By Jim Bulling and Felix Charlesworth
The Assistant Governor of the Reserve Bank of Australia (RBA), Michele Bullock, delivered a speech at the Bund Fintech Summit in Shanghai on the developments in the retail payments industry and the potential implications these pose for regulators.
By Jennifer Crowder and Jeremy McLaughlin
Recently, largely due to emerging payment systems and new ways of conducting business online, there has been a trend developing among states that certain activity does not require money transmitter licensing. For example, several states have amended their statutes or issued regulatory guidance to indicate that a license is not needed if an entity is acting as an “agent of the payee” or as a “payment processor,” so long as certain conditions are met. In general, an agent of the payee is an entity that has a contractual relationship with the merchant or other ultimate payee such that payment to that entity constitutes, in effect, final payment. New York, for example, describes it as “any person authorized by a payee to receive funds on behalf of the payee and to deliver such funds received from the payor to the payee.” N.Y. Comp. Codes R. & Regs. tit. 3, § 406.2(l).
By Cameron Abbott, Warwick Anderson and Georgia Mills
Recent moves from PayPal and Target have brought fresh attention to the use of augmented reality (AR) in commercial settings. The technology remains in its infant stage but the revival of PayPal’s patent for payment-enabled AR glasses has some analysts wondering how close the technology is to becoming the mainstream.
The software described in the patent would give consumers with the glasses access to product and purchasing data simply by looking at an item on a store shelf.
By Andrew C. Glass, David D. Christensen, Cameron Abbott and Matthew N. Lowe
In the US, several attempts at class actions for those affected by a data breach have failed challenges in early procedural stages. In Dieffenbach v. Barnes & Noble, Inc., 887 F.3d 826 (7th Cir. Apr. 11, 2018), the Seventh Circuit allowed a data breach class action to survive the pleadings stage. At the same time, the Court indicated that the plaintiffs may have a tough time proving their claims on the merits or establishing that class certification is warranted. At the end of the day, the Dieffenbach decision may prove to be less of a boon and more of a bust for plaintiffs in data breach class actions. Although it may provide a means to get into court, the decision makes clear that obtaining a favorable outcome may be a “difficult task.” For a full summary of the Dieffenbach decision please see our client alert here.
The time and expense of applying for state money transmitter licenses can be an incredibly steep barrier to entry for many fintech and cryptocurrency businesses. Seven states—Georgia, Illinois, Kansas, Massachusetts, Tennessee, Texas, and Washington (collectively, “Signatory States”)—have taken an initial step to lower that barrier. They have signed an agreement (“Protocol”) aimed at expediting and simplifying the application process for money services businesses. The Conference of State Bank Supervisors (“CSBS”) announced the agreement and indicated other states are expected to join.
By Jim Bulling and Edwin Tan
The Australian Government has today released a report into Open Banking in Australia that sets out recommendations in relation to the method of implementation and proposed timelines. Some key points are:
By Cameron Abbott and Samantha Tyrrell
Many readers won’t be surprised by a new report out of the US that mobile peer-to-peer (P2P) payment services are now more popular than ever. However, it may be surprising to readers that the flipside of this increase is that our use of plastic money is on the decline, with a future free of debit cards potentially on the horizon.
By Eric A. Love and Judith Rinearson
On January 25, 2018, the U.S. CFPB announced that it has finalized changes to its sweeping Final Rule governing most general use prepaid accounts, digital wallets and P2P payment programs. These changes have been long anticipated, and include a delay of the Final Rule’s effective date (until April 1, 2019), as well as the following notable features:
Error Resolution and Limited Liability
A major bone of contention for the industry was the fact that provisional re-crediting of claims of unauthorized transactions would be required even if the cardholder had not registered or been verified. Such a requirement would certainly have increased fraud. Under the new amendments, Regulation E’s error resolution and limited liability requirements will not apply until after the consumer identification and verification process has been completed. This new limitation does not apply to payroll cards and government benefit accounts, since these cardholders are usually already known to the issuers.
By Cameron Abbott and Samantha Tyrrell
In a recent quarterly investor call, Starbucks’ Chairman Howard Schultz discussed the possibility of incorporating blockchain technology into Starbucks’ impressive digital repertoire.
Starbucks’ commitment to being a first mover when it comes to disruptive technology has already resulted in the hugely successful implementation of its mobile payment app, launched in 2015. The app allows users to order, pay and accrue rewards remotely and now accounts for nearly one third of Starbucks’ US transactions. According to Schultz, these figures may warrant a move towards integrating some entirely cashless stores throughout the US.
By Eric A. Love
On December 21, 2017, the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau (CFPB) issued a statement providing a status update about its comprehensive final rule amending the implementing regulations for the Electronic Fund Transfer Act (Regulation E) and the Truth in Lending Act (Regulation Z) as applied to prepaid accounts (Final Rule).
The Final Rule extends Regulation E protections to prepaid accounts, thus requiring financial institutions to give consumers easy access to account information, investigate and resolve erroneous charges, and limit consumer liability for unauthorized charges in certain circumstances. In addition, the Final Rule applies Regulation Z protections to prepaid accounts that are linked to credit products. The Final Rule also sets forth certain requirements concerning disclosures and account terms posting and submission.
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