The Consumer Financial Protection Bureau has released a plan to assess the effectiveness of its final rule governing remittance transfers. Among other things, the rule requires companies to give certain disclosures to consumers before they pay for a remittance transfer, and to investigate disputes and remedy certain errors related to remittance transactions. The bureau’s review of the effectiveness of rule is required by the Dodd-Frank Act, and comments on the plan will be accepted for 60 days after publication in the federal register.
ABA played an instrumental role in securing changes to the remittance rule before it was finalized in 2013, winning an extension on the rule’s implementation timeline and reducing banks’ liability for losses due to senders’ errors. The CFPB also made optional in certain circumstances a sending bank’s requirement to disclose fees that a recipient’s financial institution may charge. In addition, the bureau made it optional for the sending bank to disclose how much tax might be deducted before the funds reach the recipient, instead only requiring a simple disclaimer that foreign taxes and recipient bank fees may apply.
ABA is in the process of carefully reviewing the CFPB’s proposed assessment plan and will submit comments.
