Apple Pay to Be Treated Like a Bank With Federal Scrutiny in the U.S.

The Consumer Financial Protection Bureau (CFPB) has finalized a new rule that will bring Apple Pay and other major digital wallet services under the same oversight as banks.

The CFPB today announced that, effective 30 days after its publication in the Federal Register, digital payment platforms processing over 50 million annual transactions in U.S. dollars will be subject to federal supervision. ‌Apple Pay‌ is one of the most widely used digital wallets in the United States and falls squarely within this threshold.

The new rule will grant the CFPB powers to proactively examine ‌Apple Pay‌'s compliance with federal consumer financial laws, including privacy protection, fraud prevention, and account stability. The CFPB has highlighted privacy concerns, fraud risks, disruption caused by account closures, and consumer protection as key areas of focus in its supervision.

While the CFPB already had some enforcement authority over ‌Apple Pay‌, it previously relied on responding to violations or direct consumer complaints. The new regulation enables direct and ongoing scrutiny of internal operations, just like the oversight banks and credit unions face. Apple has not yet commented regarding the CFPB's finalized rule, but it did participate in the agency's consultation process, which considered input from stakeholders and financial technology companies.

The CFPB's move reflects a broader global trend toward regulating big tech's involvement in financial services. European regulators have similarly scrutinized ‌Apple Pay‌, including its restriction of near-field communication (NFC) to its devices, which raised antitrust concerns. In the United States, the CFPB's decision is part of an effort to ensure that tech companies offering financial services comply with the same rules as traditional institutions.

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