Law and Regulation

The U.S. Senate on Wednesday voted 51-47 to scrub a regulation issued in November by the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau and aimed at mobile wallets and digital money transfers. The repeal legislation, which now moves to the House of Representatives, comes as major payment-app developers like Apple Inc., Block Inc., …

The Consumer Financial Protection Bureau late Tuesday dropped its lawsuit against Early Warning Services LLC, operator of the Zelle person-to-person payments network. The suit had also named Bank of America, JPMorgan Chase, and Wells Fargo as defendants. The financial institutions are three of the seven bank owners of Early Warning. …

The Federal Reserve announced its FedNow real-time payments network this summer will raise its transaction limit to $1 million from $500,000. FedNow was launched in 2023. Kasheesh Inc. launched a loyalty program called Kasheesh Rewards, aimed at letting users earn rewards based on spending. Kasheesh’s platform allows users to split transactions across credit, debit, and …

With expectations growing that the Credit Card Competition Act will soon be reintroduced in Congress, proponents of the bill feel its prospects for passage are better than ever. Helping fuel this optimism is growing bipartisan support for the bill, proponents say. “The Senate Judiciary Committee [hearing in November] showed there …

Sightline Payments, a specialist in payments for the gaming industry, announced it has completed a recapitalization, with participation from “most” existing major investors. The 15-year-old company estimates the U.S. digital gaming industry at $30 billion in annual revenue. Generation Z is overwhelmingly adopting digital-payment methods, with 92% using peer-to-peer payment …

A top executive at Coinbase Global Inc. said Friday the Securities and Exchange Commission has withdrawn an enforcement action against the cryptocurrency platform, a move the executive lauded as a “victory not just for Coinbase, but for our customers, the United States, and individual freedom.” “We’ve always maintained that we …

A subdued Consumer Financial Protection Bureau is likely to emerge in the wake of the order issued over the weekend to close its offices for the week and have employees work remotely during that period. Acting CFPB director Russell Vought, director of the United States Office of Management and Budget, …

U.S. District Court Judge Virginia Kendell extended the injunction against Illinois’s pending interchange law late Thursday to include more financial institutions but stopped short of providing blanket relief from the law for all financial institutions and the card networks. Kendall, a judge in the Northern District of Illinois, ruled that …

Thanks to criminals’ increasing adoption of artificial intelligence, cyberfraud rose 14% in 2024, according to a report from Trustpair, a provider of fraud-prevention technology. Overall, 90% of U.S. companies were targeted by cyber fraud the past year, compared to 79% in 2023. The increase is being driven by criminals’ use …

In reconnecting with the payments industry after my Congressional run, one topic has come up in conversation more than any other: interchange regulations. Specifically, S.1838, the Credit Card Competition Act of 2023 (CCCA), which takes a market-driven approach to driving down interchange fees.  By enabling two credit card networks on …