The Government Updateis issued by the Innovative Payments Association twenty times a year as a service to members. Editors: Brian Tate, President and CEO, IPA; Ben Jackson, COO, IPA; Eli Rosenberg, Partner, Baird Holm LLP; and Gray Derrick, Partner, Baird Holm LLP. Please address comments and suggestions to: [email protected].  IPA CEO - 2025 Innovative Payments Conference Thank You The 2025 Innovative Payments Conference was one for the ages. It was wonderful to get the opportunity to see our members and make connections with future members. From our fabulous speakers, featured guests, and keynotes to our attendees and sponsors, it was great to listen, learn, and laugh with so many different people and companies who make up the payments community. With the world moving at an incredibly fast pace, it was nice to take a breath and really take in what’s happening in payments so you can plan, plot, strategize for the future. Learning some breaking news first isn’t bad either. IYKYK. Special thanks to our sponsors for their bedrock support of the IPC: Visa, InComm, Blackhawk, iLex, Bancorp, Pathward, DailyPay, Instant, Discover, Cardaq, Sunrise, Paysign, US Bank, CPI, Newline, Kotapay, Baird Holm, Paul Hastings. I want to make sure I thank our speakers, including:
for taking time out of their busy schedules to share their experiences and insights with IPC attendees. I want to thank the IPA Team, Steffanie Housman, Anna Drennan, Heather McElrath, and Ben Jackson for going above in beyond for our members. If you were not able to attend the 2025 IPC, you can learn what happened by visiting:  In Memoriam: Andrew Siden The payments industry lost a thoughtful leader and kind colleague with the passing of Andrew Siden, Founder of Expanse Financial Technology and a valued member of the IPA Board. Andrew was more than a fintech executive; he was a steady voice in a constantly evolving industry. He brought clarity to complexity and offered insight with precision and humility. Whether you were discussing regulatory hurdles or startup challenges, Andrew approached every conversation with patience, warmth, and curiosity. I had the great fortune to have the opportunity to work alongside Andrew during my time at the IPA. Andrew was more than just an entrepreneur. Andrew was a colleague, a confidant, and a friend. I will sorely miss him. We’re grateful we had the opportunity to capture a piece of Andrew’s story in one of our 2022 podcast episodes; Innovation Requires an Even Keel. In that conversation, he discussed the evolution of his company, the importance of timing and luck in entrepreneurship, and how to lead with both ambition and grace. Listening to it again now reminds us of his thoughtful leadership and enduring optimism. You can listen to the episode here: Innovation Requires an Even Keel – IPA Podcast He will be sorely missed by everyone who knew him.  Congressional Review Act Update Two Congressional Review Act resolutions were recently signed into law by President Trump. The resolutions remove existing respective regulations from being in effect or prevent them from becoming effective. Further, the agency which issued the regulation cannot reissue a substantially similar regulation without new legislation from Congress. First, April 9th the House voted to passed S. J. Res. 28, introduced by U.S. Senator Pete Ricketts (R-NE). In brief, S.J. Res. 28 repeals the CFPB’s Final Rule for Larger Participants issued in November 2024. The Senate passed S.J.Res. 28 on March 5th. Next, the House also voted to pass S.J.Res 18, introduced by U.S. Senator Tim Scott (R-SC), Chair of the Senate Banking Committee. S.J.Res.18 would repeal the CFPB’s Final Rule on Overdraft Lending issued in December 2024. The Senate passed S.J. Res.28 on March 27th. CFPB 2025 Supervision and Enforcement Priorities In April, the CFPB released a memo which outlines the agency’s supervision and enforcement priorities for 2025. According to the memo the CFPB will focus its enforcement and supervision on pressing threats to consumers, particularly service members, and their families. Further, the CFPB will make a shift to focus on depository institutions, as opposed to non-depository institutions. Accordingly, the CFPB will deprioritize:
Some additional focus points of the memo include:
Michelle Bowman Nominated to be Next Fed Vice Chair of Supervision President Trump has nominated michelle Bowman to fill the Vice Chair for Supervision role which has been vacant since Fed Gov. Michael Barr stepped down from the post Feb. 28. Bowman had been seen as a front-runner to replace Barr since Trump was elected in November. The Senate Banking Committee approved Bowman’s nomination. Further, her nomination was recently filed Cloture to be considered by the full Senate. If confirmed, Bowman will serve a four-year term. CFPB Drops PayPal Appeal In late April the CFPB decided to drop its appeal in CFPB v. PayPal, which was pending in the U.S. Court of Appeals for the D.C. Circuit. In brief, the CFPB was appealing a March 2024 ruling (see attached) by Judge Richard Leon which stated: “the short-form disclosure requirement of the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau’s “Prepaid Accounts Under the Electronic Funds Act (Regulation E) and the Truth in Lending Act (Regulation Z) Rule (Prepaid Rule) as applied to digital wallets is vacated.” Additional details will be provided as developments occur. WH Memo: DOJ/Treasury to Investigate Straw Donors & Foreign Contributions in Amer. Elections On April 25th the President Trump issued a White House Memo directing the U.S. Attorney General and the Secretary of Treasury to “investigate allegations regarding the unlawful use of online fundraising platforms to make “straw” or “dummy” contributions or foreign contributions to political candidates and committees, and to take all appropriate actions to enforce the law.” Please note that the memo references a recent House Administration Committee investigation into Act Blue regarding political contributions which may have evaded Federal source and amount limitations on political contributions “by breaking down large contributions from one source into many smaller contributions, nominally attributed to numerous other individuals, potentially without the consent or even knowledge of the putative contributors.” In addition, the “reports also raise concerns that such “straw donations” are being made through “dummy” accounts, potentially using gift cards or prepaid credit cards to evade detection.” The memo closes by directing the Attorney General to report back to the President within 180 days. The IPA is preparing to file acomment response with the DOJ and Treasury detailing how payment products are regulated. OCC RFI on Digitalization On May 12, the Office of the Comptroller of the Currency released a request for information entitled, “Request for Information Regarding Community Bank Digitalization.” In brief, the RFI has 10 questions designed to solicit comment on the key challenges and barriers faced by community banks in the adoption and implementation of digital banking solutions. It is important to highlight that the RFI specifically states: “This request is separate from the “RFI on Bank-Fintech Arrangements Involving Banking Products and Services Distributed to Consumers and Businesses,” jointly issued by the OCC, Federal Reserve, and Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation in July 2024. The agencies continue to review and consider the feedback received on that document.” Comments to the OCC are due by midnight on June 26th. At the time of this writing the IPA is working alongside our members to develop a draft response to the RFI. If you have any questions, please contact Brian Tate ([email protected]). IPA Feedback to FCC on Consumer Messaging On May 28th, the IPA submitted unsolicited comments to the Federal Communications Commission and the U.S. Department of Treasury regarding the Telephone Communication Protection Act (TCPA). On April 7, 2025, the FCC stayed for one-year provisions requiring a caller (in this case a financial institution) to stop calling across all channels and for all purposes in response to a single “stop” request from a consumer. In brief, the IPA’s letter shares our concerns with TCPA’s restrictions on communicating alert messages from a financial institution to their depositors. CFPB Announcement Regarding Enforcement Actions Related to BNPL In early May the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau announced that it will not prioritize enforcement actions against BNPL taken on the basis of the Truth in Lending (Regulation Z); The CFPB will instead keep its enforcement and supervision resources focused on pressing threats to consumers, particularly servicemen and veterans. The CFPB also stated that they may consider taking appropriate action to rescind BNPL. CFPB to Withdraw Rules, Opinions, Statements On May 12 the CFPB posted in the Federal Register the “Interpretive Rules, Policy Statements, and Advisory Opinions; Withdrawal.” In brief, the announcement outlines a number of Advisory Opinions, Interpretive Rules, Guidance, and Policy Statements the CFPB plans to withdraw. Accordingly, the announcement states “the Bureau is committed to issuing guidance only where that guidance is necessary and would reduce compliance burdens rather than increase them.” The list of withdrawals includes:
Trump Nominated McKernan for Senior Treasury Post Secretary of the Treasury Scott Bessent announced on May 9th that President Trump’s intends to nominate Jonathan McKernan to serve as the Undersecretary of Domestic Finance at the U.S. Department of the Treasury. Since the announcement, the President has withdrawn McKernan’s nomination to lead the CFPB. McKernan has been an advisor at the Treasury Department while awaiting Senate confirmation to lead the Bureau of Consumer Financial Protection. McKernan previously served on the Board of Directors of the Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation and held senior roles at the Federal Housing Finance Agency, the U.S. Senate, and the Treasury Department. Before his government service, McKernan was an attorney in private practice focused on banking and consumer finance laws. McKernan’s nomination is expected to be reviewed by the Senate Finance Committee. IPA Signs Joint Trade Letter Opposing 3.5% Remittance Tax The IPA recently signed a joint trade letter addressed to the Senate Finance Committee opposing the inclusion of any tax on remittance transfers in the Senate version of the Reconciliation bill. In brief, the letter outlines the payment industry’s concerns with taxing remittances, including the potential impact on small businesses, AML compliance, and increases the regulatory burden of providers. Note that the House version of the Reconciliation bill contains a 3.5% tax on remittances. Additional details will be provided as developments occur. Please contact Brian Tate ([email protected]) if you have any questions. Treasury RFI on Executive Order to Modernize Payments In early June the U.S. Department of Treasury released a Request for Information (RFI) following up on the Executive Order (EO) 14247 “Modernizing Payments To and From America’s Bank Account,” released on March 25th, which transitions federal disbursements to electronic payments. Beginning September 30, 2025, all federal payments that are currently made by paper check, including Social Security benefits, tax refunds, and vendor payments—will be made electronically. The EO’s policy goals are to defend against financial fraud and improper payments, increase efficiency, reduce costs, and enhance the security of Federal payments. Treasury’s RFI offers the opportunity for interested individuals and organizations to provide feedback on Treasury’s implementation of the Executive Order and make recommendations to increase public awareness to help consumers, including unbanked and underbanked populations, transition to digital payments. It is worth noting that the executive order continues the efforts to make all federal payments electronic, which began with the Debt Collection Improvement Act of 1996, which requires that all federal payments other than tax refunds be made by electronic funds transfer (EFT) beginning January 2, 1999. The law and the executive order give the Treasury Secretary the ability to offer exemptions. The payments covered by the law include Social Security, veteran’s benefits, Railroad Retirement benefits, federal salaries and federal retiree benefits and vendor payments. The IPA will be submitting comments to the Treasury Department regarding the benefit provided by using prepaid accounts to government benefits. Comments are due to Treasury by June 30th. CFPB’s 1033 Redux At the IPA’s 2025 Innovative Payments Conference Mark Calabria announced that the CFPB would withdraw and restart its rulemaking regarding 1033, aka the Open Banking Rule, of the Consumer Financial Protection Act (Dodd-Frank). Recently the CFPB filed a motion in federal court announcing that “[a]fter reviewing the Rule and considering the issues that this case presents, Bureau leadership has determined that the Rule is unlawful and should be set aside.” The rule implements Section 1033 of the Dodd-Frank Act. It would have significantly expanded consumer access to their financial data. The rule would have had far-reaching implications for financial institutions, fintech companies, and consumers alike. The Financial Technology Association has intervened in the case to compel the CFPB to enforce the rule developed by the Biden Administration. It is currently unclear the how the Court eventually rule in this case. IPA to Join ATPC in Opposing NY Gift Card Bill The IPA has been invited to sign a joint trade letter alongside the American Transaction Processing Coalition (ATPC) opposing New York State Senate Bill 704 (New York Gift Certificate Scam Prevention Act). In brief, the letter outlines the industry’s concerns with the current version of SB 704, including the prescriptive nature of the packaging requirements which could stifle innovation in fraud mitigation, leaving consumers less protected. In addition, the bill would require most gift cards to amend their packaging with no phase-in period. IPA Letter Opposing Connecticut EWA Bill In early June the IPA sent a letter to the Connecticut General Assembly opposing Connecticut State Senate Bill 1396 (SB 1396). In brief, SB 1396 would seek to regulate EWA by capping fees, mandate how earned wages are calculated, and require no less than 75% of wages be made available. The IPA’s letter outlines our opposition to the bill and urges the legislature to engage industry on a bill that protects consumers and empowers consumers. Illinois Interchange Law Effective Date Extended Last year the Illinois Legislature passed, and the Governor signed a new law that would require bank card issuers and their networks to avoid applying interchanges fees on merchants for taxes and tips on any purchases as of July 1 of this year. But both chambers of the legislature passed a brief amendment Sunday that delays the effective date of the law to July 1, 2026.  Podcasts, Press, and Education
Upcoming Events and Calls 2025 IPA Compliance Boot Camp 2025 Compliance Boot Camp: September 11, 2025, Discover: Chicago, IL, (CLE Credits will be available to attendees) Featured Presenters:
Comments are closed.
|
AuthorWrite something about yourself. No need to be fancy, just an overview. Archives
June 2025
Categories |
RSS Feed
IPA
110 Chestnut Ridge Rd, Suite 111
Montvale, NJ 07645 (202) 548-7200 Save The Date
Innovative Payments Conference April 29 - May 1, 2026 |
IPA Info
|
IPA Resources
|
© COPYRIGHT 2025 ALL RIGHTS RESERVED. | Privacy Policy