Visa Announces New Payment Security Services to Prevent Fraud

For merchants and banks, payment fraud can lead to heavy financial losses and a serious besmirching of reputation.   Business and financial institutions received a helping hand today when Visa announced a suite of new industry-first payment security services and capabilities to prevent and disrupt payment fraud. The new capabilities are available to Visa clients at no additional cost or signup.

Banking regulators move to loosen Volcker requirements

Yesterday, the FDIC and Office of the Comptroller of the Currency approved an interagency rule that would loosen Volcker rule requirements on big banks; three other banking regulators must still approve it. NAFCU had urged the agencies to withdraw their proposed rulemaking, arguing that relaxing the requirements could undermine financial stability.

Goldman CEO memo calls Apple Card ‘a beginning’ on launch day

NEW YORK (Reuters) - Goldman Sachs Group Inc officially became a credit-card lender on Tuesday by rolling out its first product with Apple Inc , but the bank has aspirations to grow much bigger in consumer lending, its chief executive said in an internal memo viewed by Reuters.  The virtual credit card, which officially launched to all U.S. customers, is Goldman's first, and it represents a big push by the Wall Street bank to build out its young consumer business.

CHECK INTO CASH® SELECTS TELROCK’S OPTIMUS ENTERPRISE CLASS COLLECTION & RECOVERY SOFTWARE PLATFORM TO HELP DRIVE GREATER COLLECTION EFFICIENCY AND EFFECTIVENESS

Atlanta, GA. – August 20, 2019 Check Into Cash, a national industry leader in direct lending and short-term credit solutions with hundreds of retail locations across the country and an ever expanding online presence, has selected Telrock, a global technology provider of SaaS-based software solutions, to provide their enterprise-wide collections and recovery platform Optimus. 

Marks Adopted for the First Time in the Sixth Circuit—State of Michigan Now Split on Requirements for TCPA Claim

Well the Wolverine state is now at war with itself—and I’m not talking about college football.  As we’ve reported previously, the Eastern District of Michigan has repeatedly followed the statutory approach to interpreting the TCPA’s phrase “ATDS” and required random or sequential number generation to state a TCPA claim. A court in the Western District of Michigan weighed in on the fight over the proper interpretation of an ATDS this week, however, and sided with the Ninth Circuit’s expansive holding in Marks that all dialers that call from a list of numbers automatically qualify under the TCPA.  This is the first time that Marks has been adopted within the Sixth Circuit and represents a further expansion of the Ninth Circuit’s TCPA reach.

Bankruptcy – Proposed Amendments Published for Public Comment

T-Mobile and AT&T join Verizon in rolling out free anti-robocalling technology

Robocalling is a phenomenon that isn’t exclusive to the US, but it’s far less frequent elsewhere. According to statistics from YouMail, nearly 48 billion robocalls were made in 2018 just in the US, and over 37% of these calls were spam calls. Google’s screen calling lets you identify spam callers by making Google Assistant talk to them, and Verizon took steps to allow anybody to block robocalls for free. The free version of Verizon’s robocall blocking service helps detect spam and will allow you to report the phone number, while the paid version at $2.99 a month includes features like personal spam and block list, risk meter, and spam lookup. T-Mobile and AT&T are teaming up and joining Verizon in offering free anti-robocalling technology.

Compliance Blog tackles payday rule during delay

Yesterday would have been the compliance deadline for the CFPB's payday lending rule, but litigation surrounding the rule and the bureau's decision to delay the ability-to-repay provisions until Nov. 19, 2020, has it in some limbo. In light of this, NAFCU's Reginald Watson details the implications of the rule on certain covered loans in a new Compliance Blog post.

CFPB offers financial relief to harmed veterans

In a proposed settlement with several lenders allegedly offering high-interest credit to veterans, the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau offered redress to harmed veterans and consumers. The CFPB and the Office of the Arkansas Attorney General filed a proposed settlement with Andrew Gamber, Voyager Financial and SoBell. The lenders are accused of brokering contracts offering high-interest credit to veterans, many of whom are disabled, and other consumers.

Biometric Data Regulations: Do Your Insurance Policies Cover This Emerging Risk?

Over the past several years, commercial use of biometric data has become increasingly prevalent. In response, several states have adopted biometric data privacy legislation. Consequently, companies that rely on biometric data face new regulatory risks, in addition to increased legal exposure to individual and class action lawsuits. In fact, the Ninth Circuit Court of Appeals recently affirmed certification of a class action alleging Facebook’s face-scanning practices violate Illinois’ biometric privacy law, finding that the class alleged sufficiently concrete injuries based on Facebook’s alleged use of facial recognition technology without users’ consent to establish standing. Insurance policies currently available on the market, including cyber insurance policies, may not adequately cover these risks.

LA Financial Credit Union to Merge with Ventura County Credit Union

Pasadena-based L.A. Financial Credit Union has agreed to merge into the Ventura County Credit Union, creating an institution with $1.3 billion in assets and serving 120,000 members in California and Arizona.   The merger is expected to be completed in early 2020, according to a statement issued jointly by the two credit unions.

HUD proposes rule setting higher bar for housing discrimination claims

The Department of Housing and Urban Development released a proposed rule Friday that would make it more difficult to bring discrimination claims under the Fair Housing Act, a move that is drawing protests from civil rights groups. The proposed rewrite of a 2013 HUD rule would require plaintiffs to clear a higher bar to prove unintentional discrimination — known as disparate impact — and give defendants more leeway to rebut a claim. It was published on Friday following a 15-day congressional review period.

CFPB Appoints Private Education Loan Ombudsman

Washington, D.C. – The Consumer Financial Protection Bureau (Bureau) announced the appointment of Robert G. Cameron to serve as the Bureau’s private education loan ombudsman. Mr. Cameron is a Colonel and Staff Judge Advocate for the Pennsylvania Army National Guard. He has served in the United States Army for 29 years. Mr. Cameron also joins the Bureau from the Pennsylvania Higher Education Assistance Agency where he was a high-ranking official responsible for litigation, compliance, and risk mitigation efforts.  

DFS SUPERINTENDENT LINDA A. LACEWELL ANNOUNCES SETTLEMENT WITH NATIONAL STUDENT LOAN SERVICER OF FOR-PROFIT SCHOOLS

New York − Financial Services Superintendent Linda A. Lacewell today announced that the Department of Financial Services (DFS) entered into a $236,309 settlement with student loan servicer Tuition Options LLC and its parent company, EDvantage LLC, under which the companies will pay a $203,000 civil penalty and $33,309 in disgorgement to the State of New York. The settlement stems from DFS’s investigation of whether Tuition Options engaged in the business of a sales finance company without a license.

Turning Point for Student Loans

The New York Fed this week presented an unsettling picture of how student loans stack up to other household debt.   Defaulted student loans have surpassed all other types of household debt classified as "severely derogatory," including mortgage and credit card debt, according to a report from New York Fed researchers.   Fed researchers defined severely derogatory debt as any kind of delinquent loan combined with a repossession, foreclosure, or charge off. The proportion of debt falling into that category in U.S. households has stayed fairly consistent for the past four years. But defaulted student loans now make up 35 percent of that debt.

Encore Sells Baycorp to Credit Corp Group

SAN DIEGO, August 15, 2019 — Encore Capital Group, Inc. (Nasdaq: ECPG), an international specialty finance company, announced today that it has completed the sale of its Baycorp subsidiary to Credit Corp Group, a debt purchaser and debt collection company headquartered in Sydney, Australia. Baycorp specializes in the management of non-performing loans in Australia and New Zealand and provides portfolio management services for non-performing debts.

Why You Should Never Borrow Someone Else’s Charging Cable

We've all been there. Your smartphone or tablet is low on power and you've left your charging cable at home. There's no harm in borrowing one from a fellow passenger in the airport departure lounge or from your hotel's front desk clerk, right?  In 2019, that would be a huge mistake, say cybersecurity experts.  “There are certain things in life that you just don't borrow,” says Charles Henderson, Global Managing Partner and Head of X-Force Red at IBM Security. “If you were on a trip and realized you forgot to pack underwear, you wouldn't ask all your co-travelers if you could borrow their underwear. You'd go to a store and buy new underwear.”

Barclays ends partnership with cryptocurrency exchange Coinbase

LONDON (Reuters) - Barclays (BARC.L) is no longer providing banking services to major cryptocurrency exchange Coinbase, sources familiar with the matter told Reuters, ending a relationship that started in March last year as the exchange expanded in Europe.  The rare deal between the San Francisco-based exchange and the British bank made it easier for Coinbase users to buy cryptocurrencies with pounds and withdraw their funds.

Court bans Arkansan from offering vets lump-sum deals

A man who owns three Little Rock corporations that broker high-interest loans to veterans in exchange for acquiring rights to the veterans' future pension payments has been permanently banned from offering such agreements. Attorney General Leslie Rutledge announced Thursday that a final judgment had been entered against Andrew Gamber, who, according to court documents, co-founded and owned Voyager Financial Group, an Arkansas corporation; and founded and owned both BAIC Inc., a Texas corporation based in Little Rock, and SoBell Corp., a Mississippi corporation based in Little Rock.

Seventh Circuit FDCPA decision has implications for CFPB’s approach to validation notices in its proposed debt collection rules

In its proposed debt collection rules, the CFPB would allow a debt collector to satisfy the FDCPA requirement to provide the validation notice by sending the debtor an email or text message that includes a hyperlink to a secure website on which the notice is accessible, subject to a series of specific conditions set forth in the proposed rules.  The permissibility of that approach under the FDCPA was called into question by the decision issued last week by the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Seventh Circuit in Lavallee v. Med-1 Solutions, LLC.  In the decision, the Seventh Circuit ruled that the emails sent by a debt collector to the plaintiff containing hyperlinks to a server operated by the debt collector’s sister company on which the plaintiff could access and download the validation notices did not satisfy the FDCPA validation notice requirement.

CFPB, Arkansas State AG Settle with Brokers of High-Interest Credit Offers

Washington, D.C. – The Consumer Financial Protection Bureau (Bureau) and the Office of the Arkansas Attorney General yesterday filed a proposed settlement with Andrew Gamber; Voyager Financial Group, LLC; BAIC, Inc.; and SoBell Corp. The companies, owned and operated by Gamber, were brokers of contracts offering high-interest credit to veterans, many of whom are disabled, and to other consumers. Under the proposed settlement, Gamber and the companies will be banned from the industry and a judgment requiring redress, a civil money penalty, and a payment to the State of Arkansas will be entered against them.

Navient named “Top 10” Military Friendly Employer

WILMINGTON, Del., Aug. 15, 2019 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- Navient has earned the 2020 “Top 10” Military Friendly Employer designation from VIQTORY, publisher of G.I. Jobs and Military Spouse Magazine. It is the sixth consecutive year Navient has earned the Military Friendly designation.  “At Navient, we value the service-oriented experience military veterans bring to our company and that translates into a focus on our customers,” said Paul Hartwick, vice president and U.S. Army veteran. “We’re honored to be recognized for our commitment to providing opportunities for military veterans to build meaningful careers here.”

FTC Obtains Telemarketing Injunctions against Recidivist Do Not Call Violators Jasjit “Jay” Gotra and His Company, Alliance Security Inc.

The Federal Trade Commission obtained a stipulated final order that permanently bans Alliance Security Inc. from telemarketing. The FTC also obtained a preliminary injunction barring Alliance’s founder and CEO, Jasit “Jay” Gotra, from telemarketing until the final resolution of the case against him. Gotra is the sole remaining defendant in a 2018 FTC case against Alliance, Gotra, and their telemarketers for calling more than one million consumers whose numbers are on the National Do Not Call (DNC) Registry.

SEC Charges Former CFO of Cash Advance Company With Defrauding Thousands of Retail Investors

The Securities and Exchange Commission today charged 1 Global Capital LLC’s former chief financial officer, Alan G. Heide, with defrauding retail investors. The now bankrupt Florida-based cash advance company allegedly fraudulently raised more than $322 million from 3,600 investors between 2014 and last year. The SEC previously charged 1 Global and former CEO Carl Ruderman with fraud and charged Henry J. “Trae” Wieniewitz, III for his allegedly unlawful sales of 1 Global securities. Ruderman and Wieniewitz have consented to final judgments.   

NY Fed: Household debt exceeds peak reached in 2008

The Federal Reserve Bank of New York this week released second quarter data on household debt and credit that showed total household debt reached a new high of $13.86 trillion – $1.2 trillion (in nominal terms) more than the previous peak reached in the third quarter of 2008.

CFPB: Facts you can use about the Equifax settlement

In September 2017, Equifax announced a breach that exposed the personal data of approximately 147 million people. Last month, along with the Federal Trade Commission (FTC), and 48 states, the District of Columbia, and Puerto Rico, we announced a global settlement that will provide up to $425 million in monetary relief to consumers. 

Nevada’s new privacy law is just the beginning

For many online businesses and publishers, the last 12 months have required a steep privacy learning curve: First, to comply with the General Data Protection Regulation (GDPR) laws in Europe, and soon, to uphold the nuanced differences of requirements in the California Consumer Privacy Act (CCPA) — not to mention a mounting number of new data protection legislations passed in other U.S. states.   Aside from data privacy and legal experts, not many employees at any given online business could easily define the difference between something like the GDPR and the CCPA. A lack of education on the subject could be a more pressing problem since those two laws aren't the only ones due for consideration. 

New Data Breach Has Exposed Millions Of Fingerprint And Facial Recognition Records: Report

It has been coming for some time, but now the major breach of a biometric database has actually been reported—facial recognition records, fingerprints, log data and personal information has all been found on "a publicly accessible database." The damage is not yet clear, but the report claims that actual fingerprints and facial recognition records for millions of people have been exposed.  The issue with biometric data being stored in this way is that, unlike usernames and passwords, it cannot be changed. Once it’s compromised, it’s compromised. And for that reason this breach report will sound all kinds of alarms.

Lender Protection Allows Auto Refinancing for More Credit Tiers

Denver, Colorado, Aug. 14, 2019 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) --

iLendingDIRECT, a national leader in automotive refinancing, has expanded its partnership with Open Lending, which specializes in alternative risk modeling for loans." data-reactid="13" style="margin: 0px 0px 1em; color: #26282a; font-family: 'Helvetica Neue', Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 15px; font-style: normal; font-variant-ligatures: normal; font-variant-caps: normal; font-weight: 400; letter-spacing: normal; orphans: 2; text-align: start; text-indent: 0px; text-transform: none; white-space: normal; widows: 2; word-spacing: 0px; -webkit-text-stroke-width: 0px; background-color: #ffffff; text-decoration-style: initial; text-decoration-color: initial;">iLendingDIRECT, a national leader in automotive refinancing, has expanded its partnership with Open Lending, which specializes in alternative risk modeling for loans. iLendingDIRECT can now refinance customers with credit scores as low as 560 using Lenders Protection powered by Open Lending. This program allows lenders to fund near or non-prime auto loans with default insurance coverage. “We are excited to grow our partnership with iLendingDIRECT and to support them and their credit union partners in saying ‘yes’ to more automotive loans. The ability to help more institutions serve the underserved means a great deal to us,” stated John Flynn, Open Lending’s President and CEO.

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