Consumer Financial Protection Agency
On September 25, 2009, Rep. Barney Frank (D-Mass.) circulated a discussion draft of legislation to create the CFPA. In addition, a hearing of the full House Financial Services Committee was held on September 30, 2009 for the purpose of discussion of the proposed legislation.
The Brookings Institution released the transcript of Martin Neil Baily’s testimony before the Senate Committee on Banking, Housing and Urban Affairs on September 29, 2009. Mr. Baily was the chairman of the Council of Economic Advisers during the Clinton administration during the 1999 to 2001 term. In addition, he was one of three members of the council from 1994 to 1996. You can view his testimony here.
Mr. Baily’s testimony can be summarized as follows: (1) The best framework to guide current reform efforts is an objectivist approach that divides regulation up into micro-prudential, macro-prudential and conduct of business regulation; (2) the quality of regulation must be improved regardless of where it is done; (3) a single federal micro-prudential regulator should be created combining the regulatory and supervisory functions currently carried out at the Federal Reserve, the OCC, the OTS, the SEC and the FDIC; (4) the United States needs effective conduct of business regulation; and (5) the Federal Reserve should be the systemic risk monitor with some additional regulatory power to adjust lending standards.
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Email This Content Posted in News Roundup. Tagged with Consumer Financial Protection Agency, Credit Cards, Data Security, Identity Theft, Interchange Fees, International Payments News, M-Commerce, Microfinance, Overdraft Fees, Prepaid and Gift Cards, U.S. GAO Reports. By Stan Santos - Wednesday, October 7, 2009 Prepaid Cards
On August 24, 2009, the New York Daily News published an article regarding prepaid cards and so-called “hidden costs”. Of possible interest is a quote from Kirsten Trusko, president of the Network Branded Prepaid Card Association, located towards the end of the piece that helps to balance the article’s slant against the prepaid and debit card industry.
Increasing popularity of reloadable prepaid cards, particularly among the unbanked and the underbanked, has begun to raise concerns among consumer advocates who view the cards as lacking important protections offered on bank cards. As more merchants become active in issuing these cards, advocates are lobbying for more oversight. For reference, see the recent Consumers Union report released on August 13, 2009.
The September 2009 issue of Selling Prepaid E-Magazine is now online. One article that may be of interest describes the perceived advantages of having/using prepaid cards in financial transactions over traditional methods such as paper checks, credit cards or debit cards.
An article published on September 6, 2009 in the Chicago Tribune describes how the U.S. Treasury has been campaigning to get Social Security and Supplemental Security Income recipients to switch to prepaid debit cards from paper checks.
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Email This Content Posted in News Roundup. Tagged with Checks and Check Cashing, Data Security, Economic Policy, Electronic Bill Payments, Financial Crisis, M-Commerce, Payroll, Prepaid Cards, Red Flags Rule, Social eCommerce, Upcoming Events. By Stan Santos - Tuesday, September 8, 2009 Heartland Payments Systems
The Department of Justice indicted three individuals on Monday, August 17, 2009, in what it has called the largest case of cybercrime and identity theft ever prosecuted. The three suspects, one American and two unnamed Russian co-conspirators, are allegedly responsible for the data security breach suffered by Heartland Payments Systems in January 2009. The DOJ’s press release is here, the indictment is here and an article from August 2008 (with reference to a similar data breach suffered by the parent company of T.J. Maxx) can be viewed here.
U.S. Supreme Court
The Court has released its calendar of cases for November 2009. Of note is Bilski v. Doll (08-964), a case that could have a broad impact on the prepaid card industry.
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Email This Content Posted in News Roundup. Tagged with Congressional Oversight, Credit Cards, Data Security, Debit Cards, Federal Reserve, Heartland Payments Systems, M-Commerce, Mobile Banking -- United Kingdom, Mobile Payments, Payments Fraud -- People's Republic of China, Publications, Supreme Court, Upcoming Events. By Stan Santos - Tuesday, August 25, 2009 Recent Litigation
The August 2009 issue of Selling Prepaid E-Magazine is now online. Particularly noteworthy is a news capsule that mentions Bryan Cave LLP‘s successful representation of Green Dot Corp. in the matter of Every Penny Counts, Inc. v. American Express Company, et. al. (2008-1434).
Resolution was recently reached in an appeal for the U.S. Court of Appeals for the 8th Circuit in the matter of Deanthony Thomas et. al. v. U.S. Bank, National Association ND et. al. The court held that the Depository Institutions Deregulation and Monetary Control Act (DIDA), 12 USC @ Section 1831d does not preempt state law usury claims against a federally-insured state-chartered bank. Congress very clearly intended the preemptive scope of the DIDA to be limited to particular circumstances. The court reversed trial court and ordered the case to be remanded to state court for consideration under Missouri usury law.
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Email This Content Posted in News Roundup. Tagged with Anti-Money Laundering (European Union), Checks and Check Cashing, Congressional Oversight, Consumer Financial Protection Agency, Credit CARD Act of 2009, Data Security, Debit Cards, E-Commerce, Editorial Corner, Electronic Payments, Federal Trade Commission, Government Accountability Office, Heartland Payments Systems, Identity Theft, International Payments News (Dubai), International Payments News (European Union), M-Commerce, Pending Legislation, Privacy Rights, Recent Litigation, TARP, Upcoming Conferences. By Stan Santos - Friday, August 14, 2009 