News

CFPB announces planned amendments to new money transfer rules

November 28, 2012

The Consumer Financial Protection Bureau has issued a bulletin outlining planned amendments to its new rules governing international money transfers. The CFPB has also announced a brief extension to the effective date for the new rules.

The changes respond to issues that have been brought up by entities affected by the rule. Proposed amendments address situations in which an undue burden of responsibility would fall the remittance provider:

• Sender provides an incorrect account number to a remittance transfer — an amendment would stipulate that if money is deposited to the wrong transfer account due to customer error, the provider must attempt to recover the funds, but will not be held liable if efforts prove unsuccessful.
• Disclosure of third party fees and foreign taxes — an amendment would provide additional flexibility around these requirements — for instance, permitting providers to base fee disclosures on published bank fee schedules.
• Disclosure of regional and local taxes assessed in foreign countries — an amendment would clarify that foreign taxes imposed on remittance transfers is limited to taxes imposed at the national level only.

"We'll work on a fast track to finalize changes to the rule," the CFPB said in a blog announcing the proposed amendments. "The proposed changes would improve implementation of the new law while keeping the important new protections for consumers intended by the Dodd-Frank Act."

For more on this topic, visit the regulatory issues research center.