Washington, D.C. – Today, Oregon’s U.S. Senator Jeff Merkley teamed up with Representatives Suzanne Bonamici (D-OR-01) and Pramila Jayapal (D-WA-07) to introduce the Stopping Abuse and Fraud in Electronic (SAFE) Lending Act.<\/i> El SAFE Lending Act <\/i>will protect consumers from deceptive and predatory practices that strip wealth from working families by cracking down on some of the worst abuses stemming from the payday lending industry, particularly in online payday lending.<\/p>\n
Under the direction of the Trump Administration, the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau (CFPB) reversed course on national rules protecting consumers from payday loan predators. Without strong CFPB protections at a national level, state laws protecting consumers will be all the more important. <\/p>\n
\n\u201cAntes de que expuls\u00e1ramos a los prestamistas de d\u00eda de pago de Oreg\u00f3n, vi de cerca c\u00f3mo los prestamistas de d\u00eda de pago atraparon a las familias de mi vecindario obrero en un v\u00f3rtice ineludible de deuda\u201d. dijo Merkley. <\/b>“This legislation will ensure important consumer protections, protect state laws like Oregon’s, and create guardrails to prevent consumers from being trapped in an endless cycle of debt. American families work hard for their earnings, and they shouldn’t end up with their financial foundations ruined just because of one medical emergency or a surprise car repair.” <\/p>\n
“It is unacceptable that predatory lenders continue to trap consumers in a cycle of debt, taking advantage of families and individuals in times of financial distress,” dijo la congresista Suzanne Bonamici.<\/b> “I’m pleased to lead the SAFE Lending Act with Senator Merkley and Rep. Jayapal to protect consumers across the country from these dangerous, unscrupulous practices and to provide needed transparency.”<\/p>\n
“Working families across the country do not deserve to have their hard-earned savings stripped away by payday lenders who continue to use predatory tactics to trap people into debt,” said Congresswoman Pramila Jayapal. <\/b>“The SAFE Lending Act will provide important guardrails to make sure working people and their families are protected against payday lenders and puts an end to the dangerous practices that entrap consumers.”<\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n
Many states have enacted tough laws to stop abusive lending, but payday predators have continued using online lending to prey on consumers by hiding behind layers of anonymously registered websites and “lead generators” to evade enforcement. Payday lenders with access to consumers’ bank accounts are also issuing the money from loans on prepaid cards, connected to those accounts, which include steep overdraft fees. When these cards are overdrawn, the payday lender then can reach into the consumer’s bank account and charge the overdraft fee, piling on further debts. Even when the lending violates the law, abusive payday lenders can empty consumers’ bank accounts before individuals have a chance to assert their rights.<\/p>\n
El SAFE Lending Act of 2022<\/i> would put into law three major principles to make the consumer lending marketplace safer and more secure:<\/p>\n
1. Asegurar que los consumidores tengan el control de sus propias cuentas bancarias<\/p>\n
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- Aseg\u00farese de que un tercero no pueda obtener el control de la cuenta de un consumidor a trav\u00e9s de cheques creados remotamente (RCC): cheques de la cuenta bancaria de un consumidor creados por terceros. Para evitar RCC no autorizados, los consumidores podr\u00edan preautorizar exactamente qui\u00e9n puede crear un RCC en su nombre, por ejemplo, cuando viaja.<\/li>\n
- Permitir que los consumidores cancelen un retiro autom\u00e1tico en relaci\u00f3n con un pr\u00e9stamo de poco dinero. Esto evitar\u00eda que un prestamista de d\u00eda de pago por Internet elimine una cuenta corriente sin que el consumidor pueda detenerla.<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n
2. Allow Consumers to Regain Control of their Money and Increase Transparency<\/p>\n
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- Requerir que todos los prestamistas, incluidos los bancos, cumplan con las reglas estatales para los pr\u00e9stamos de poco dinero, similares al d\u00eda de pago, que pueden ofrecer a los clientes en un estado. Muchos estados individuales actualmente tienen leyes mucho m\u00e1s estrictas que el gobierno federal. Actualmente no existe un tope federal para los intereses ni un l\u00edmite para la cantidad de veces que se puede renovar un pr\u00e9stamo.<\/li>\n
- Aumentar la transparencia y crear una mejor comprensi\u00f3n de la industria de pr\u00e9stamos peque\u00f1os al exigir que los prestamistas de d\u00eda de pago se registren en la Oficina de Protecci\u00f3n Financiera del Consumidor.<\/li>\n
- Prohibir los cargos por sobregiro en tarjetas prepagas emitidas por prestamistas de d\u00eda de pago que las utilizan para obtener acceso a los fondos de los consumidores y para aumentar los costos ya exorbitantes de los pr\u00e9stamos de d\u00eda de pago.<\/li>\n
- Requerir que la CFPB supervise cualquier otro cargo asociado con las tarjetas prepagas de d\u00eda de pago y emita una regla que proh\u00edba cualquier otro cargo abusivo en las tarjetas prepagas.<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n
3. Prohibir los generadores de leads y los pr\u00e9stamos de d\u00eda de pago an\u00f3nimos<\/p>\n
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- Algunos sitios web se describen a s\u00ed mismos como prestamistas de d\u00eda de pago, pero en realidad son "generadores de prospectos" que recopilan solicitudes y las subastan a prestamistas de d\u00eda de pago y otros. Esta pr\u00e1ctica est\u00e1 plagada de abusos y ha llevado al cobro de deudas fraudulentas.<\/li>\n
- La Ley de Pr\u00e9stamos SAFE proh\u00edbe los generadores de prospectos y los sitios web registrados de forma an\u00f3nima en los pr\u00e9stamos de d\u00eda de pago.<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n
Joining Merkley in the Senate, the SAFE Lending Act <\/i>is co-sponsored by Senators Edward J. Markey (D-MA), Tina Smith (D-MN), Cory Booker (D-NJ), Bernie Sanders (I-VT), Dick Durbin (D-IL), Tammy Duckworth (D-IL), Chris Van Hollen (D-MD), Dianne Feinstein (D-CA), Ron Wyden (D-OR), Richard Blumenthal (D-CT), Kirsten Gillibrand (D-NY), and Martin Heinrich (D-NM).<\/p>\n
Joining Bonamici and Jayapal in the House, the SAFE Lending Act <\/i>is co-sponsored by Representatives Earl Blumenauer (D-OR), Jesús G. “Chuy” García (D-IL), Sylvia Garcia (D-TX), Sheila Jackson Lee (D-TX), Eleanor Holmes Norton (D-DC), and Katie Porter (D-CA).<\/p>\n
El SAFE Lending Act of 2022 <\/i>is endorsed by Americans for Financial Reform, Center for Responsible Lending, Consumer Action, Consumer Federation of America, National Association of Consumer Advocates, National Consumer League, National Consumer Law Center, Public Citizen, and UnidosUS.<\/p>\n