ALTERNATIVE FINANCIAL SERVICE PROVIDERS ASSOCIATION

July 31, 2018

Decision Cloud is a black box platform, which allows users to build decision waterfalls, utilizing Insight's services, as well as a plethora of third party vendor services.

FactorTrust®, a TransUnion company, provides alternative credit data, analytics and risk scoring information to help lenders make more informed decisions.

Be an

OHIO lawmaker questions whether part of payday loan bill is constitutional

COLUMBUS, Ohio - A Republican lawmaker who opposed the payday lending bill adopted this week by the General Assembly said it contains a potentially unconstitutional provision, although consumer advocates believe the measure is legally sound.

House Bill 123, which was delivered to Gov. John Kasich's office Thursday, will likely be signed in to law. But the industry, which historically has been unafraid of litigation against the state, said it is evaluating its options.

"While the proponents are taking a victory lap, the implications are just now beginning to surface," said Pat Crowley, a spokesman for the Ohio Consumer Lenders Association, in an email. "At this point we are working on a plan on how to deal with the many provisions of this bill that may be unconstitutional and certainly unworkable."

On the House floor Tuesday, Rep. Bill Seitz, a lawyer, questioned a provision in the bill, called the Fairness in Lending Act, that gives borrowers three business days to rescind the loan and return the money without paying fees or interest. Read more at CLEVELAND.COM

OHIO: What Ohio's new payday lending law might mean for your loan

COLUMBUS - One in every 10 Ohioans - roughly 1 million people - have taken out a payday loan at some point. How those loans are doled out and repaid could soon change dramatically.

Ohio lawmakers sent a slew of changes to Ohio's payday loans to Gov. John Kasich Tuesday with a 61-24 vote. Proponents of the overhaul say it could become a model for the nation. Opponents fear it will drive payday lenders out of business, leaving customers with few options.

You might be thinking: didn't Ohio solve this problem years ago? In 2008, voters overwhelmingly passed a proposal to limit predatory payday loans. But payday lenders, saying what voters passed would cripple their industry, found a way around the restrictions.

The topic did not get less controversial over time. In April, former Ohio Speaker Cliff Rosenberger resigned - shortly after the FBI started asking questions about international trips he took with payday and title lending lobbyists. Read more at CINCINNATI.COM

The voice for the small-dollar, short-term lending industry.

Dreher Tomkies LLP is a law firm concentrating in the areas of Banking and Financial Services law.

Social Security numbers were targeted more than any other ID source. by Philip Burgess

Identity theft reaches all-time high

Fraudsters specialize in duplicity, and when identity theft is the aim, they seek out every available resource to accomplish their malicious agendas. Last year, they hit pay dirt on a frighteningly high number of occasions, a cautionary tale signaling to business owners and consumers about the importance of due diligence.

Approximately 16.7 million Americans in 2017 were victimized by identity fraud, according to analysis conducted by Javelin Strategy & Research. Up from 15.4 million in 2016, identity fraud has risen on a year-over-year basis five times in the last six years, based on Javelin's research.

Financial losses topped $16.5 billion

The amount of money people have lost to identity fraud also rose in 2017. Indeed, it cost the people victimized nearly $17 billion, up from $16.2 billion the prior year and $15.5 billion in 2015.

Al Pascual, Javelin Strategy & Research senior vice president and research director of the firm's fraud and security division, noted these criminals are constantly refining their strategies to outmaneuver what security systems may already be in place. Read more at MICROBILT

Study: What Americans Want to Know About Money in Every State

Have you ever turned to the internet for help making a financial decision or managing your money? If so, you're not the only one, according to our recent study of online searches.

We wanted to see what money questions people are Googling and how those queries vary from state to state and city to city. We also included the District of Columbia in our research.

To find out what Americans are searching for, we collected and analyzed results for popular money-related search terms, from getting a credit card to managing retirement accounts. Here's what we found.

Key findings Read more at STUDENT LOAN HERO

What Is Financial Wellness?

You may hear about financial literacy, financial capability, or other similar terms. Jason Young, founder of MindBlown Labs, prefers "financial wellness" because it's both positive and holistic.

"Wellness is such a positive word. Financial literacy, financial capability-those sound a little bit technical. Who doesn't want to be well? We all do. Financially, is a person well? Are they resilient? Can they deal with shocks that may occur within their lives? Are they able to achieve their goals? Are they emotionally in a good place where they feel okay with their finances and they're not waking up in the middle of the night?" asks Young.

MindBlown Labs focuses on developing financial planning tools that reach people emotionally and get them to take actions that lead to positive impacts. Paradoxically, achieving financial wellness often means learning to make fewer choices based on emotion.

"When we talk about people saving, we're really talking about day-to-day and even the moment-to-moment decisions," says Young.

For example, in the moment a person may want a new dress or pair of shoes. They may feel like they need a certain type of home or to live in a particular neighborhood to send their kids to a good school. Read more at Federal Reserve Bank of San Francisco

We are transforming lending with innovative payment instrument data and technology, increasing credit access to the financially underserved, and reducing fees for borrowers and creditors.

If a debtor is employed, we will find them!

Be an

THE "MULVANEY DISCOUNT": TRUMP'S CONSUMER PROTECTION CZAR IS SHRINKING FINES FOR LAW-BREAKING COMPANIES

THERE'S A HOT new trend in Donald Trump's Washington: the "Mulvaney discount."

After pausing enforcement work when Acting Director Mick Mulvaney took over, the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau has been on a relative tear, announcing five civil settlements of cases begun under Mulvaney's predecessor, Richard Cordray. But in at least three of them, CFPB has explicitly reduced the fine handed down against corporate offenders to a fraction of the initial amount. The smaller fines mean softer punishment for violations of law and, in some cases, less restitution to victims of the misconduct.

In two of the cases, CFPB claimed that the companies and individuals in question didn't have the financial means to pay the fine. That's an excuse more commonly reserved for the types of indigent populations the CFPB is supposed to protect from financial predators, though the American justice system rarely treats impoverished defendants with such mercy.

"A pattern is emerging of greater willingness [to discount fines] than we saw in bureau cases in the past," said Christopher Peterson, former enforcement counsel of the CFPB during the Obama administration, who now teaches law at the University of Utah. Read more at THE INTERCEPT

Opinion: How 'too-big-to-fail' banking giants limit ways fintech firms can handle your money

Give fintech its own regulatory rules, designed for innovative startups

Innovative fintech companies let us refinance a loan from home, trade stocks in line at the pharmacy, and buy Girl Scout cookies with a mobile wallet, curbside.

Convenience isn't the only advantage. Financial technology companies (fintechs) are changing financial behaviors, improving access to credit, increasing savings and investment returns, and providing customized products to meet evolving financial needs. The task of protecting customers and the economy from harm falls to financial regulators who may struggle to differentiate each new business model and the respective risks.

Existing regulatory "roadways" have been redefined by eighteen-wheel, "too-big-to-fail" nationally chartered banks, which dominate the smaller, family-car community banks for which the roads were designed. Innovative, agile fintech products and solutions are now hitting these streets, offering customization and convenience to users, with minimal risk. Flexible new fintech vehicles are increasing the speed of economic traffic, and streamlining services even as they offer expanded access and bring about more transactions. Read more at MARKETWATCH

Taking aim at employee stress, employers expand financial education benefits

From credit card debt to saving for retirement and paying for children's education expenses, stress over finances is taking a major toll on employees - and it's also taking a major toll on the workplace as a result.

That's among the takeaways from new research from the International Foundation of Employee Benefit Plans, which found that employees' financial stress is causing an inability to focus on work, physical health concerns and absenteeism.

Julie Stich, associate vice president of content at the International Foundation of Employee Benefit Plans, says an employee's personal financial stress - whether long-term, like saving for retirement, or immediate, like paying this month's rent - can have a direct impact on their performance at work.

As a result, employers are taking action. More are beefing up their financial wellness benefits, offering financial education to help employees manage their money, understand their workplace benefits and improve their investment decisions. Read more at BENEFIT NEWS

Know the who, what, when and where of all 240 million smartphones in the U.S.

National Debt Holdings is a professional Receivables Management Company that partners with creditors to purchase and/or manage receivables at all stages of the account life cycle.

ALTERNATIVE FINANCIAL SERVICE PROVIDERS ASSOCIATION

 Members own over 64,000 locations and online operations

 

AFSPA helps our members grow their Alternative Financial Services business by providing them with the best information, research, data, support, relationships and by vetting and presenting the best available product and service providers for the Alternative Financial Services Industry.