43 lawmakers send letter to CFPB on prepaid cards

Consumer Financial Protection Bureau (CFPB) Director Richard Cordray received a letter from 43 members of Congress expressing concern for the bureau’s proposed rule for prepaid accounts. The letter contained signatures from four senators and 39 representatives including Rep. Dennis Ross (R-FL). The members of Congress wrote that prepaid cards are an effective way for consumers to spend money. The letter points out that the U.S. Treasury uses prepaid cards to disperse federal benefits instead of using paper checks.

The letter lays out steps Congress would like to see the CFPB take for prepaid accounts. Those include narrowing the classification of a prepaid account, adopt a single, easy to use pre-acquisition fee disclosure, extend the implementation deadline to 24 months following publication of the rule, and not to subject the accounts to full Reg Z coverage.

The members of Congress believe that the CFPB can adopt a much better final rule by implementing some changes and working with stakeholders to find balance. The CFPB has been working on this proposed rule since last November.