Consumer Financial Protection Bureau Settles with Remittance Transfer Provider for Remittance Transfer Rule Violations

WASHINGTON, D.C. – The Consumer Financial Protection Bureau (Bureau) today announced a settlement with Envios de Valores La Nacional (La Nacional) based on the Bureau’s finding that La Nacional violated the Electronic Fund Transfer Act (EFTA) and the Remittance Transfer Rule, which implements EFTA. La Nacional is a large remittance transfer provider incorporated in New York and licensed in 15 states and the District of Columbia. La Nacional sent $2.2 billion in remittance transfers between November 2016 and April 2018 from the United States to recipients in several countries in Central America, South America, the Caribbean, and Africa. Remittance transfers allow consumers to send money abroad, including to family members and friends. The order requires La Nacional to pay a $750,000 civil money penalty and imposes requirements to prevent future violations. This is the fourth action stemming from a Bureau sweep to address violations of the Remittance Transfer Rule.

The Bureau found that, since the 2013 effective date of the Remittance Transfer Rule, La Nacional has engaged in thousands of violations of the Remittance Transfer Rule. Specifically, the Bureau’s investigation found that La Nacional violated EFTA and the Remittance Transfer Rule by failing to honor cancellation requests and failing to refund certain fees and taxes when funds were not available on time. The Bureau also found that La Nacional has failed to maintain appropriate error resolution policies and procedures, to adhere to error resolution requirements, and to provide consumers with reports of investigation findings. The Bureau further found that La Nacional has failed to treat international bill pay services as remittance transfers and to make proper disclosures in numerous instances.

Under the terms of the consent order, in addition to paying a penalty, La Nacional must adopt a compliance plan to ensure that its remittance transfer acts and practices comply with all applicable Federal consumer financial laws and the consent order.

The consent order is available at: https://files.consumerfinance.gov/f/documents/cfpb_envios-de-valores-la-nacional-corp_consent-order_2020-12.pdf

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The Consumer Financial Protection Bureau (CFPB) is a 21st century agency that helps consumer finance markets work by making rules more effective, by consistently and fairly enforcing those rules, and by empowering consumers to take more control over their economic lives. For more information, visit www.consumerfinance.gov.

Official news published at https://www.consumerfinance.gov/about-us/newsroom/consumer-financial-protection-bureau-settles-with-remittance-transfer-provider-for-remittance-transfer-rule-violations/

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