Statement on Supervisory and Enforcement Practices Regarding the Remittance Rule in Light of the COVID-19 Pandemic
The Bureau recognizes the serious impact that the COVID-19 pandemic is having on consumers and the operations of many entities. The Bureau further recognizes that, for insured institutions providing remittance transfers for their customers, the expiration of the statutory temporary exception to the Remittance Rule’s requirement to disclose the exact costs of remittance transfers will deepen the potential impact on those customers. Moreover, insured institutions that are remittance transfer providers play a vital role in ensuring that consumers can send money abroad. This access is especially critical in responding to the dramatic effects on the finances of consumers, both in the United States and abroad, as a result of the coronavirus crisis. The Bureau is therefore issuing this statement to inform remittance transfer providers of its flexible enforcement and supervisory approach to allow providers to focus their time and attention on ensuring that consumers have such access.
Specifically, the Bureau is announcing that, for remittances that occur on or after July 21, 2020, and before January 1, 2021, the Bureau does not intend to cite in an examination or initiate an enforcement action in connection with the disclosure of actual third-party fees and exchange rates against any insured institution that will be newly required to disclose actual third-party fees and exchange rates after the temporary exception expires and instead continues to provide estimated disclosures that would have been allowed under the temporary exception.