Ranking Member Maxine Waters Applauds CFPB's Proposed Oversight of Digital Wallet and Payment Apps

Statement

"I applaud the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau (CFPB) under Director Rohit Chopra's leadership for the release of their proposed rule to use the oversight powers Congress gave it to ensure digital wallet and payment apps -- like Apple Pay, Google Pay, Meta Pay and more -- are complying with laws and regulations that protect consumers. When I was Chair of the House Financial Services Committee, I formed a Financial Technology Task Force and we held a number of hearings exploring the exponential growth of these products and the convenience and ease they offer consumers sending money to others, both domestically and abroad. However, our hearings also found that this level of user convenience and popularity also raises a trove of concerns about fraud, consumer protections, and data privacy.

In addition, I've increasingly been concerned with the ways in which Big Tech has expanded into the financial marketplace over the last few years with little oversight compared to banks and other financial institutions. This is why I led the effort in Congress to stop Facebook's problematic stablecoin project, Libra, from moving forward and have continued to make the point that companies offering bank-like products and services must be regulated like a bank. In addition, I continue to work on legislation to establish a federal framework for payment stablecoins, and I will ensure that digital wallets are subject to not just the highest consumer protection rules, but also held to the highest risk management and financial resource standards to safeguard consumers and our financial system. Bottom line, the CFPB's proposed rule is another critical step in ensuring that consumers everywhere are fully protected no matter if they use a traditional bank account or digital wallet to make payments. I look forward to the CFPB promptly finalizing this important rule."

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