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S780-119

In Committee

SAFE Lending Act of 2025

119th Congress Introduced Feb 27, 2025

Analysis under review: This bill has generated analysis that may be too generic or incomplete. Clause-level evidence remains available below.

Summary

This bill cracks down on online payday lending by requiring all small-dollar lenders (loans under ,000 with terms under 12 months) to register with the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau. Online lenders, including national banks, must comply with the interest rate and fee laws of the state where the borrower lives. The bill gives consumers control over remotely created checks, which are often used by predatory lenders to drain bank accounts. It bans overdraft fees on prepaid accounts, restricts lead generators from sharing sensitive financial information unless they are the actual lender, and directs a GAO study on the impact of small-dollar lending on tribal communities.

Evidence Chain:

This summary is generated from the full bill text using AI analysis. Expand "Detailed Analysis" below for identified beneficiaries/burden bearers.

At a Glance

What This Bill Does

Regulates online small-dollar lending (payday loans under ,000) by requiring CFPB registration, mandating state-law compliance regardless of national bank charter, restricting lead generation and personal data brokering, giving consumers control over remotely created checks, banning prepaid account overdraft fees, and directing studies on tribal lending.

Who Benefits

  • Consumers using small-dollar loans (protection from predatory rates)
  • State regulators (authority preserved)
  • CFPB (expanded registration and rulemaking authority)

Who Bears Costs

  • Online payday lenders
  • Lead generation companies in lending space
  • National banks partnering with payday lenders (rent-a-bank model)

Key Policy Areas

{'domain': 'Finance', 'evidence': 'Amends Truth in Lending Act and Electronic Fund Transfer Act to regulate small-dollar consumer credit transactions including payday and online loans'}, {'domain': 'Consumer Protection', 'evidence': 'Requires consumer consent for remotely created checks, prohibits prepaid account overdraft fees, restricts lead generation data sharing'}, {'domain': 'Government Operations', 'evidence': 'Requires CFPB registration for lenders, CFPB rulemaking within 1 year, GAO study on tribal lending capital availability'}

Primary Purpose

Regulates online small-dollar lending (payday loans under ,000) by requiring CFPB registration, mandating state-law compliance regardless of national bank charter, restricting lead generation and personal data brokering, giving consumers control over remotely created checks, banning prepaid account overdraft fees, and directing studies on tribal lending.

Policy Domains

{'domain': 'Finance', 'evidence': 'Amends Truth in Lending Act and Electronic Fund Transfer Act to regulate small-dollar consumer credit transactions including payday and online loans'} {'domain': 'Consumer Protection', 'evidence': 'Requires consumer consent for remotely created checks, prohibits prepaid account overdraft fees, restricts lead generation data sharing'} {'domain': 'Government Operations', 'evidence': 'Requires CFPB registration for lenders, CFPB rulemaking within 1 year, GAO study on tribal lending capital availability'}

Legislative Strategy

"Closes the rent-a-bank loophole by requiring state-law compliance for all small-dollar lending regardless of national bank charter, while empowering CFPB as primary regulator"

Sponsors

Jeff Merkley

Jeff Merkley

D-OR | Primary Sponsor

11 cosponsors

Legislative Progress

In Committee
Introduced Committee Passed
Feb 27, 2025

Mr. Merkley (for himself, Mr. Sanders, Mr. Wyden, Mr. Van …

Feb 27, 2025

Read twice and referred to the Committee on Banking, Housing, …

Feb 27, 2025

Introduced in Senate

Stakeholder Effects

cui bono?

How this legislation distributes effects. Mention counts reflect frequency, not effect magnitude.

Financial Services
8 mentions across 5 clauses
-8 negative

Depository institutions (banks), Lead generation and data broker companies, Lead generation companies in lending

Consumers
4 mentions across 4 clauses
+4 positive

Consumers applying for small-dollar loans, Consumers using small-dollar loans, Consumers whose financial data is shared

Government
3 mentions across 3 clauses
-3 negative

CFPB, GAO and CFPB

Tribal Nations
1 mention across 1 clause
+1 positive

Indian Tribes and tribal members

6/8
sections analyzed
Full impact breakdown

Bill Structure & Actor Mappings

Who is "The Secretary" in each section?

Domains
Finance Consumer Protection
Actor Mappings
"bureau"
→ CFPB
"consumer"
→ Bank account holder
Domains
Finance Consumer Protection
Actor Mappings
"bureau"
→ CFPB
Domains
Finance Consumer Protection
Actor Mappings
"bureau"
→ CFPB
Domains
Government Operations
Actor Mappings
"gao"
→ Comptroller General
"bureau"
→ CFPB

Key Definitions

Terms defined in this bill

3 terms
"small-dollar consumer credit transaction" §110(a)

Credit up to ,000 (or CPI-adjusted amount) with term under 12 months, including installment loans, open-end plans with defined repayment, and actions that facilitate/broker/arrange such transactions

"sensitive personal financial information" §140B(a)(2)

SSN, financial account number, bank routing/account number, or security code necessary to access a financial account

"remotely created check" §905(d)(1)(B)

Paper or electronic check not created by the financial institution holding the account and not bearing the account holder's applied signature

We use a combination of our own taxonomy and classification in addition to large language models to assess meaning and potential beneficiaries. High confidence means strong textual evidence. Always verify with the original bill text.

Learn more about our methodology