CFPB delays remittance rule

The Consumer Financial Protection Bureau delayed implementation of a final rule pertaining to remittance transfers it had issued in 2012 in accordance with the 2010 Dodd-Frank Act, which required that portions of Regulation E under the Electronic Fund Transfer Act be amended. The rule had been slated to take effect Feb. 7, 2013.

The postponement is due to "limited amendments to our new international remittance transfer rule," stated David Silberman, CFPB Associate Director of Research, Markets and Regulation in a Jan. 22 post on the CFPB blog.

The rule changes were included in a Dec. 31, 2012, proposal issued by the bureau and are designed to preserve new consumer protections while helping remittance transfer providers comply with the rule, according to the CFPB.

Three refinements

"First, the proposal would provide additional flexibility regarding the disclosure of foreign taxes, as well as fees imposed by a designated recipient's institution for receiving a remittance transfer in an account," the CFPB stated. "Second, the proposal would limit a remittance transfer provider's obligation to disclose foreign taxes to those imposed by a country's central government. Third, the proposal would revise the error resolution provisions that apply when a remittance transfer is not delivered to a designated recipient because the sender provided incorrect or insufficient information, and, in particular, when a sender provides an incorrect account number and that incorrect account number results in the funds being deposited in the wrong account."

The CFPB proposed these changes based on feedback from the public and will be accepting further comments and suggestions on the revised regulations until Jan. 30. "A new effective date will be announced later this year," Silberman noted. It is likely the amended rule will take effect 90 days after it is finalized.

For further information on this process, please visit www.consumerfinance.gov .

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