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The CFPB issued a policy statement suspending supervisory and enforcement action against certain remittance transfer providers under the temporary fee and exchange rate exception. The bureau provided the relief amid the coronavirus pandemic in order to "enable insured institutions to continue to focus on the immediate needs of their customers" who may be sending money to family or friends in other countries.

NAFCU has continuously pushed the CFPB to reduce the remittance rule’s burden on credit unions and this policy statement will prevent negative operational impacts on credit unions that offer remittance services.

The remittance rule has a temporary fee and exchange rate exception that is set to expire July 21. In its statement, the bureau said it "will neither cite supervisory violations nor initiate enforcement actions against insured institutions for continuing to provide estimates to consumers under the temporary exception, instead of actual amounts."

The bureau last year issued proposal related to its remittance rule to address the expiration of the temporary exception as well as the safe harbor threshold. Although NAFCU had previously urged the bureau to adopt an even larger change, the proposed rule included an increase to the safe harbor threshold from its current level of 100 transfers in the previous and current calendar year to 500 transfers.

NAFCU met with the bureau last month to discuss credit unions' remittance concerns, and NAFCU Senior Counsel for Research and Policy Andrew Morris sent a letter to the CFPB in January addressing NAFCU's continued concerns about remittance transfers under the Electronic Fund Transfer Act.

NAFCU will continue to encourage regulators to provide credit unions with even more relief amid the coronavirus and keep credit unions informed of regulatory changes.