ALTERNATIVE FINANCIAL SERVICE PROVIDERS ASSOCIATION

Group calls on CFPB to freeze new regs

The head of the nation's leading association of credit unions is calling on the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau (CFPB) to freeze all pending rules in the wake of Tuesday's election.

In a letter Friday, Jim Nussle, president and CEO of the Credit Union National Association (CUNA) asked CFPB Director Richard Cordray to impose an immediate moratorium on all of its pending and future rulemakings unless they provide corrective regulatory relief.

Nussle said voters delivered an important message when they elected Donald Trump over Hillary Clinton: "They do not feel their voice is being heard by federal policymakers and they want that to change."

"Many of these consumers continue to face financial challenges in their everyday life and are seeking solutions for their financial needs," he wrote.

"Policies coming out of Washington that limit consumers' ability to obtain safe credit, or make it difficult and more expensive to access products and services from their community financial institution such as their credit union, are not making their lives better.

Nussle, a former House Budget Committee chairman who also served as director of the Office of Management and Budget, claims credit unions are bogged down by overly burdensome regulations. In 2014, alone he said the total financial impact of regulations and lost revenue on credit unions was $7.2 billion. Read the entire article at THE HILL

With SEC head's resignation, field clears for Trump to cut back regulations

Mary Jo White, the head of the Securities and Exchange Commission, on Monday announced that she would step down two years before the end of her term, clearing the way for President-elect Donald Trump to reshape the way Wall Street is regulated.

The resignation creates a massive opportunity for Trump early in his term to make changes to investor protections and other Wall Street regulations, part of what is widely expected to be a broad effort by the new administration to scale back what Republicans consider cumbersome federal rules that slow economic growth.

"In the long-term, it is going to be a big tilt towards free markets," said Edward Mills, a policy analyst at investment bank FBR Capital Markets.

Trump and his advisers have taken aim at President Obama's main regulatory response to the 2008 financial crisis - the Dodd-Frank Act, which tightened oversight of the financial industry. The most visible target is the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau, the watchdog agency that has pursued stricter rules governing debt collection, payday loans and overdraft fees.

But Trump and his advisers have also targeted a broad swath of consumer issues over the course of his campaign, from rules for online privacy to conflicts of interest among financial planners. Beyond the SEC, he could also dramatically alter the ideological landscapes at key agencies such as the Federal Communications Commission and the Federal Trade Commission, whose top officials are nearing the end of their terms. Read the entire article at THE WASHINGTON POST

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How to protect your business against EMV card fraud. by Walt Wojciechowski

EMV cards are a step up from magnetic stripe cards. While the latter store static information that hackers could steal through skimming techniques, the former contains dynamic data that's difficult to duplicate.

Despite the advantages associated with EMV cards, they're not completely devoid of security flaws. Every technology, no matter how advanced or contemporary, has its vulnerabilities, and the latest chip cards are no exception.

How can hackers use EMV cards to commit fraud?

While it's difficult, if not impossible, to counterfeit an embedded chip, hackers are using a different method to commit fraud with EMV cards. As reported by CNN, payment technology developer NCR delivered a presentation at the Black Hat 2016 conference in Las Vegas earlier this year showing just how hackers could compromise EMV cards. Read more at MicroBilt

CFPB Launches Inquiry Into Challenges Consumers Face in Using and Securely Sharing Access to Their Digital Financial Records

Bureau Seeks Stakeholder Input on Security, Consumer Choice, and Control of Records

WASHINGTON, D.C. - Today the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau (CFPB) announced it is launching an inquiry into the challenges consumers face in accessing, using, and securely sharing their financial records. As part of the inquiry, the CFPB is asking the public for information about how much choice consumers are being given about the use of their records, how secure it is for them to share their records, and to what extent consumers have control over their records.

"Consumers should be able to use their financial records and account information and securely share access in an electronic format," said CFPB Director Richard Cordray. "Technology provides opportunities to use these records to create new consumer tools that help improve financial lives. To realize that potential, we are launching a public inquiry into how much control consumers have over their records and how easy and secure it is for them to share their records with third parties."

Whenever consumers make deposits, withdraw funds, or make payments using their various financial accounts - including checking, savings, prepaid card, and credit card accounts - they create financial records of their activity. These records are maintained by the account providers, such as banks or credit unions. In recent years, these records have largely shifted from paper-based statements to digital account histories. Consumers are usually able to see the information when they receive their monthly account statements, or when they log into the accounts online. Read the entire release at the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau

Will Donald Trump, GOP dismantle Consumer Financial Protection Bureau?

Republican lawmakers and big names on Wall Street have been trying to weaken or abolish in the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau since it was created more than five years ago.

Now they might actually have some leverage.

President-elect Donald Trump says he would "dismantle" Dodd-Frank, the legislation that gave birth to the federal consumer watchdog. And his election, combined with the Republican sweep in Congress, gives leverage to the lawmakers and financial groups looking to rein in the independent agency's powers.

The unfriendly environment in Washington is coming just weeks after the CFPB was dealt another major blow. Last month, a federal appeals court ruled that the agency must be restructured so that the director could be removed at will, marking a major win for Republicans and industry groups looking to limit the independence of the agency.

The agency is widely expected to appeal the ruling, but it's not clear if that move would be enough to keep Trump from replacing CFPB director Richard Cordray once Trump takes office. This week, amid growing worries about the future of the CFPB, Cordray sent an email to his staff urging them to focus on the work ahead.

The renewed calls to scale back the financial regulations put in place by the CFPB comes a few months after one of the agency's most significant victories. In September, the agency announced a $100 million fine against Wells Fargo, the largest penalty it has ever issued. The enforcement action, pegged to the news that employees created more than 2 million unauthorized accounts to meet sales quotas, marred the bank's reputation and led to the eventual resignation of the company's chief executive John Stumpf. Read the entire story at CHICAGO DAILY HERALD

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