Tech groups sue U.S. CFPB to block rule on Apple Pay, Apple Wallet, and other payment apps, digital wallets

Two technology trade groups, NetChoice and TechNet, filed a lawsuit Thursday against the U.S. Consumer Financial Protection Bureau (CFPB), seeking to block a new rule granting the agency supervisory power over payment apps and digital wallets offered by large non-bank entities. The groups argue that Congress did not authorize the CFPB to aggressively and arbitrarily regulate these non-banks, which offer consumer financial services through products like Apple Wallet, Google Pay, and Venmo.

Reuters:
‎

The trade groups also said the CFPB identified no consumer risks or gaps in regulatory oversight that justified the rule, which covers companies that process at least 50 million transactions annually, and more than 13 billion overall.

According to the complaint filed in Washington, D.C., federal court, “The bureau failed to show what consumer risks the rule was even meant to alleviate in its haste to dream up a problem in search of a solution.”

NetChoice director of litigation Chris Marchese in a statement on Thursday called the rule an “unlawful power grab” that could stifle innovation, reduce competition and raise prices.

It is unclear whether Republican President-elect Donald Trump’s administration or the Republican-controlled Congress might try to change or eliminate the rule, amid expectations they will try to reduce the CFPB’s supervisory authority.

‎
MacDailyNews Take: The U.S. Consumer Financial Protection Bureau is yet another prime example of meddling federal government overreach that currently wields too much unchecked power.

We are currently about 1/4th of the way to being sustainable with Substack subscriptions.

Please tell your Apple-loving friends about MacDailyNews on Substack and, if you’re currently a free subscriber, please consider $5/mo. or $50/year to keep MacDailyNews going. Just hit the subscribe button. Thank you!

Read on Substack

‎
Please help support MacDailyNews — and enjoy subscriber-only articles, comments, chat, and more — by subscribing to our Substack: macdailynews.substack.com. Thank you!

Support MacDailyNews at no extra cost to you by using this link to shop at Amazon.

The post Tech groups sue U.S. CFPB to block rule on Apple Pay, Apple Wallet, and other payment apps, digital wallets appeared first on MacDailyNews.