Breaking
December 11, 2024

Regulation State Regulation hits EWA (but is it enough?) | usagoldmines.com

Over half of Americans are living paycheck to paycheck, according to CNBC, and the heightened costs of living is making the situation worse. Seven out of ten people reported stress from their financial situation, and around half said this stress had increased since the pandemic, with many reporting a lack of savings to cover them should the situation worsen.

In addition, late fees and mismatched payment times plague the average consumer. “Sometimes, entities will make bills payable on the 29th because they know a lot of people will be late by two days, and then they can charge a late fee,” said Nico Simko, Co-founder and CEO of Clair. “It’s a huge issue for workers living from paycheck to paycheck if your bills don’t match the timing of your income.”

The options available to employees in this situation have typically been to pay late fees or turn to expensive loans to tide them over. 

Nico Simko, Co-founder and CEO of Clair

“Front-line workers are astonishingly underserved, as big banks don’t see them as profit drivers and aren’t building the solutions they need. Timely pay is crucial for them to keep up with their bills.”

Earned wage access was developed as a solution to this issue and has been met with increasing demand. The space, as a nascent technology, has largely escaped regulation, claiming it differs from a loan. 

“If you’re able to make the case that it differs from a loan, it’s actually a lot cheaper for a startup,” said Simko. Clair had decided to opt for national regulatory compliance and approach the space as a loan product, partnering with a national bank. 

“We decided to kind of use a framework that preempts states from changing laws,” said Simko. “States may do 50 different flavors of what EWA is and how it’s regulated. Imagine building a product that has to do this. And imagine when an employer is in one state and the employees are in another. What do you do?”

In some cases, the lack of regulation has been used to providers’ benefit, at times installing fees of their own that come close to matching existing loan options. However, one by one, states are providing clarity to flush the sector of bad actors. 

Missouri Joins Nevada in EWA Regulation.

The first to step up was Nevada. Last month, a proposed bill was published clarifying that EWA differed from a credit product and calling for increased transparency in the space. 

RELATED: First proposed bill to regulate Earned Wage Access

Since then, Missouri has stepped up, mandating that providers register for approval. 

Like in Nevada, the new law in Missouri requires state licensing for all EWA providers, including those who integrate with employers and companies that offer services direct to consumers. 

The bill sets out industry best practices and consumer protections, including strong transparency, non-recourse, no late fees, no debt collection, no credit reporting, no collection activity of any kind, and a requirement that a “no cost” option be offered to all EWA users.

“As one of the first states in the nation to embrace regulatory standards for the EWA industry, Missouri is at the forefront of responsible innovation creating access to safe financial services,” said Phil Goldfeder, Chief Executive Officer of the American Fintech Council. “Missouri families should have the ability to access the wages they have already earned from responsible companies that are providing an alternative to high-priced payday and other predatory options.”

Despite the progress, the state-by-state approach leaves a sense of instability in the space. Although Nevada and Missouri had similar rulings, still in 48 states, EWA remains open to interpretation. 

 State regulators are stepping into action to regulate earned wage access. But the process is slow and could create a mismatch for providers. 

Recent:

Regulators | Brian Armstrong Calls SEC Commissioner Up for Re-Nomination a ‘Failure,’ Urges Senate T...
Regulators | Treasury Department’s FSOC Says Stablecoins Represent Potential Risk to US Financial St...
Regulators | ‘Bitcoin Jesus’ Roger Ver Moves To Dismiss Indictment for Allegedly Evading $50,000,000...
Regulators | Donald Trump Considering Chamber of Digital Commerce CEO Perianne Boring for CFTC Chair...
Regulators | Alex Mashinsky Faces 30 Years in Prison for Role in Collapse of Celsius Rhodilee Jean D...
Regulators | US Treasury Takes Action Against Five Individuals Who Allegedly Used USDT To Evade Sanc...
Regulators | Veteran Silicon Valley Investor David Sacks to Serve As Trump’s ‘White House AI and Cry...
Regulators | Coinbase FOIA Requests Unearth More Instances of U.S. FDIC Asking Banks To ‘Pause’ Cryp...
Regulators | Bitcoin (BTC) Smashes Through $100,000 Following Trump’s Pick of Paul Atkins for SEC Ch...
Regulators | Coinbase CEO Brian Armstrong Brands $213,000,000,000 Anti-Money Laundering Regulations ...
Regulators | JPMorgan Chase Paying $1,790,000 Penalty for Overcharging Clients in Singapore, Failing...
Regulators | Coinbase Chief Policy Officer Predicts Rapid Pro-Crypto Regulation After Donald Trump T...
Regulators | South Korea Opposition Party Agrees to Two-Year Moratorium on Crypto Asset Taxation: Re...
Regulators | Ripple CTO Calls on US Government To End All Indirect Regulation Including Alleged Deba...
Regulators | Powerful New York Regulator May Greenlight Ripple RLUSD Stablecoin As Soon as This Week...
Regulators | Coinbase CEO Says Elizabeth Warren and Gary Gensler Tried To Kill Crypto Industry As De...
Regulators | Trump Administration Looking To Put CFTC in Charge of Digital Asset Regulation: Report ...
Regulators | Ripple Chief Legal Officer Slams SEC for ‘Bragging’ About 2024 Enforcement Actions in N...
Regulators | Crypto Advocacy Group Coin Center Names Top Three Threats Against Digital Asset Industr...
Regulators | Tornado Cash Developer Says Court Has Derailed Appeal Efforts After Prolonging His Pre-...
Regulators | Possible Trump Pick for SEC Chair Outlines Plan To Position US as One of Global Leaders...
Regulators | Democratic SEC Commissioner Jaime Lizárraga Announces Plan To Step Down, Following Gary...
Regulators | Crypto Giants Scramble for Spot on Trump’s Promised Advisory Board: Report Mehron Rokhy...
Regulators | Trump Electoral Win a ‘Massive Game Changer’ for Crypto, Says Bitwise CIO Matt Hougan –...
Regulators | Five Alleged Scammers Federally Charged With Running Crypto Phishing Scheme by DOJ Dani...
Regulators | Texas Judge Tosses SEC’s Controversial ‘Dealer Rule’ After Lawsuit From Crypto Groups C...
Regulators | JPMorgan Chase Pays $40,000,000,000 in Fines and Settlements As US Bank Battles Hundred...
Regulators | Trump To Quickly Replace Gary Gensler After SEC Chair Announces Departure Rhodilee Jean...
Regulators | Former FTX Executive Gary Wang Avoids Prison Time After Building Crypto Surveillance To...
Regulators | Seven US Representatives Ask Treasury Secretary Janet Yellen Why Tornado Cash Remains O...
Regulators | Gemini’s Tyler Winklevoss Blasts SEC Chair Gary Gensler, Calls Him ‘Evil’ With ‘Sociopa...
Regulators | BTC Launderer Given ‘Lenient’ Three-Year Prison Sentence for Assisting With Bitcoin Fog...
Regulators | SEC Chair Gary Gensler Unlikely To Finish Term as President-Elect Trump Looking for Rep...
Regulators | Four Republicans Pen Letter to SEC and FINRA, Say Regulators ‘Complicit’ in Perpetuatin...
Regulators | Prominent US Prosecutor’s Office To Reduce Focus on Crypto Cases, Says Top Official: Re...
Regulators | Crypto Prices Cool as Fed Chair Jerome Powell Strikes Ambiguous Tone on Future Monetary...
Regulators | FBI Raids Polymarket CEO’s Home As DOJ Probes the Decentralized Betting Platform: Repor...
Regulators | Andreessen Horowitz Says Future of Crypto in US Is Bright, Sees Digital Asset Pathway t...
Regulators | Ex-Alameda CEO Sam Trabucco Agrees To Forfeit Two Apartments, Yacht and $70,000,000 in ...
Regulators | FTX Sues Binance and Changpeng Zhao for $1,800,000,000 Over ‘Fraudulent’ Transfers From...
Regulators | Former SEC Official Expects Gary Gensler To Resign, Says Regulator’s War on Crypto Now ...
Regulators | ‘Most Pro-Crypto Congress Ever’ – Brian Armstrong Says US Voted for 257 House Candidate...
Regulators | Bank of America Bracing for $800,000,000 Loss As Investigators Probe BofA, JPMorgan Cha...
Regulators | Embattled FTX Co-Founder Gary Wang Is Building US Authorities a Tool To Track Illicit A...
Regulators | Trump Appears Set To Keep Fed Chair Jerome Powell On Until His Term Ends in 2026: Repor...
Regulators | French Gambling Regulator Announces Plans To Probe Polymarket Following Big Wins on Tru...
Regulators | Bitwise CIO Matt Hougan Says Wall Street and Institutions Will Adopt Crypto Regardless ...
Regulators | 269 Pro-Crypto Candidates Voted In to House of Representatives and Senate: Stand With C...
Regulators | Billionaire Mike Novogratz Says Big ‘Step Change’ Underway for Crypto Industry Followin...
Regulators | Gemini Co-Founder Cameron Winklevoss Issues Election Warning, Says Harris Victory Will ...
Regulators | Circle CEO Jeremy Allaire Says Stablecoins To Become Regulated Financial Infrastructure...
Regulators | Coinbase Chief Legal Officer Uncovers 20 Instances of US Regulator Telling Banks To Sto...
Regulators | $19,800,000 To Be Handed To Apple Customers in Settlement With US Regulator and Trillio...
Regulators | Crypto Giant 21Shares Submits Registration Statement for XRP Exchange-Traded Fund Conor...
Regulators | U.S. Justice Department Indicts Russian National Over Alleged Crypto Market Manipulatio...
Regulators | Florida Owns $800,000,000 in Crypto Investments and Wants To Accumulate More, Says Stat...
Regulators | JPMorgan Chase Paying $100,000,000 To Customers As Bank Settles Wave of Allegations Fro...
Regulators | Joe Biden Thanks Nigerian President for Releasing Binance Executive Tigran Gambaryan Fr...
Regulators | Consensys CEO Joe Lubin Says SEC’s Abuse of Power Among Reasons Blockchain Firm Laying ...
Regulators | Ripple Founder Chris Larsen Predicts Regulatory Sea Change, Says War on Crypto About To...
Regulators | Google Hit With Staggering $20,000,000,000,000,000,000,000,000,000,000,000 Fine After B...
Regulators | Coinbase CEO Brian Armstrong Says SEC Should Issue Apology to American People – Here’s ...
Regulators | Circle CEO Jeremy Allaire Says Firm Still Eyeing IPO Despite Delays: Report Rhodilee Je...
Regulators | Tether CEO Paolo Ardoino Denies Rumors That Stablecoin Issuer Is Under Federal Investig...
Regulators | FDIC Warns Customers Holding $7,100,000 in Uninsured Deposits After Sudden Bank Failure...
Regulators | Tether Founder Paolo Ardoino Says US Is Dropping the Ball on Crypto Regulation Amid Run...
Regulators | Blockchain Firm Consensys Lays Out Plea for Clear Crypto Regulations in Open Letter to ...
Regulators | Money Laundering Charges Against Binance’s Tigran Gambaryan Dropped After Seven Months ...
Regulators | $35,000,000,000 Hedge Fund Brevan Howard Eyeing One Country for Its ‘Sensible’ Crypto R...
Regulators | ‘We’re Going To Be Broke Really Quickly’ – Billionaire Paul Tudor Jones Issues Warning ...
Regulators | 18 State Attorneys General Write Joint Letter To Release Binance Executive From Nigeria...
Regulators | Radiant Capital Working With US Law Enforcement To Freeze Stolen Crypto Assets After $5...
Regulators | Bank Runs Hit 22 US Lenders in 2023 As Wave of Panic Sank Silicon Valley Bank: New York...
Regulators | Donald Trump’s World Liberty Financial (WLFI) Token Sale Goes Live, Comes Up Short on F...
Regulators | US Government Launches Manhunt for Man Accused of Running $150,000,000 Crypto Scam: Rep...
Regulators | US Regulators Extract $19,000,000,000 From Crypto Firms Through Enforcement Actions Thi...
Regulators | SEC Taking Wrong Approach to Regulating Crypto Industry As Gary Gensler Directs Agency ...
Regulators | ‘Inmate at FCI Cumberland’: Former FTX Exec Ryan Salame Updates LinkedIn Title After Ju...
Regulators | Binance Executive Tigran Gambaryan To Stay in Nigerian Prison After Judge Rejects His R...
Regulators | $197,700,000,000 in Deposit Flight Hits US Banks in Three Months As Billions of Dollars...
Regulators | ECB Official Says Regulators Have Opportunity To Create New ‘Capital Market for Digital...
Regulators | US Banks Under Pressure As JPMorgan Chase, Bank of America, Wells Fargo, Goldman Sachs ...
Regulators | $37,500,000 To Be Handed To People Who Bought Gas in Specific Place and Time As Energy ...
Regulators | US Court Approves FTX Bankruptcy Plan To Distribute up to $16,500,000,000 Worth of Payo...
Regulators | UAE Eliminates Value-Added Tax From Crypto Transactions in New Regulation Amendment Mar...
Regulators | 21Shares Calls on EU for Regulatory Clarity To ‘Unlock Crypto Opportunities’ in ETPs Da...
Regulators | Top Robinhood Executive To Potentially Replace Gary Gensler As SEC Head in Trump Presid...
Regulators | Mark Cuban Says FTX and Three Arrows Capital Would Still Be Operating if Gary Gensler H...
Regulators | Legal Expert Jeremy Hogan Says SEC’s Move To Appeal Ruling in Lawsuit Against Ripple a ...
Regulators | Banking Giant Paying $4,700,000 To Victims of Billion-Dollar Market Manipulation Scheme...
Regulators | SEC and DOJ Throw Support Behind Investor Class-Action Lawsuit Against Nvidia Over Alle...
Regulators | Pantera Capital’s Dan Morehead Says US Will Have Rational Blockchain Policy Regardless ...
Regulators | ‘Operation Kraken’ in Australia Seizes Over $6,400,000 in Crypto From Global Organized ...
Regulators | SEC Moves To Appeal 2023’s Landmark Ripple and XRP Securities Ruling | usagoldmines.com
Regulators | Fed’s Jerome Powell Dampens Hope for Big Rate Cut This Year, Says Policy To Move Toward...
Regulators | Ex-Chinese Vice Minister Urges China To Assess Cryptocurrencies Following US Bitcoin Pi...
Congressmen accuse Gensler of bowing to Warren’s ‘anti-crypto’ army, expose SEC internal divide | us...
SEC charges TrustToken and TrueCoin for misleading stablecoin investments | usagoldmines.com
SEC has the tools to provide clear guidelines but chose not to — Commissioner Hester Peirce | usagol...
Republicans urge SEC to drop SAB 121 crypto accounting rule | usagoldmines.com

Leave a Reply