Google payment oversight halted by consumer agency, claims Google representative
Rewritten Article:
Looks like Google Payment Corp is off the hook, bucko! A Google rep spilled the beans on Thursday, announcing that the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau (CFPB) has decided to back off from supervising Alphabet's payment arm – a move that's a 180 from the Biden-era plan.
Back in December, the CFPB had its sights set on Alphabet's payment arm, stating that they were ordering federal supervision due to potential consumer risks. But Google wasn't about to take that lying down, firing back with a court challenge, protesting that the supervision was unwarranted and based on unsubstantiated complaints about a discontinued product.
With the CFPB dropping their supervision efforts, Google has agreed to call off its legal dogfight. According to a company spokesperson, they're straight-up stoked about the CFPB's "common-sense" decision to drop the issue. You might recall that Google shuttered the U.S. version of its Google Pay "P2P" product way back in June 2024, all for business reasons, long before the CFPB came knocking.
Rumor has it that the acting CFPB director, Russell Vought – who's got his stripes from President Trump – called the supervision plan an "unwarranted use of the Bureau's powers and resources." The CFPB has kept mum so far, ignoring our request for comment on the matter.
Under Biden, the CFPB had been keeping a closer eye on the financial services scene in Silicon Valley instead of traditional banks. In the lawsuit filed after the CFPB's December announcement, Google Payment argued that the regulator's decision was based on a tiny handful of unsubstantiated complaints about a product no longer available in the U.S. – a situation that didn't exactly make sense, as far as the Google spokesperson José Castañeda was concerned.
Stay tuned to see how this playing field renavigates as the regulators readjust their focus. For now, it looks like all's well for Google Payment Corp in the U.S.!
Enrichment Data:
Sources:
- Bloomberg News
- CNBC
- The Wall Street Journal
- The New York Times
- The CFPB, under the leadership of acting director Russell Vought, has decided to abandon its supervision plan over Google Payment Corp, as announced on Thursday, marking a significant shift from the Biden-era plan.
- The CFPB's decision comes after Google challenged the supervision in court, arguing that it was unwarranted and based on unsubstantiated complaints about a discontinued product.
- With the CFPB dropping its supervision efforts, Google has agreed to call off its legal dogfight, expressing its satisfaction with the "common-sense" decision made by the regulatory body.
- In the technology sector, Google's victory is seen as a potential relaxation of oversight on tech companies' finance businesses, a trend that may influence the future regulation of digital payment platforms.
