’s Proposed Delay of Prepaid Accounts Rule

State Issues State Attorney General CFPB Prepaid Rule EFTA ABA ICBA

As previously covered in InfoBytes, the Bureau released its final rule (the “Prepaid Accounts Rule”) on prepaid financial products in October of last year in order to provide consumers with additional federal protections under the Electronic Fund Transfer Act and also to offer consumers standard, easy-to-understand information about prepaid accounts. Recently, however, the CFPB announced its intention to delay the effective date of its Prepaid Accounts Rule by six months. If approved, the proposed extension would push back the current October 1, 2017, effective date to April 1, 2018. According to the proposed rule and request for public comment published by the Bureau in the March 15 Federal Register, the extension comes in response to comments received from “some industry participants” who “believe they will have difficulty complying with certain provisions.” The CFPB has taken the position that extending the deadline for compliance “would, among other things, help industry participants address certain packaging-related logistical issues for prepaid accounts that are sold at retail locations.” Comments on the proposal were due April 5.

State AG’s Letter. On April 5, attorneys general from 17 states and the District of Columbia submitted a letter to congressional leaders presenting various arguments against pending House and Senate resolutions (S.J. Res. 19, H.J. Res. 62, and H.J. Res. 73) providing for congressional disapproval and effectively nullifying the CFPB’s Prepaid Accounts Rule. The state attorneys general—including AGs for the District of Columbia, California, Hawaii, Illinois, Iowa, Maine, Maryland, Massachusetts, Minnesota, Mississippi, North Carolina, Oregon, Pennsylvania, Rhode Island, Vermont, Virginia, and Washington, along with the Executive Director of the Hawaii Office of Consumer Protection—argued, among other things, that consumer protections provided by the Rule are important because, among other things, “consumers frequently report concerns about hidden and abusive fees as well as fraudulent transactions that unfairly deplete the funds loaded onto prepaid cards.” The AGs’ letter notes further that prepaid cards are often used by “vulnerable consumers” who have limited or no access to a traditional bank account. Notably, although they characterize these congressional resolutions as a “misplaced effort,” the state AGs acknowledge that the Congressional Review Act “gives Congress, with the President’s signature, a window to veto a rule from going into effect.”

American Bankers Association (ABA) Letter. In another comment letter, submitted on April 3, the ABA commended the CFPB for “proposing to extend the deadline” because, among other things, “some industry participants, especially those offering prepaid cards in retail stores, may have difficulty complying with certain provisions.”  The ABA also noted that the extension of time presents an opportunity for the Bureau to “consider making adjustments as appropriate to ensure unnecessary disruption to consumers’ access to, and use of, prepaid accounts.” As explained in the letter, the ABA’s primary concern about the Prepaid Accounts Rule “remains the inconsistency and lack of clarity of the regulation’s distinction between checking accounts and prepaid accounts.” To this end, the ABA recommends that the Bureau use the extra time to “remove inconsistencies in the Rule and clarify the distinction between a prepaid account and a checking account to ensure that banks do not inadvertently violate the regulation and risk significant potential liability and supervisory actions.” The ABA’s letter also calls for “similar changes” to the “definition of ‘payroll account’” in order to further distinguish product types.

Independent Community Bankers of America (ICBA) Letter. Also on April 3, the ICBA also submitted a short comment letter stating, among other things, that it “fully supports extending the effective date” as the additional time will “ensure that systems and technology changes could be made to facilitate compliance.”