Reports

With home equity “investment” contracts (HEIs), homeowners get cash up front in exchange for a repayment later. But HEIs can be risky.

Forced collection of Social Security benefits increasingly pushes borrowers into poverty and hardship, undermining the purpose of the Social Security program.

Retail credit cards, which tend to be more accessible to consumers with lower credit scores, can pose heightened risk for consumer harm.

Some people become homeowners following divorce or the death of a spouse. CFPB rules and federal housing program guidelines require mortgage servicers to help these homeowners in a timely way. CFPB complaints suggest that some mortgage servicers are making it difficult for surviving spouses and other homeowners to get the help they need.

The CFPB examines consumer risks related to fees on cash-back transactions at retail point of sale, finding that Kroger Co, Dollar General, Dollar Tree, and Family Dollar, charge fees for small amounts while other sampled retailers do not.

Overview of the marketplace for financing residential solar panels and the consumer risks posed by solar-specific loans.

K-12 schools are increasingly offering families the option to pay school-related expenses online via third-party payment processors, presenting new costs and challenges for users.

Gaming marketplaces increasingly incorporate banking and payment systems. Learn how the CFPB is monitoring the use of virtual currencies in online games.

Summarizes initial observations from CFPB’s on-going effort to monitor the return to repayment on federal student loans for risks to consumers.

This issue spotlight is part of the CFPB’s broader effort to monitor the rapidly evolving consumer payments industry, including the expansion of Big Tech companies into this sphere.

This issue spotlight describes the risks workers and consumers face when they become indebted to the employer or the employer’s affiliate as a condition of employment.

Payment apps that allow consumers and businesses to quickly send and send money also often provide the ability for users to store those funds. Funds stored on these platforms often lack deposit insurance coverage and are at risk of loss in the event of financial distress or failure of the entity operating the payment platform.

Medical billing practices can leave people 65 and older with inaccurate bills and attempts to collect amounts they do not owe.

This Issue Spotlight examines challenges faced and consumer complaints made by those who receive public benefits when getting the funds through financial products or services.

Rewards programs that promise consumers financial incentives for spending are a central feature of most consumer credit cards and dominate many issuers’ marketing efforts.

An analysis of the risks that nursing home residents and their caregivers face by assessing consumer complaints, nursing home admission contracts, and debt collection lawsuits.