CFPB Looks to Supervise Largest Nonbank International Money Transfer Providers (Jan. 27, 2014)
The Consumer Financial Protection Bureau (CFPB) has proposed a rule it says would enable the agency to oversee larger, nonbank, international money transfer providers to ensure they are following the CFPB’s new protections for consumers sending money abroad. The CFPB estimates that the proposed rule would bring new oversight to approximately 25 of the largest providers in the market.
CFPB examiners would be able to inspect larger nonbank international money transfer providers for compliance with the remittance rule, which includes providing better disclosures of rates and fees, allowing at least a 30-minute window after payment for consumers to cancel a remittance if it has not yet been received, and certain consumer protections against errors made by remittance transfer providers. The remittance regulations went into effect last October.
“The CFPB’s remittance rule provides strong consumer protections like better disclosures and the correction of errors,” CFPB Director Richard Cordray said Thursday. The proposed rule “would help us provide oversight across the entire market so consumers get the protections they deserve.”
CFPB examiners already have the authority to assess the largest banks’ and credit unions’ compliance with the rule, but the agency’s proposed rule also would extend its supervisory authority to any nonbank international money transfer provider that provides more than 1 million international money transfers per year. Comments on the proposed rule may be submitted through www.regulations.gov for 60 days after its publication in the Federal Register.
