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Sean West

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Sean West counsels clients on issues related to intellectual property, commercial transactions, privacy, ecommerce, the Internet of Things (IoT), artificial intelligence, and consumer protection.

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CFPB Proposes to Expand Certain Remittance Transfer Safe Harbors

To reduce compliance costs for certain banks, credit unions and other insured financial institutions, the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau (CFPB) proposed amendments to Regulation E to increase the safe-harbor available to insured financial institutions that provide a limited amount of remittance transfers from being categorized as a remittance transfer service provider.  Under the proposal, the limit on remittances would be raised from the current limit of 100 or fewer transfers in the prior year to 500 or fewer transfers.  Remittance transfers are generally defined as electronic transfers of money from a consumer in the United States to an international location.
Continue Reading Fintech Week in Review: Week of December 6, 2019

California Prohibits Clinics from Using Deferred Interest Provisions

California signed into law SB-639 that prohibits medical and veterinary clinics and their agents and employees from establishing open-end credits or loans that include deferred interest provisions in an effort to protect patients and pet owners from signing up for certain credit, including credit products that accrue interest during a 0% introductory period. Additionally, clinics and their agents and employees cannot complete any portion of an application for credit or a loan for the patient or arrange for or establish an application that has not been completely filled out by the patient.

Senator Holly Mitchell commented on the new law that she co-authored stating “while third-party financing may have a place when patients need services they can’t immediately afford, products with deferred interest clauses have no place in medical practice.”…
Continue Reading Fintech Week in Review: Week of November 15, 2019

House Financial Services Subcommittee Hearing on Discrimination Against LGBTQ+ in Lending and Housing

The House Financial Services Subcommittee on Oversight and Investigations held a hearing this week on the extent and effects of discrimination against persons who identify as lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender, or queer (LGBTQ+) when seeking housing or credit in the United States. A recording of the hearing has been made available online.

Testimony by Alphonso David, President of the Human Rights Campaign, Harper Jean Tobin, Director of Policy for the National Center for Transgender Equality, and others painted a bleak picture of the economic insecurity confronting LGBTQ+ communities. Their testimony attested to the correlation of lower household incomes to lower utilization of basic banking products, such as checking and savings accounts, LGBTQ+ communities face economic insecurity to a greater degree than their non-LGBTQ+ peers. Witnesses testified that factors contributing to this economic insecurity include lack of universal protection against housing discrimination, lack of equal access to benefits for same-sex partners, and lack of family support.…

Continue Reading Fintech Week in Review: Week of November 1, 2019

Federal Judge Rules the OCC Lacks Authority to Issue Fintech Bank Charters

U.S. District Judge Victor Marrero approved a final judgment in favor of the New York Department of Financial Services (NYDFS) that sets aside the Office of the Comptroller of the Currency’s (OCC) special-purpose chartering regulation for certain non-depository fintech applicants seeking a limited-service national bank charter (the Fintech Charter).

The OCC has claimed authority to issue Fintech Charters through (i) its leeway to interpret the term “business of banking” under the National Bank Act; (ii) its authority to issue limited purpose national charters under 5 C.F.R. § 5.20(e)(1)(i); and (iii) its authority to interpret the term “business of banking” in such a way that it can grant a special-purpose banking charter to a company that is engaged in any one of the three core banking functions: receiving deposits, paying checks, or lending money. Given its interpretation of its authority, the OCC did not go through the Administrative Procedure Act (APA) rulemaking process when initiating the Fintech Charter process.…

Continue Reading Fintech Week in Review: Week of October 18, 2019 and Week of October 25, 2019

OCC to Host Innovation Office Hours During Money20/20

On October 28, 2019, the Office of the Comptroller of the Currency (“OCC”) will hold Innovation Office Hours in Las Vegas, Nevada at The Venetian Hotel during the Money20/20 conference (October 27-30).

During the Innovation Officer Hours, the OCC’s Office of Innovation staff meets one-on-one with fintech firms and other companies that partner with banks to discuss new products or services to facilitate responsible innovation in the federal banking system.  You can request an Office Hours session here until October 18, 2019.
Continue Reading Fintech Week in Review: Week of October 11, 2019