Payment Law Advisor Legal Commentary and Resources for the Payment Industry

Brian J. Hurh

Brian J. Hurh

Brian Hurh counsels clients on financial regulatory, transactional and privacy matters involving traditional lending products as well as mobile, prepaid and other emerging consumer payment solutions.
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Posts by Brian J. Hurh

Consumer Financial Data Aggregation & the Potential for Regulatory Intervention

By Brian J. Hurh on Posted in Regulatory and Compliance
I. Introduction A confluence of regulatory activity and policy debates seem to be laying the groundwork for future regulation of consumer financial data aggregation activities. The outcome of these activities could significantly affect how financial data may be shared by financial institutions, controlled by third-party data aggregators, and used… Read the rest

FRB Governor Indicates Data Aggregators Could Impact Bank Safety & Soundness as Part of the “Fintech Stack”

By Brian J. Hurh on Posted in Regulatory and Compliance
In a recent speech at the Northwestern Kellogg Public-Private Interface Conference, Federal Reserve Board Governor Lael Brainard indicated that the relationships between banks and data aggregators within the “fintech stack” may present safety and soundness concerns that warrant oversight by the FRB (and perhaps other prudential regulators).… Read the rest

CFPB Establishes Standards for the Marketing of Educational Credit Scores

By Brian J. Hurh on Posted in Deals and Technology
In simultaneous enforcement actions against TransUnion and Equifax, the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau settled charges against the credit reporting agencies for, among other things, allegedly deceptive marketing practices involving proprietary “educational credit scores” that the agencies had advertised  were used by lenders in ma… Read the rest

The Consumer Credit Market: A Report from the CFPB

By James H. Mann, Andrew Owens, Brian J. Hurh and Davis Wright Tremaine on Posted in Regulatory and Compliance
PLA today posts “The Consumer Credit Card Market,” the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau’s biennial report on the consumer credit card market.  The CFPB’s report, required by the Credit Card Accountability Responsibility and Disclosure Act of 2009 (CARD Act), provides significant data on the credit card market, including the use, costs… Read the rest

Sprint Agrees to Pay FTC $2.95 Million to Settle Risk-Based Pricing Rule Charges Under the FCRA

By Brian J. Hurh and Bryan Thompson on Posted in Financial Services Litigation and Enforcement
Mobile service providers frequently look at their customers’ credit reports and scores to determine the best pricing plans for those customers. But asa recent settlement between Sprint Corporation and the Federal Trade Commission shows, mobile carriers that use customers’ credit information to determine service rates may be subject to the FTC… Read the rest

Treasury Department RFI on Online Marketplace Lending Signals Potential Shift Towards Regulation of Small Business Loans

By Brian J. Hurh and Davis Wright Tremaine on Posted in Regulatory and Compliance
The Treasury Department recently issued a request for information to explore various aspects of “online marketplace lending.” The RFI seeks comment on a broad array of online financial services companies that lend not only to consumers but also to small businesses. When considering the RFI in connection with other recent regulatory activity, incl… Read the rest

An Overview of the CFPB’s Proposed Prepaid Account Rule

By Lauren Dorsett, Brian J. Hurh, Andrew J. Lorentz and Davis Wright Tremaine on Posted in Regulatory and Compliance
(To view a printable PDF of this post, click here.)  The CFPB’s proposed prepaid account rule was published in the Federal Register today, kicking off a 90-day comment period for the public to voice their support or objections to the Bureau’s proposed revisions to Regulation E and Regulation Z. To help navigate the comprehensive 235-page rulema… Read the rest

CFPB Proposed Prepaid Account Rule

By Brian J. Hurh and Davis Wright Tremaine on Posted in Deals and Technology, General
On November 13, 2014 the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau issued its long-awaited proposed rule on prepaid products. The rules would apply broadly to any “prepaid account,” whether in the form of a card, code or other device, capable of being loaded with funds that can be used at unaffiliated merchants, for peer-to-peer transfers, or for ATM with… Read the rest

CFPB Proposes Alternative Delivery Method for GLBA Privacy Notice

By Brian J. Hurh on Posted in Regulatory and Compliance
The CFPB has proposed rules to afford financial institutions an alternative delivery method for annual privacy notices under the privacy provisions of GLBA and Regulation P (12 CFR part 1016).  This alternative delivery method would permit financial institutions (under limited circumstances) to post annual privacy notices on their websites in lieu… Read the rest

GAO Issues Report On Tax Compliance Issues Regarding Virtual Economies and Currencies

By Brian J. Hurh on Posted in Regulatory and Compliance
We are updating our resource page to include a May 2013 U.S. GAO report on potential tax compliance issues related to virtual economies and currencies, which followed on the heels of FinCEN’s virtual currency guidance in March 2013 (read our analysis here). The GAO guide recognizes that virtual currencies pose various tax compliance risks, but acknowl… Read the rest

Comment Deadline on Ban of Remotely Created Checks and Payment Orders under FTC Telemarketing Sales Rule Extended to August 8

By Brian J. Hurh on Posted in Regulatory and Compliance
In May, we highlighted the FTC’s notice of proposed rulemaking that proposed changes to the Telemarketing Sales Rule (TSR) (16 CFR 310). The NPRM included a proposed ban on the use of certain “novel” payment methods in all telemarketing transactions (i.e., both inbound and outbound). The proposed banned payment methods include remotely created c… Read the rest

Visa Revises Rules to Permit Discounts on Proprietary, Co-Brand Cards to Foster Its Partnership with Chase

By Brian J. Hurh on Posted in Deals and Technology, Regulatory and Compliance
We understand that Visa recently revised its rules to permit US issuers and merchants to offer immediate discounts at the point of sale to encourage and reward the use of different types of Visa cards. Visa’s prior rule barred such point-of-sale differentiation among Visa cards. While the rule change could have a broad impact, we speculate that it also ma… Read the rest

FTC Order Against Fraudulent Payment Processor Joins Growing List of Regulatory Actions Involving Third Party Service Providers

By Brian J. Hurh on Posted in Regulatory and Compliance
Following on the heels of significant regulatory actions by the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau, Federal Reserve, and the FDIC against regulated companies and their third-party service providers, the Federal Trade Commission recently announced a settlement order against a payment processor, as well as its principals (including one “John P.… Read the rest

FTC Releases Long-Awaited Update to its 2000 Dot Com Disclosures Guide

By Brian J. Hurh on Posted in Regulatory and Compliance
The Federal Trade Commission (“FTC”) has released its revised guidance on the principles of advertising disclosures in the online marketplace.  Entitled “.com Disclosures,” the new guidance enhances the FTC’s earlier Dot Com Disclosures guide, published in May 2000, to address over a decade of technological changes in e-commerce, inclu… Read the rest

FTC Releases Report on Mobile Payments; Guidance on Addressing Issues in Mobile Carrier Billing, Privacy and Data Security

By Brian J. Hurh on Posted in Regulatory and Compliance
Earlier this month, the FTC released a Report highlighting some of the key issues in the mobile payments space, with particular focus on mobile carrier billing, privacy and data security, and international payments.  The Report is based on various workshops held by the FTC on mobile technologies, and provides summary guidance on what issues companies s… Read the rest

FTC Releases Fifth Interim Report on Credit Report Accuracy

By James H. Mann and Brian J. Hurh on Posted in General
On February 11, 2013, the FTC made public its fifth interim report on a national study of credit report accuracy. The report concludes, among other things, that 26% of the 1,001 participants in the study identified at least one potentially material error on at least one of their three credit reports. A copy of the report is available here. The report will like… Read the rest

NACHA Issues Guidelines for Using QR Codes in Bill Pay Services and ACH Payments

By Brian J. Hurh on Posted in General
NACHA’s Council for Electronic Billing and Payment recently released a guide on the use of “quick response” codes (or “QR codes”) to facilitate bill pay services, including initiating ACH payments and reviewing accounts. QR codes have been used for a variety of applications, including marketing and advertising, product information and eve… Read the rest

Regulatory Action Against First Bank of Delaware Reinforces BSA and AML Concerns with Third-Party Relationships

By Brian J. Hurh on Posted in Financial Services Litigation and Enforcement, Regulatory and Compliance
Earlier this month, First Bank of Delaware[FN1] was subjected to concurrent $15 million penalties by the Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation (FDIC) and the Financial Crimes Enforcement Network (FinCEN), along with a $15 million settlement with the Department of Justice (DOJ). The fines and penalties were in settlement of alleged violations of the B… Read the rest

Federal and State Agencies

By Brian J. Hurh on Posted in Regulatory and Compliance
Compliance means conforming to the applicable rules and regulations of the various federal regulatory agencies. Our Resources page gives you access to the various agency websites and related information, including the Federal Reserve and its regional banks, MOUs between the CFPB and federal and state agencies, OCC, FDIC, FFIEC, FTC, FinCEN, MTRA an… Read the rest

Notes from the NACHA MEGA Meeting in Atlanta

By Brian J. Hurh on Posted in Regulatory and Compliance
DWT representatives attended the October NACHA MEGA meeting in Atlanta, GA to discuss recent trends in payments and ACH services.  Among the highlights from the conference were: Jan Estep, President and CEO of NACHA, kicked off the events with updates on recent and upcoming NACHA activities. In particular, Ms. Estep announced that the proposal to imple… Read the rest