From staff reports WASHINGTON, D.C. – The Consumer Financial Protection Bureau published an order on Friday establishing supervisory authority over Google Payment Corp.
A press release noted that the action wasn’t due to any wrongdoing, but brought on by a “contested matter” stating that Google Payment Corp. was failing to conduct oversight through a specific legal authority to supervise The CFPB supervises
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financial firms to ensure compliance with federal consumer financial protection laws, including nonbank entities like mortgage and payday lending.
Before the Dodd-Frank Wall Street Reform and Consumer Protection Act of 2010, only banks and credit unions were subject to federal supervision. After the 2008 financial crisis, Congress determined that nonbank entities played a pivotal role in the economic crash and broadened the CFPB’s supervisory umbrella. A lengthy description of the contested matter is available online at files.consumerfinance. gov and is labeled “In the Matter of Google Payment Corp., Supervisory Designation Proceeding File No. 2024-CFPB-SUP-0001.
Basically, the CFPB states there is reasonable cause to determine that Google has engaged in conduct that poses risks to consumers.
The CFPB determined that Google’s practices in connection with investigating and preventing allegedly erroneous transactions is risky and in question.
Documents show that in February 2024, Google announced that the U.S. version of the Google Pay App would be discontinued. According to Google, this action was taken in early June 2024 and the App, along with the related P2P (peer-to-peer) payment platform were no longer available to consumers.
Consumer complaints submitted to the CFPB included:
• Google failed to adequately investigate allegedly erroneous transfers made via its P2P platform.
• Google failed to adequately explain the results of its investigations when it determined that no erroneous transfer had occurred.
• Google failed to provide consumers any further recourse or offer to provide supporting documentation after making a determination; and
• Google failed to protect consumers from liability for erroneous transfers.
The CFPB reported that it received numerous consumer complaints, which contributed to the supervisory designation order.
Tuesday, December 19, 2023 • 7