Today, Congresswoman Maxine Waters (D-CA), the top Democrat on the House Financial Services Committee, released this statement following the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau’s latest action to supervise widely used payment apps provided by Big Tech and other nonbank companies and ensure they are held accountable for protecting personal data, responding to fraud, and stopping illegal “debanking,” which is when consumers lose access to their app without notice or when their ability to make or receive payments is disrupted.
“I applaud the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau, under the leadership of Director Rohit Chopra, for taking the steps necessary to finally oversee Big Tech and other companies that offer popular payment apps. People across America are increasingly sending money on these apps to friends to pay for services, but they are also experiencing fraud, scams, violations of privacy, and other harms. Now, the CFPB will be able to look under the hood at these apps and press Big Tech to do more to protect their customers.
“Congress needs to build on CFPB’s action by passing my bill, the ‘Protecting Consumers from Payment Scams Act.’ My legislation modernizes our laws to protect older Americans, servicemembers, and other consumers from getting ripped off using these new payment apps.”
Background:
On May 9, 2019, then Chairwoman Waters announced the creation of the Committee’s Task Forces on Financial Technology and Artificial Intelligence. April 21, 2021, the Committee reauthorized the Task Forces on Financial Technology and Artificial Intelligence for the 117th Congress.
On June 16, 2021, then Chairwoman Waters announced the establishment of the Digital Assets Working Group (DAWG) of Democratic Members to examine digital assets-related policy and legal issues in a comprehensive manner.
On June 16, 2021, the Subcommittee on National Security, International Development and Monetary Policy, chaired by Representative Himes, held a hearing entitled, “Schemes and Subversion: How Bad Actors and Foreign Governments Undermine and Evade Sanctions Regimes,” which investigated how cryptocurrencies, CBDCs, and other digital assets may offer new avenues for sanctions evasion and other financial crimes.
On July 21, 2021, the Subcommittee on Consumer Protection and Financial Institutions, chaired by Representative Perlmutter, held a hearing entitled, “Banking the Unbanked: Exploring Private and Public Efforts to Expand Access to the Financial System,” which explored proposals like FedAccounts, which could require the Fed to establish digital transaction accounts, based on a CBDC, that could be provided to consumers through depository institutions and the U.S. Postal Service, or directly to consumers.
On July 27, 2021, the Subcommittee on National Security, International Development and Monetary Policy held a hearing entitled, “The Promises and Perils of Central Bank Digital Currencies,” which explored the risks of CBDCs from a national security and monetary policy perspective.
On April 28, 2022, the Task Force on Financial Technology held a hearing entitled, “What’s in Your Digital Wallet? A Review of Recent Trends in Mobile Banking and Payments,” which explored the legal and regulatory framework governing digital wallets holding various types of digital assets in custody and on behalf of consumers, as well as relevant consumer protections implications.
On July 27 2023, during a full Committee markup considering, Ranking Member Waters blasted Republicans for putting for a rushed and problematic stablecoins bill.
On August 9, 2023, Ranking Member Waters released a statement following PayPal’s launch of its U.S. dollar-denominated stablecoin.
On November 9, 2023, Ranking Member Waters issued a statementin support of CFPB’s proposed rule to supervise digital wallet and payment apps.
