Defining Larger Participants of the International Money Transfer Market

CONSUMER FINANCIAL PROTECTION BUREAU <CFR>12 CFR Part 1090</CFR> <DEPDOC>[Docket No. CFPB-2025-0025]</DEPDOC> <RIN>RIN 3170-AB53</RIN> <SUBJECT>Defining Larger Participants of the International Money Transfer Market</SUBJECT> <HD SOURCE="HED">AGENCY:</HD> Consumer Financial Protection Bureau. <HD SOURCE="HED">ACTION:</HD> Advance notice of proposed rulemaking. <SUM> <HD SOURCE="HED">SUMMARY:</HD> The Consumer Financial Protection Bureau (CFPB or Bureau) is seeking information to assist it in considering whether to propose a rule to amend the test to define larger participants in the international money transfer market established by the Bureau's Defining Larger Participants of the International Money Transfer Market Final Rule published on September 9, 2014 (International Money Transfer Larger Participant Rule or 2014 Rule). </SUM> <EFFDATE> <HD SOURCE="HED">DATES:</HD> Comments must be received on or before September 22, 2025. </EFFDATE> <HD SOURCE="HED">ADDRESSES:</HD> You may submit responsive information and other comments, identified by Docket No. CFPB-2025-0025, by any of the following methods: • <E T="03">Federal eRulemaking Portal: https://www.regulations.gov.</E> Follow the instructions for submitting comments. • <E T="03">Email: 2025-ANPR-InternationalMoneyTransfer@cfpb.gov.</E> Include Docket No. CFPB-2025-0025 in the subject line of the message. • <E T="03">Mail/Hand Delivery/Courier:</E> Comment Intake—Defining Larger Participants of the International Money Transfer Market 2025, c/o Legal Division Docket Manager, Consumer Financial Protection Bureau, 1700 G Street NW, Washington, DC 20552. <E T="03">Instructions:</E> The CFPB encourages the early submission of comments. All submissions should include the agency name and docket number. Additionally, where the Bureau has asked for specific comment on a topic, commenters should seek to highlight the topic to which their comment is applicable. Because paper mail is subject to delay, commenters are encouraged to submit comments electronically. In general, all comments received will be posted without change to <E T="03">https://www.regulations.gov.</E> All submissions, including attachments and other supporting materials, will become part of the public record and subject to public disclosure. Proprietary information or sensitive personal information, such as account numbers or Social Security numbers, or names of other individuals, should not be included. Submissions will not be edited to remove any identifying or contact information. <FURINF> <HD SOURCE="HED">FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT:</HD> Dave Gettler, Paralegal, Office of Regulations, at 202-435-7380. If you require this document in an alternative electronic format, please contact <E T="03">CFPB_Accessibility@cfpb.gov.</E> </FURINF> <SUPLINF> <HD SOURCE="HED">SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION:</HD> The Bureau is seeking information to consider whether to propose a rule to amend the test which defines larger participants in the international money transfer market. Currently, a nonbank covered person is a larger participant of the international money transfer market if the nonbank covered person has at least one million aggregate annual international money transfers. The Bureau is concerned that the benefits of the current threshold may not justify the compliance burdens for many of the entities that are currently considered larger participants in this market, and that the current threshold may be diverting limited Bureau resources to determine whom among the universe of providers may be subject to the Bureau's supervisory authority and whether these providers should be examined in a particular year. <HD SOURCE="HD1">I. Background</HD> Section 1024 of the Consumer Financial Protection Act of 2010 (CFPA), <SU>1</SU> <FTREF/> codified at 12 U.S.C. 5514, gives the Bureau supervisory authority over all nonbank covered persons  <SU>2</SU> <FTREF/> offering or providing three enumerated types of consumer financial products or services: (1) origination, brokerage, or servicing of consumer loans secured by real estate and related mortgage loan modification or foreclosure relief services; (2) private education loans; and (3) payday loans. <SU>3</SU> <FTREF/> The Bureau also has supervisory authority over “larger participant[s] of a market for other consumer financial products or services, as defined by rule[s]” the Bureau issues. <SU>4</SU> <FTREF/> To date, the Bureau has issued six rules defining larger participants of markets for consumer financial products and services for purposes of CFPA section 1024(a)(1)(B). <SU>5</SU> <FTREF/> <FTNT> <SU>1</SU>  Consumer Financial Protection Act of 2010, Title X of the Dodd-Frank Wall Street Reform and Consumer Protection Act, Public Law 111-203, 124 Stat. 1376, 1955 (2010). </FTNT> <FTNT> <SU>2</SU>  The provisions of 12 U.S.C. 5514 apply to certain categories of covered persons, described in section (a)(1), and expressly excludes from coverage persons described in 12 U.S.C. 5515(a) (very large insured depository institutions and credit unions and their affiliates) or 5516(a) (other insured depository institutions and credit unions). The term “covered person” means “(A) any person that engages in offering or providing a consumer financial product or service; and (B) any affiliate of a person described [in (A)] if such affiliate acts as a service provider to such person.” 12 U.S.C. 5481(6). </FTNT> <FTNT> <SU>3</SU>  12 U.S.C. 5514(a)(1)(A), (D), (E). </FTNT> <FTNT> <SU>4</SU>  12 U.S.C. 5514(a)(1)(B), (a)(2); <E T="03">see also</E> 12 U.S.C. 5481(5) (defining “consumer financial product or service”). </FTNT> <FTNT> <SU>5</SU>  These six rules defined larger participants of markets for consumer reporting, 77 FR 42874 (July 20, 2012) (Consumer Reporting Rule), consumer debt collection, 77 FR 65775 (Oct. 31, 2012) (Consumer Debt Collection Rule), student loan servicing, 78 FR 73383 (Dec. 6, 2013) (Student Loan Servicing Rule), international money transfers, 79 FR 56631 (Sept. 23, 2014) (International Money Transfer Rule), automobile financing, 80 FR 37496 (June 30, 2015) (Automobile Financing Rule), and general-use digital consumer payment applications, 89 FR 99582 (Dec. 10, 2024) (General-Use Digital Payment Applications Rule). The Bureau is issuing advance notices of proposed rulemakings to reconsider the test for defining larger participants in the consumer reporting, debt collection, international money transfer, and automobile financing markets. The Bureau will continue to assess whether it is appropriate to reconsider the test for the student loan servicing market. The General-Use Digital Payment Applications Rule was made ineffective by a joint resolution of disapproval by Congress under the Congressional Review Act. S.J. Res. 28—119th Congress (2025-2026), Public Law 119-11; <E T="03">see also</E> 5 U.S.C. 801 <E T="03">et seq.</E> </FTNT> <HD SOURCE="HD2">Background on International Money Transfers</HD> Consumers generally make international money transfers through nonbank money transfer providers, depository institutions, or credit unions. Many international money transfers operate through closed networks, receiving and disbursing funds through their own outlets or through agents such as grocery stores, neighborhood convenience stores, or depository institutions. For an international money transfer conducted through a money transfer provider, a consumer typically provides basic identifying information about himself and the recipient and often pays cash sufficient to cover the transfer amount and any fees charged by the provider. The consumer may be provided a confirmation code, which the consumer relays to the recipient. The money transfer provider sends an instruction to a specified payout location or locations in the recipient's country where the recipient may pick up the transferred funds, often in cash and local currency, upon presentation of the confirmation code or other identification on or after a specified date. These transfers generally are referred to as cash-to-cash transfers. Many international money transfer providers also provide international money transfers in other ways. For example, international money transfer providers may permit transfers to be initiated using credit cards, debit cards, or bank account debits and may use websites, agent locations, standalone kiosks, or telephone lines to do so. Abroad, international money transfer providers and their partners may allow funds to be deposited into recipients' bank accounts, distributed directly onto prepaid cards, or credited to mobile phone accounts. The Remittance Rule, which took effect October 28, 2013, implements subpart B of the Electronic Fund Transfer Act (EFTA). <SU>6</SU> <FTREF/> Amendments to EFTA and the implementing Remittance Rule created Federal consumer protections for remittance transfers that consumers in the United States send to individuals and businesses in foreign countries. The Remittance Rule applies to any institutions that send remittance transfers in the normal course of their business, including banks, credit unions, money transmitters, broker-dealers, and others. The Bureau and prudential regulators can examine depository institutions and credit unions within their supervisory authority for compliance with the Remittance Rule. <FTNT> <SU>6</SU>  77 FR 6194 (Feb. 7, 2012); 77 FR 40459 (July 10, 2012); 77 FR 50244 (Aug. 20, 2012); 78 FR 6025 (Jan. 29, 2013); 78 FR 30662 (May 22, 2013); 78 FR 49365 (Aug. 14, 2013) (codified at 12 CFR part 1005, subpart B). <E T="03">See also</E> 12 U.S.C. 1693o-1 (specifying rules to be issued by the CFPB). EFTA applies to all electronic money transfers more broadly through subpart A of Reg. E. </FTNT> <HD SOURCE="HD2">The Bureau's International Money T ━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━ Preview showing 10k of 26k characters. 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