Consumer Watchdog Halts Biden-Era Google Payment Supervision (1)

The Consumer Financial Protection Bureau discontinued its order designating the supervision of Alphabet Inc.’s Google Payment Corp., reversing a Biden-era decision to monitor the nonbank financial platform.

The supervision of Google Payment would be “an unwarranted use of the Bureau’s powers and resources,” acting CFPB director Russell Vought, who was appointed by President Donald Trump, said in a May 7 memo seen by Bloomberg News.

The CFPB didn’t immediately respond to a request for comment.

The agency under then-CFPB director Rohit Choprasaid in December that Google Payment was already under its enforcement jurisdiction, but that it also met the “legal requirements” for supervision. The company, however, discontinued the payments offering in the agency’s cross hairs last June.

Google sued the CFPB over the matter but will now drop that lawsuit, according to company spokesperson José Castañeda.

“It didn’t make sense for the CFPB to supervise a product that never posed any risks and is no longer available in the US,” Castañeda said in an emailed statement. “We appreciate their common-sense decision to drop this issue.”

Under then-President Joe Biden, Chopra and the CFPB prioritized enforcement and supervision of nonbank financial companies, including those that offer digital wallets and payments apps. Many of those policies and lawsuits have been discontinued, though, as the agency shifts its focus to banks rather than non-deposit-taking firms.

Read More: CFPB to Cut Financial Firm Supervision, Curb Fintech Focus

(Adds that CFPB didn’t respond to a request for comment in the third paragraph.)

To contact the reporter on this story:
Paige Smith in New York at psmith494@bloomberg.net

To contact the editors responsible for this story:
Sally Bakewell at sbakewell1@bloomberg.net

Megan Howard, Daniel Taub

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