Oversight for digital wallets

The U.S. Consumer Financial Protection Bureau (CFPB) has proposed a new rule aimed at overseeing large non-bank companies that provide services such as digital wallets and payment applications.

In a statement from the CFPB, it was emphasized that the popularity of digital payment applications and wallets driven by tech giants and other large technology firms continues to grow, and that complaints regarding these applications and the companies providing them have increased in recent years.

Pointing out that most of these companies are not currently subject to CFPB supervisory examinations, the statement noted that the newly proposed rule would ensure that large companies, particularly those processing more than 5 million transactions per year, comply with the same rules as currently supervised large banks, credit unions, and other financial institutions.

The statement conveyed that the proposed rule would subject non-bank digital consumer payment companies to the CFPB's examination authority and would also help ensure the consistent application of federal consumer financial laws across the market.

Under the new rule, it was stated that compliance with applicable money transfer, privacy, and other consumer protection laws would be guaranteed, and it was reported that if the rule is finalized, it would be part of the CFPB's efforts to carefully monitor the entry of large technology firms, including tech giants, into consumer financial markets.