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NewsBriefs

This article contains excerpts from news stories recently posted under Breaking Industry News on remember that basic consumer pro-
our homepage. For links to these and other full news stories, please visit www.greensheet.com/ tection ground rules of the FTC Act
breakingnews.php. apply," Helen Clark, an FTC attorney
wrote.
U.S. financial leaders
explore BaaS options

U.S. policymakers and financial lead-
ers are exploring approaches to bank-
ing-as-a-service (BaaS), a popular
Are BNPL regulations coming? practice in Europe that experts believe
is ready for mainstream adoption in
The Consumer Financial Protection Bureau and the Federal Trade Commis- the United States. Paul Davis, direc-
sion both have indicated they have concerns about buy now, pay later (BNPL) tor of market intelligence at Strategic
transactions, but no new regulations appear imminent. In a report released in Resource Management, commented
September 2022, the CFPB highlighted its concerns about BNPL products and on BaaS in a recent report titled, Keep-
the potential risks posed to consumers. ing Watch Over the Watchdogs: SRM's
Take on What to Expect from the CFPB.
And the consumer watchdog agency said it was considering "interpretive guid-
ance" to ensure providers understand they must abide by the same laws and "The regulatory landscape is chang-
regulations that apply to credit card companies. In a September 2022 blog post, ing at an unprecedented rate," Davis
the FTC also expressed concerns and fired off a warning to BNPL companies said in a statement. "It's challenging
and their partners. for financial institutions to keep up
as they already have a full plate." The
"If your business offers BNPL payment options as a retailer or BNPL company SRM study, published Feb. 1, 2023,
– or if you play a role in the BNPL ecosystem as a marketer, collector, etc. – highlighted open banking consider-
ations and four other areas the Con-
sumer Financial Protection Bureau is
reviewing: junk fees; credit card late
fees; bank and fintech partnerships;
and buy now, pay later.

Gift cards keep on giving
America's love affair with gift cards
continues unabated. And whether
DON’T DREAM OF IT, purchasing these closed-loop prepaid
debit cards for themselves or for oth-
TRAIN FOR IT! ers, the preferred vehicle is plastic,
not digital cards, according to a new
survey from Fiserv.

The survey, part of the 20th annual
ACH • LEVEL III • EMV installment of Fiserv's prepaid con-
sumer insights survey, also revealed
that inflation worries are affecting
WEB • RECURRING gift card sales. Fiserv's survey que-
ried over 1,000 adults, spanning all
CASH DISCOUNT regions of the country, in November
2022. Better than a third of consumers
said they were purchasing fewer gift
CUSTOMER DATABASE cards due to inflation, contributing to
a slight reduction in overall sales in
2022 compared to 2021, Fiserv report-
C A L L F O R T R A I N I N G ed. Meanwhile, many retailers report
average gift card loads are down, said
8 0 0 - 2 9 6 - 4 8 1 0 Tom Niedbalski, vice president of gift
card solutions at Fiserv.

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