HR9330-119

What This Bill Does

The Earned Wage Access Consumer Protection Act would establish national rules for companies that advance workers wages they have already earned. A provider that offers a fee-based advance must offer the same amount through a no-cost option. Before service and before each disbursement, providers must disclose access limits, fees, tips, the amount advanced, expected repayment timing and method, and other transaction details. Consumers who have paid a fee or tip must retain access to pay-period and year-to-date totals. Tip requests must state that payment is voluntary, does not affect access or eligibility, and benefits only the provider unless a different statement is true.

Providers must give 30 days notice of material term changes unless the consumer agrees to less notice, permit cancellation of recurring service without a fee, and maintain procedures for unauthorized, incorrect, missing, or misdirected advances and payments. They generally may not sue, compel arbitration, use debt collectors, or sell expected payments to debt buyers; that collection restriction does not apply when the consumer knowingly supplied false information. Providers must reimburse overdraft or insufficient-funds fees caused by a debit attempted earlier or in a different amount than disclosed. They may not charge interest, late or deferral fees, use an outside credit card for repayment, report activity to consumer-reporting agencies, or share consumer fees or tips with employers.

The bill permits limited employer disclosure of transaction dates and amounts and contract-related information subject to privacy law, prohibits discrimination on specified protected grounds, and treats providers as financial institutions under the Gramm-Leach-Bliley Act privacy title. CFPB must issue implementing rules within 180 days. The bill adds earned-wage access to the Consumer Financial Protection Act but excludes compliant services and providers from Truth in Lending Act credit and creditor definitions.

Compliant services, fees, and tips would not count as credit, loans, debt, liabilities, consumer credit, interest, or finance charges under Federal law. States could still enforce generally applicable fraud, deception, contract, property, and tax laws and non-conflicting protections, but could not classify compliant services as credit or providers as lenders, or prohibit or substantially restrict compliant services.

Who Benefits and How

Workers and contractors using earned-wage access would receive a no-cost option, clearer price and tip information, cancellation rights, complaint handling, overdraft reimbursement in specified cases, nondiscrimination protection, and protection from lawsuits, arbitration, debt collection, late charges, and credit reporting. Compliant providers would gain a Federal rulebook and protection from being regulated as lenders or credit products under Federal law or special State earned-wage-access laws. Employers avoid receiving provider fees and tips and can receive limited transaction information needed for their contracts.

Who Bears the Burden and How

Earned-wage-access providers must redesign disclosures, payment options, tip interfaces, change notices, cancellation, complaint systems, debit controls, privacy practices, and discrimination controls. They lose some fee, penalty, collection, debt-sale, credit-reporting, and employer-revenue options and must absorb specified bank-fee reimbursements. CFPB staff must write rules within 180 days and supervise a new enumerated consumer-financial law. State financial regulators lose authority to treat compliant services as credit or substantially restrict them, though they retain general consumer-law enforcement. Debt collectors, debt buyers, and consumer-reporting agencies lose business or data tied to these transactions.

Key Provisions

• Requires a same-amount no-cost option whenever a provider offers fee-based access.
• Mandates pre-service, pre-disbursement, fee, tip, and cumulative-cost disclosures.
• Bars most litigation, arbitration, debt collection, debt sales, penalties, interest, credit reporting, and employer fee sharing.
• Requires cancellation without charge, complaint procedures, specified overdraft reimbursement, privacy coverage, and nondiscrimination.
• Preempts State treatment of compliant services as credit or lending while preserving generally applicable State laws.
• Directs CFPB to issue rules within 180 days and conforms Federal consumer and truth-in-lending statutes to the new classification.