CFBP Wants Payments Firms To Police Consumers

In a telling lawsuit, the U.S. Consumer Financial Protection Bureau (CFPB) on Monday (June 6) sued processor Intercept Corp. and two of its executives for"enabling unauthorized and other illegal withdrawals from consumer accounts by their clients" and ne having "turned a blind eye to blatant warning signs of potential fraud or lawbreaking by its clients."

This move is interesting in that it places processors-and, presumably, others in the payments arena-in the role of quasi-law-enforcement. Is a mobile carrier to blame if customers use their phones to make obscene phonecalls, sell drugs or arrange murders? Is a hardware store to blame if someone buys a hammer and uses it to attack someone?