Credit Union National Association Backs Inquiry Into Tech Giants’ Payment Policies

The Credit Union National Association (CUNA) this week backed the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau’s (CFPB) probe of Google, Apple, Facebook, Amazon, Square and PayPal’s payments policies, according to a Wednesday (Dec. 22) report from Financial Regulation News.

Citing concerns over the possibility that tech companies could intentionally avoid consumer protection laws, CUNA, in a letter written this week to CFPB, offered support for the Bureau’s inquiry and suggested that the agency regulate the tech companies going forward, according to the report.

Rohit Chopra, the new director of the CFPB, in October authorized that information packets be sent out to large technology companies in the U.S., as PYMNTS reported. Facebook, Amazon, Alphabet’s Google, PayPal and Square were all expected to receive the 55-page questionnaire probing companies on how consumer information is collected, used and stored, with the goal of protecting consumers and their personal information. In addition, the inquiry is meant to ensure adequate competition in the consumer financial services sector.

Read more: CFPB Expected to Query Tech Giants Over Financial Data Handling

This week, CFPB expanded its tech giant inquiry to include bank-owned network Zelle. The probe into the company is related to potential fraud concerns stemming from multiple complaints from the public regarding fraudsters using fake IDs to trick them into sending money through the Zelle platform.

See also: CFPB Adds Zelle to Probe of Payment Platforms

Since Chopra took the helm of the bureau, buy now, pay later (BNPL) firms have also come under fire. Last week, the Bureau opened an inquiry into Afterpay, Klarna, PayPal and Zip to better understand the risks and benefits of installment payments, as PYMNTS reported.

As part of the probe, CFPB gave the companies a deadline of March 1, 2022 to provide information related to consumers’ shopping behavior, demographics, BNPL fees, loan performance and data collection.

Read more: CFPB Probes Big Five BNPL Providers Over Data Use, Debt Accumulation