The CFPB has published a notice and request for comments seeking information to inform its consideration of possible changes to its rule on remittance transfers.  Comments are due by June 28, 2019.

The RFI sets forth a series of questions related to the following topics:

• Expiration of the temporary exception. The EFTA provides a temporary exception set to expire on July 21, 2020, that allows insured depository institutions and credit unions to provide estimates of certain amounts required to be disclosed, such as the exchange rate and certain fees.  While the EFTA allowed the Bureau to extend the exception for up to five years from Dodd-Frank’s enactment (i.e. until July 21, 2020), it does not authorize the Bureau to extend the term of the exception beyond the July 21 date or make it permanent.  Since the Bureau recognizes that the expiration of the exception could have negative consequences for institutions that rely on it, the Bureau’s questions are intended to allow it to learn more about the use of the exception and evaluate possible changes to the remittance rule to mitigate the effects of the exception’s expiration.

• Safe harbor threshold. The remittance rule contains a safe harbor threshold under which an entity that provides 100 or fewer remittance transfers in the previous and current calendar years is not considered to be making transfers in the “normal course of its business” so as to trigger coverage by the rule.  The Bureau states that it is concerned about the rule’s effects on certain transfer providers that account for a small number of transfers overall but are covered by the rule because they provide more than 100 transfers a year.  The Bureau’s questions are intended to provide information to inform its consideration of a possible increase in the threshold for the normal course of business safe harbor and a possible asset-based exception for small financial institutions.