CFPB Announces It Will Not Enforce SDLR Payment Provisions: CFPB

The Consumer Financial Protection Bureau (CFPB) announced today that it will not prioritize enforcement or supervision actions related to the Payment Withdrawal and Payment Disclosure provisions of the Payday, Vehicle Title, and Certain High-Cost Installment Loans Regulation—even after those provisions become operative on March 30, 2025. This includes the SDLR payment provisions.

The Consumer Financial Protection Bureau is announcing today that, with respect to the Payday, Vehicle Title, and Certain High-Cost Installment Loans Regulation, it will not prioritize enforcement or supervision actions with regard to any penalties or fines associated with the Payment Withdrawal provisions and the Payment Disclosure provisions once they become operative on March 30, 2025. The Bureau will instead keep its enforcement and supervision resources focused on pressing threats to consumers, particularly servicemen and veterans. The Bureau takes this step in the interest of focusing resources on supporting hard-working American taxpayers, servicemen, veterans, and small businesses. The Bureau is further contemplating issuing a notice of proposed rulemaking to narrow the scope of the rule.

Read more at The Consumer Financial Protection Bureau

Beyond Checks: Why Prepaid Cards and Digital Payments Are the Smarter Choice

Many organizations still rely on paper checks, with no immediate plans to phase them out. However, one of the key issues with checks is that criminals favor them as well.

Last year’s AFP Payments Fraud and Control report found that checks are the most frequently targeted payment method for attempted payments fraud—nearly twice as much as ACH transactions.

In a recent PaymentsJournal podcast, U.S. Bank’s Scott Pope, Senior Vice President, Senior Manager of Risk and Compliance; Consumer and Small Business Payments and Mike Watercott, Vice President and Working Capital Consultant, Treasury Management, as well as Jordan Hirschfield, Director of Prepaid at Javelin Strategy & Research, discussed the vulnerabilities of paper-based payments and the advantages of shifting to electronic transactions, particularly through prepaid disbursement options.

Read more at PAYMENTSJOURNAL.COM

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Our #IRS Interactive Tax Assistant has answers.

Watch this short video to learn more:

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Find out what and when income is taxable and nontaxable, including employee wages, fringe benefits, barter income, and royalties. See #IRS Publication 525: www.irs.gov/pub525

Jose L. Santiago

Public Affairs Specialist

Tax Outreach, Partnership and Education

Email: jose.l.santiago@irs.gov

More than 9 million student loan borrowers could see a big drop in their credit scores this year

Federal student loan borrowers have dealt with a chaotic five years of policy changes, inaccurate payment information, and unfulfilled promises of loan forgiveness. And now, as further uncertainty abounds, many are seeing their payments spike and their credit scores crater. In fact, more than 9 million borrowers "will face significant drops in credit score once delinquencies appear on credit reports in the first half of 2025," the Federal Reserve Bank of New York reported Wednesday.

This is a major change from the early days of the pandemic, when policies put in place by the federal government helped many borrowers stay financially afloat in an economically perilous time. For example, monthly payments and interest accumulation were paused for more than three years, allowing some borrowers to make significant inroads toward paying off their debt for the first time, while the delinquency rate on student loans fell below 1%. As a result, the median credit score for borrowers increased by 11 points from the end of 2019 to the end of 2020.

Read more at FORTUNE

Walmart CEO Doug McMillon says customers are exhibiting ‘stressed behaviors’

Walmart’s market cap dropped by $22 billion after news broke Tuesday that consumer confidence in the U.S. plummeted to a 12-year low. CEO Doug McMillon had just said last month he’d noticed “stressed” behavior from consumers who were more budget-constrained.

Consumer confidence is waning—and it’s hurting retailers big and small. It has even come for the world’s largest retailer, Walmart, which lost nearly $22 billion off its valuation on Tuesday. 

Walmart’s share price dropped about 3% by market close on Tuesday, resulting in its market cap falling to roughly $680 billion. This comes at the heels of mega e-commerce retailer Amazon dethroning Walmart in its quarterly revenue for the first time ever last month. 

Read more at FORTUNE

Chime adds instant loans

The San Francisco-based fintech has debuted an instant loans product that offers three-month installment funds of up to $500 to Chime members.

Neobank Chime has rolled out instant loans, offering customers access to up to $500 at a fixed interest rate, without having to go through a credit check, the company said.

The product, launched Friday, will offer three-month installment loans to pre-approved Chime customers who use the fintech’s checking account for direct deposits. Chime will tap its technology and data sources to determine loan eligibility, and customers pre-approved for a loan will be notified through the Chime app.

The product “is the latest way Chime is helping to unlock financial progress for everyday Americans,” Madhu Muthukumar, chief product officer at Chime, said via email.

Read more at BANKINGDIVE

Tax revenue collected by the IRS set to plummet, report says

Key Points

• IRS officials are expecting tax revenue to drop by more than 10% by April 15, The Washington Post reported.
• Officials said the prediction is directly linked to shifting taxpayer behavior and President Donald Trump’s cuts at the IRS, the paper said.

Officials at the IRS and Treasury Department are anticipating tax revenue to drop more than 10% by April 15 compared with last year, The Washington Post reported Saturday, citing three people with knowledge of the situation.

The loss of tax receipts is expected as more individuals and businesses don’t file taxes or attempt to avoid paying balances owed to the IRS. The amount of lost federal revenue could top $500 billion, the paper said.

Officials said the prediction is directly linked to shifting taxpayer behavior and President Donald Trump’s cuts at the IRS, the Post said.

Read more at CNBC

5 Key Takeaways from Trump’s Payments Modernization Initiative

Yesterday, Donald Trump signed an Executive Order (EO) to modernize the U.S. payments system by phasing out paper checks. The EO mandates that the Federal government will stop issuing paper checks for all disbursements starting September 30, 2025.

The EO, which is targeting waste, fraud, and abuse, will offer both banks and fintechs opportunities and challenges as they seek to bring digital banking to underbanked consumers who need to send payments to and receive payments from the federal government.

So as you begin your second quarter planning initiatives, here are a few things you’ll need to know about this week’s Executive Order.

Real time payments become solidified

Banks’ adoption of FedNow and The Clearing House’s RTP is increasing, and so are consumer expectations for faster fund transfers. This week’s EO stipulates the move to “fast, electronic payments,” which will change the expectations of even underbanked and elderly populations that rely on government monetary benefits.

Read more at FINOVATE.COM

An End to Government Checks? Not So Fast

The White House has issued an executive order eliminating paper checks for government disbursements, effective September 30. While this initiative seems ambitious, the Trump administration has left itself some flexibility. The directive aims to significantly reduce the number of paper checks issued by the federal government, but it won’t eliminate them entirely anytime soon.

According to the order, the federal government will cease issuing paper checks for benefits, intragovernmental payments, vendor payments, and tax refunds. It also states that the government will stop accepting paper checks for payments “as soon as practicable.”

However, as is often the case, there are exceptions. Paper checks can still be issued in certain circumstances, such as for individuals without banking or electronic payment access.

Read more at PAYMENTSJOURNAL.COM

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BNPL is expanding its scope, and banks are finding their way into the narrative

BNPL set sail beyond its retail comfort zone this month, trading shopping carts for cruise decks and exploring new horizons.

As the BNPL market matures, major FIs like Citi and JPM are deepening their involvement, shaping market trends and shifting Wall Street’s perspective on alternative lending.

A quarter into the year, the BNPL scene is bustling with activity — new deals and partnerships are emerging, some more unexpected than others.

The travel installment trend is hitting the high seas

Breaking from its usual retail focus, BNPL traded shopping carts for cruise decks, charting new territory this month. Online travel agency, Expedia Group, teamed up with Upgrade’s BNPL solution, Flex Pay, to offer installment plans for cruise bookings across five of its brands, including Expedia Cruises, Expedia.com, Travelocity.com, Orbitz.com, and Cheaptickets.com.

Read more at TEARSHEET.CO

Top Credit Unions Invest in FinTech Partnerships to Speed Innovation

Innovation is top of mind for consumers — nearly half of them say they would entertain the idea of switching their allegiance to a financial institution (FI) that serves up the digital-first products and services designed to make day-to-day financial management easier.

PYMNTS Intelligence and Velera delved into the paths to success that can be paved for credit unions — available here in the “Roadmap to 2030: The Seven Strategic Planks for Credit Unions to Capture Top of Mind” report.

The conventional wisdom may hold that smaller FIs are at a disadvantage vs. their larger competitors (measured by asset size) when it comes to bringing new digital initiatives from concept to reality. 

But in fact, the top performing credit unions have a few clear avenues of success, demonstrable in the ways they help convert a majority of CU memberships to primary account status. In those instances, members use their CUs as the places where they have their paychecks deposited, their savings accounts established and credit card loyalties — all of which benefit the CU with revenue streams.

Read more at PYMNTS.COM

Latest National Financial Literacy Test Results Reveal Continued Gaps in Financial Capability Across U.S.

The National Financial Educators Council (NFEC) has released the latest data from its annual National Financial Literacy Test, a 30-question assessment that evaluates individuals' knowledge across 10 key areas of money management. Since its inception in 2014, the NFEC has conducted this research to gauge the financial wellness landscape nationwide.

This year’s results, current as of March 2025, reveal that 104,583 Americans have participated in the test, with an overall average score of 67.4%—falling nearly three percentage points below the recommended 70% passing threshold.

The largest participant group continues to be youth aged 15-18, for whom the test was originally designed. Of the 60,811 teens who took the assessment, the average score was 64%, a slight decrease from last year’s 66.2%. Alarmingly, less than half of 15-18-year-olds passed the test, underscoring the persistent need for improved financial education among young people.

Read more at The National Financial Educators Council

3 ways data is transforming the credit union member experience

In an increasingly competitive financial landscape, credit union lenders face immense pressure to drive loan growth while delivering superior member experiences. How can credit unions stay at the forefront of innovation while simultaneously balancing portfolio risk?

The answer is data.

For credit unions, data isn’t just numbers on a spreadsheet—it’s a strategic asset. By leveraging data analytics, credit union lenders can make strategic decisions that significantly enhance member experience. Utilizing source of truth data amps up a credit union’s competitive edge in three ways: accelerated loan decisioning, proactive member insights and improved risk assessment and performance monitoring.

Accelerate and automate with speed

Meeting member expectations for near-instant decisions isn’t just about convenience—it’s a competitive advantage that can create operational efficiencies. Put simply, the speed of approval can significantly influence the choice of a financial institution.

Read more at CUInsight

North Carolina House passes League-supported bill to expand credit union access in “banking deserts”

Raleigh, NC (March 26, 2025) | The North Carolina House of Representatives today passed House Bill 187, a League-advocated measure intended to expand financial service options in areas facing severe bank branch closures. Sponsored by Reps. Julia Howard, John Bell, Jennifer Balkcom, and Ya Liu, the bill received broad bipartisan support and passed by an overwhelming 101-11 margin.

Over the past decade, North Carolina’s most economically distressed counties have lost nearly 40% of bank branches, with about 650 fewer branches statewide than in 2013. Some counties—primarily in eastern North Carolina—now have as few as six branches combined, down from 27.

“This is straightforward for me,” said Rep. Julia Howard (R-Davie). “Bank branches are leaving rural North Carolina, and we have credit unions that want to better serve those communities but need government permission to do so. This bill grants credit unions that permission.”

Read more at CUINSIGHT.COM

How a new generation of line of credit products can help small and midsized businesses fuel economic growth and opportunity: BROOKINGS

As industry analysts, political leaders from both sides of the aisle, and researchers at Brookings and other organizations have shown, America is in the early stages of a large-scale industrial transformation. Hundreds of billions of dollars of public and private investment are rebooting our manufacturing, infrastructure, and energy sectors and stimulating growth in emerging industries. If we take the right steps, this transformation could generate broad-based opportunity—not only for large companies, but also for the small and midsized firms that employ most U.S. workers, build wealth for their owners, and drive innovation. 

While much recent attention has focused on the question of how the federal portion of these massive funding flows will change under the Trump administration and a new Congress, the fact remains that small and midsized businesses account for 50% of U.S. industrial production and 75% of the workforce in supply chain industries. With sweeping changes underway—including the deployment of artificial intelligence, the “silver tsunami” of retiring business owners, and new tariffs and proposed tax reforms—the small and midsized business landscape will be reshaped.

Read more at The Brookings Institution