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ALTERNATIVE FINANCIAL SERVICE PROVIDERS ASSOCIATION
August 25, 2020
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The IRS has partnered with AFSPA to assist in an ongoing effort to bring information, research, data and education to the unbanked and underbanked population of America.
IRS: Unemployment compensation is taxable; Have tax withheld now and avoid a tax-time surpriseWASHINGTON - With millions of Americans now receiving taxable unemployment compensation, many of them for the first time, the Internal Revenue Service today reminded people receiving unemployment compensation (beneficiaries) that they can have tax withheld from their benefits now to help avoid owing taxes on this income when they file their federal income tax return next year.
If a beneficiary doesn't choose withholding, or if withholding is not enough, they can make quarterly estimated tax payments instead. The payment for the first two quarters of 2020 was due on July 15. Third and fourth quarter payments are due on Sept. 15, 2020, and Jan. 15, 2021, respectively. For more information, including some helpful worksheets, see Form 1040-ES and Publication 505, available on IRS.gov.
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Texas Federal Court Lifts Stay Of Lawsuit Challenging CFPB Payday Loan Rule And Sets Briefing Schedule. by Ballard Spahr LLP
The Texas federal district court hearing the lawsuit filed by two trade groups challenging the CFPB's 2017 final payday/auto title/high-rate installment loan rule (2017 Rule) has entered an order lifting the stay of lawsuit, originally entered in June 2018 on the heels of the trade groups' motion for a preliminary injunction and before the CFPB's response to the motion or answer to the complaint in the case.
In addition to lifting the court's stay of the lawsuit (but not the separate stay of implementation of the 2017 Rule), the order also sets a schedule for the trade groups to file, and the CFPB to answer, an amended complaint and for the parties to file and brief cross-motions for summary judgment. Because the CFPB has rescinded the mandatory underwriting provisions of the 2017 Rule, the continuing litigation will focus on the 2017 Rule's payment provisions, which were left untouched by the CFPB in its recent rulemaking.
Read more at JD SUPRA
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Paving the Payments Future
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USPS needs to keep an open mind on postal banking
As the nation deals with financial woes from the coronavirus pandemic, which is disproportionately impacting underserved and minority communities, it is alarming to read that JPMorgan Chase was in preliminary talks with the U.S. Postal Service about testing ATMs and other banking services at post offices as a solution.
The problem is clear. More than 22% of adults, millions of Americans, are unbanked and underbanked, according to a 2019 Federal Reserve report. Even before the pandemic, too many people relied on high-interest, high-fee loans through check-cashing services, pawn shops, payday lenders and paycheck advance shops as their primary means to manage their finances.
Read more at AMERICAN BANKER
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Out of the box and customized lending software.
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CFPB Extends Comment Period on Request for Information on Ways to Prevent Credit Discrimination and Build a More Inclusive Financial System
WASHINGTON, D.C. - The Consumer Financial Protection Bureau (Bureau) announced today that it will provide an additional 60 days for public comment on its Request for Information (RFI) on how best to create a regulatory environment that expands access to credit and ensures that all consumers and communities are protected from discrimination in all aspects of a credit transaction. The extension for submission of comments provides interested parties with more time to conduct outreach to relevant constituencies and to address the many issues raised in the RFI. The original deadline for submissions was October 2, 2020. The comment period will now close on December 1, 2020.
The Equal Credit Opportunity Act (ECOA) and Regulation B make it unlawful for any creditor to discriminate against any applicant, with respect to any aspect of a credit transaction on the basis of race, color, religion, national origin, sex or marital status, or age; because all or part of the applicant's income derives from any public assistance program; or because the applicant has in good faith exercised any right under the Consumer Credit Protection Act.
Read more at The Consumer Financial Protection Bureau
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Walmart Sounds a Warning on the Economy
Walmart (NYSE:WMT) is the largest company in the world by revenue. When it speaks, it's worth listening to, since no other company has its finger more firmly on the pulse of the American consumer. Walmart receives nearly 10% of every dollar in non-automotive retail spending in the U.S., and it's also the country's (and the world's) largest employer, making it highly influential on the American economy as well as a useful barometer for the economy and for investors of all stripes.
In its second-quarter earnings report, out Tuesday morning, Walmart had mostly good news to share investors. Comparable sales jumped 9.3%, driven by strong performance in food and general merchandise like home improvement, sporting goods, outdoor, and electronics. Revenue rose 5.6% to $137.7 billion, topping estimates at $135.5 billion, while adjusted earnings per share jumped from $1.27 to $1.56, well ahead of the Wall Street consensus at $1.25.
Read more at THE MOTLEY FOOL
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Is a Credit Card Cash Advance Better Than a Payday Loan?
Neither is ideal if you can't pay back the debt quickly.
WHEN YOU NEED CASH right away and don't have readily available savings, you might consider using a credit card cash advance or payday loan.
Although both options allow you to get money quickly, they also penalize borrowers who can't pay back the debt promptly.
Here is a look at the pros and cons of both options as well as alternatives that could help you avoid the negative effects of a high-interest loan.
Read more at U.S. News & World Report
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Mortgage delinquencies moderate after hitting nine-year high in the second quarter
The share of homeowners behind on their mortgages is starting to abate after reaching a nine-year high in the second quarter when delinquencies increased at a historic pace.
Delinquent single-family mortgages backed by Fannie Mae, Freddie Mac, and Ginnie Mae fell to 6.12% in July, down from 6.83% in June, according to a recent analysis by Inside Mortgage Finance, a financial news and statistics company.
The decline comes after the Mortgage Bankers Association said this week that delinquencies in the second quarter, which ended in June, hit the highest level since the second quarter of 2011. The quarter-over-quarter increase was also the largest on records dating back to 1979.
Read more at YAHOO MONEY
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Millennials missed a decade of financial boom after 2008. It may happen again
- Many members of the millennial generation failed to make economic gains during the long recovery after the Great Recession.
- Millennials were tapping retirement savings, reliant on high-interest loans, and racking up student debt even as the U.S. economy grew and the stock market set records.
- When another period of economic expansion takes hold, data from the last decade shows it's no guarantee the majority of Americans still early in their financial lives will benefit.
Read more at CNBC
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How Congress can avoid a housing catastrophe
Congress has a rapidly closing window to stave off a coming crisis in American housing markets and some lawmakers are running in the wrong direction. To jumpstart the economy and build on the initial round of assistance to American families and businesses, Congress and administration officials should return to the bargaining table and get the job done on a COVID-19 relief package that stabilizes the economy, keeps families afloat and prevents a genuine housing catastrophe.
More than a third of American households rent - over 40 million - and the economic impact of this pandemic leaves them especially vulnerable. Before the pandemic, one-in-four renters already spent over half their income on housing. Renters are typically concentrated in industries that have been most susceptible to layoffs. And all this comes at a time when as many as 40 percent of Americans cannot withstand an emergency expense of $400. Asking families, particularly those who rent, to meet their financial obligations without assistance - as some in Congress are considering - is a recipe for disaster.
Read more at THE HILL
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Banks Teach Adults Financial Literacy
YOUNGSTOWN, Ohio - Opening a bank account is the first step into a world of finance and credit, which can eventually lead to owning a home, launching a business or being able to retire comfortably. But what happens when you're not able to open an account in the first place?
In its 2017 national survey of unbanked and underbanked households, the Federal Deposit Insurance Corp. found 32.6 million American households were either unbanked, meaning no one in the house has a checking or savings account, or underbanked, meaning they used financial products outside of banks, such as payday loans, rent-to-own services or check cashing services.
Such households, the survey found, have lower incomes than their banked counterparts and have less access to credit. Read more at BUSINESS JOURNAL DAILY
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Feds crack down on lenders targeting small businesses with high-interest loans, abusive collection tactics
Federal and state regulators are cracking down on lenders targeting small businesses with high-cost loans and abusive collection tactics, generating unease in a lightly regulated industry that has flourished as it put merchants in a vise.
One company, Par Funding, of Philadelphia, was raided by the FBI on July 28, an FBI official confirmed, and has been sued by the Securities and Exchange Commission. Two others - RCG Advances and Yellowstone Capital, both of New York - have been sued by the Federal Trade Commission for allegedly misrepresenting the terms of their financings. The New York attorney general also sued RCG, contending that it sometimes threatened physical violence to compel repayment. Read more at NBC NEWS
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ALTERNATIVE FINANCIAL SERVICE PROVIDERS ASSOCIATION
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Alternative Financial Service Providers Association
757.737.4088
315 Tuscarora St., Lewiston, NY 14092
[email protected]
www.afspassociation.com
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