Showing archive for: “Payments & Payment Networks”
Why the Federal Trade Commission (not the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau) Should Oversee Consumer Protection in Financial Markets
On February 28, the Heritage Foundation released Prosperity Unleashed: Smarter Financial Regulation, a Report that lays bare the heavy and unnecessary burdens imposed on our economy by defective financial regulations, and proposed market-oriented regulatory reforms that would benefit American producers, consumers, and the overall economy. In a recent Truth on the Market blog commentary, I ... Why the Federal Trade Commission (not the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau) Should Oversee Consumer Protection in Financial Markets
The Supreme Court Should Reassert the Importance of Procedural Gatekeeper Rules to Deter Antitrust Litigation Excesses
Background In addition to reforming substantive antitrust doctrine, the Supreme Court in recent decades succeeded in curbing the unwarranted costs of antitrust litigation by erecting new procedural barriers to highly questionable antitrust suits. It did this principally through three key “gatekeeper” decisions, Monsanto (1984), Matsushita (1986), and Twombly (2007). Prior to those holdings, bare allegations ... The Supreme Court Should Reassert the Importance of Procedural Gatekeeper Rules to Deter Antitrust Litigation Excesses
The Constitutionally-Challenged Consumer Financial Protection Bureau (CFPB) Now Directly Challenges the Lawful and Welfare-Enhancing Pay-Day Lending Industry
The Consumer Financial Protection Bureau (CFPB) is, to say the least, a controversial agency. As documented by such experts as Scalia Law School Professor Todd Zywicki, the CFPB imposes enormous costs on consumers and financial service providers through costly and unwarranted command-and-control regulation. Furthermore, as I explained in a February 2016 Heritage Foundation legal memorandum, ... The Constitutionally-Challenged Consumer Financial Protection Bureau (CFPB) Now Directly Challenges the Lawful and Welfare-Enhancing Pay-Day Lending Industry
FCC Should Not Regulate Broadband Providers’ Privacy Policies and Instead Defer to the FTC
Earlier this month, Federal Communications Commission (FCC) Chairman Tom Wheeler released a “fact sheet” describing his proposal to have the FCC regulate the privacy policies of broadband Internet service providers (ISPs). Chairman Wheeler’s detailed proposal will be embodied in a Notice of Proposed Rulemaking (NPRM) that the FCC may take up as early as March ... FCC Should Not Regulate Broadband Providers’ Privacy Policies and Instead Defer to the FTC
Time to Get Rid of the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau
In my Heritage Foundation Legal Memorandum published yesterday, I call for elimination of the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau (CFPB), on constitutional and economic policy grounds. As I explain: The new Consumer Financial Protection Bureau (CFPB), created by the Dodd–Frank Wall Street Reform and Consumer Protection Act, is living up to its billing as one of ... Time to Get Rid of the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau
Senator Markey’s Do Not Track Kids Act of 2013 Raises the Question: What’s the Point of COPPA?
The Children’s Online Privacy Protection Act (COPPA) continues to be a hot button issue for many online businesses and privacy advocates. On November 14, Senator Markey, along with Senator Kirk and Representatives Barton and Rush introduced the Do Not Track Kids Act of 2013 to amend the statute to include children from 13-15 and add ... Senator Markey’s Do Not Track Kids Act of 2013 Raises the Question: What’s the Point of COPPA?
The Supreme Court upholds freedom of contract in American Express v Italian Colors Restaurant
[The following is a guest post by Thomas McCarthy on the Supreme Court’s recent Amex v. Italian Colors Restaurant decision. Tom is a partner at Wiley Rein, LLP and a George Mason Law grad. He is/was also counsel for, among others, Petitioner Abigail Fisher in Fisher v. University of Texas Petitioner Shelby County, Alabama in Shelby County v. Holder Respondent ... The Supreme Court upholds freedom of contract in American Express v Italian Colors Restaurant
FTC Mobile Payments Workshop on April 26, 2012
The Federal Trade Commission conference announcement is below; note that public comments on the date of the conference. This is an important space and should attract some excellent speakers. The topics suggest a greater focus on consumer protection than competition issues. Here is the announcement: The Federal Trade Commission will host a workshop on April ... FTC Mobile Payments Workshop on April 26, 2012
The Fate of the FCC’s Open Internet Order–Lessons from Bank Fees
Economists have long warned against price regulation in the context of network industries, but until now our tools have been limited to complex theoretical models. Last week, the heavens sent down a natural experiment so powerful that the theoretical models are blushing: In response to a new regulation preventing banks from charging debit-card swipe fees ... The Fate of the FCC’s Open Internet Order–Lessons from Bank Fees
Zywicki on the Unintended Consequences of the Durbin Bank Fees
Here’s Professor Zywicki in the WSJ on the debit card interchange price controls going into effect, and their unintended but entirely predictable consequences: Faced with a dramatic cut in revenues (estimated to be $6.6 billion by Javelin Strategy & Research, a global financial services consultancy), banks have already imposed new monthly maintenance fees—usually from $36 ... Zywicki on the Unintended Consequences of the Durbin Bank Fees
My Reflections on The Senate CFPB Hearing
[Cross-posted at PYMNTS.COM] Richard Cordray’s nomination hearing provided an opportunity to learn something new about the substantive policies of the new Consumer Financial Protection Bureau. Unfortunately, that opportunity came and went without answering many of the key questions that remain concerning the impact of the CFPB’s enforcement and regulatory agenda on the availability of consumer ... My Reflections on The Senate CFPB Hearing
Natural Disasters and Payday Lending
There has been plenty of Hurricane Irene blogging, and some posts linking natural disasters to various aspects of law and policy (see, e.g. my colleague Ilya Somin discussing property rights and falling trees). Often, post-natural disaster economic discussion at TOTM turns to the perverse consequences of price gouging laws. This time around, the damage from ... Natural Disasters and Payday Lending
