The Consumer Financial Protection Bureau (CFPB), an agency that implements and enforces federal consumer financial law, recently issued a proposed rule for certain international money transfers or remittances.
Under the Electronic Fund Transfer Act and Regulation E, remittance companies are required to provide senders with a disclosure at the time of payment including on their receipts. The disclosure must include contact information for the CFPB and state regulators.
The proposed rule would amend certain disclosures to clarify that consumers should contact their remittance companies regarding their money transfers. The goal of the proposal is to potentially save consumers time by resolving their inquiries more quickly.
The CFPB believes the rule has the ability to reduce the number of inquiries sent to it and state regulators, and would allow providers to more appropriately address problems themselves.
The proposed rule includes a narrow amendment regarding disclosure requirements. To aid consumers on what steps to take, the amendment would provide clearer information on the types of inquiries that would be better handled by remittance companies instead of the CFPB or state regulators.
The CFPB will publish the proposed rule in the Federal Register. It invites the public and all interested stakeholders to submit comments by Nov. 4.