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The US election cycle is entering its final stretch, which is a good time to take a look at how Vixio has covered some of the key regulatory issues that have been on the agenda during the campaign season.
The Consumer Financial Protection Bureau (CFPB) plays a key role in payments regulation in the US, and its interventionist approach means it has been prominent throughout the past year, facing down challenges to its authority and seeking to make consumer protection a priority.
It has focused its attention on areas of importance to US consumers such as fraud, credit card fees and the rise of buy now, pay later (BNPL).
Elsewhere, crypto has been playing a more significant role in the election cycle than might have been expected, with firms in the sector making huge contributions to both parties as the prospect of regulation affecting their business models becomes more immediate.
The CFPB survives…
Only a few months ago, the CFPB survived a challenge to its funding structure, which if successful could have led to the abolition of the agency.
Two consumer credit associations claimed that the CFPB is "unconstitutional" due to its direct funding from the Federal Reserve, rather than through bills of appropriation passed by Congress.
The Supreme Court struck down the challenge in a 7-2 vote, allowing the agency's unusual funding structure to continue.
However, a group of Republican senators quickly launched a new legislative attempt to reform how the agency is funded.
…and thrives
Unfazed by the legal challenge, the CFPB got back to work immediately, launching enforcement actions against “deceptive” lenders and preparing for its new caps on credit card late fees.
The bureau also readied its controversial new rule that brings BNPL lenders under the same regulation as credit card issuers.
Due to industry backlash against the time given to comply with the rule, the CFPB later granted the BNPL sector an extended grace period.
In the world of mergers and acquisitions, the work of the CFPB has also featured prominently.
In August, financial reform group Better Markets called on regulators to block the proposed merger of Capital One and Discover on antitrust grounds.
Better Markets drew heavily on CFPB research into competition in the credit card market, only for this research to be dismissed as "skewed" and "misguided" by banking associations.
As in other jurisdictions, the fight against scams continues to be a key topic for US regulators and lawmakers.
In August, representatives of Zelle and its three largest owner banks were grilled by US senators over an alarming drop in reimbursement of fraud claims on the peer-to-peer (P2P) network.
One week later, a US senator called for the CFPB to open a formal investigation into potential violations of the Electronic Fund Transfer Act by Zelle’s owner banks.
The impact of crypto
Finally, the US crypto industry has made a name for itself by providing almost half the corporate contributions to the 2024 election cycle.
As the US moves towards a comprehensive, federal crypto regulation, questions are bound to be asked about the industry's largesse during this year's elections.
Vixio will continue to monitor the US payments landscape over the final stages of the election and to report on the impact of politics on the sector, and vice versa.
