The Consumer Financial Protection Bureau (CFPB) has issued a final rule to regulate big digital payment companies, excluding cryptocurrency transactions. The law applies to platforms such as Apple Pay and peer-to-peer services, with a focus on payments made in US dollars.
The new restrictions aim to ensure that big payment apps that perform more than 50 million annual transactions follow federal requirements similar to traditional financial institutions like banks and credit unions. The CFPB underlined that these rules address issues of privacy, fraud prevention, and consumer access to financial tools.
Key Provisions of the Rule:The rule provides oversight for several of the most extensively used digital payment providers, focusing on essential areas.
Privacy and Data Protection: The CFPB expresses worry about large technology companies’ excessive gathering of transaction data. Consumers have the right to opt out of some data-sharing practices, and corporations must clearly explain their data protection policies.Fraud and Error Management: Payment platforms must resolve disputes concerning inaccurate or fraudulent transactions. The CFPB warned that certain apps transfer accountability to banks, resulting in unresolved consumer complaints.Account Access Issues: Customers who depend on these apps for daily transactions may experience significant disruptions due to abrupt account closures or payment freezes, which the rule aims to prevent.Previously, industry participants and lawmakers opposed the inclusion of bitcoin wallets in the draft, leading to their deletion. According to the final rule, the monitoring criteria only include transactions denominated in US dollars, excluding crypto-asset transfers such as Bitcoin and stablecoins.
Payment apps are becoming increasingly influential.Digital payment apps have quickly replaced traditional methods like credit and debit cards in everyday business. These platforms are particularly popular among middle- and lower-income consumers, processing more than a trillion dollars in payments each year.
Although the CFPB has already provided warnings and guidelines to large technology companies, the approved regulation gives it proactive authority to investigate their practices. This oversight attempts to uncover and manage hazards as early as possible, thereby reducing potential consumer harm.
By focusing solely on US dollar transactions and confining the regulation to larger platforms, the CFPB has adapted its approach to balance regulatory concerns with the changing digital financial landscape. The exclusion of bitcoin transactions demonstrates an understanding of the distinct nature of digital assets in the financial ecosystem.
