The US House of Representatives has followed the Senate in voting to overturn a Consumer Financial Protection Bureau rule that would give the watchdog oversight of tech giants such as Apple, Google and X, that offer digital payment apps and wallets.
Voting along party lines, the House passed a Congressional Review Act resolution saying that “such rule shall have no force or effect”.
With the Senate and House both voting to ditch the rule, it now falls to President Trump to sign off on the change.
Finalised late last year, the CFPB rule is designed to ensure that the big nonbank players follow federal law just like large banks, credit unions, and others already under its supervision.
In addition to the likes of Google, Apple and PayPal, it would likely impact X, which has outlined plans to add payment services this year.
X owner Elon Musk has been leading the Trump administration's charge against the CFPB through the Department of Government Efficiency (DOGE). Last month he posted “CFPB RIP” with a tombstone emoji on his site.
The CFPB had argued that the rule was necessary because the likes of Apple Pay and PayPal have gained significant market share in recent years without receiving the same regulatory scrutiny and oversight as traditional FS players.
However, Republican Representative Mike Flood took to X to claim: “Rolling back this regulation is critical to ensuring that the CFPB doesn’t become a barrier to innovation for job creators across America."
Since Trump fired director Rohit Chopra soon after taking office, the CFPB has been busy scaling back its activities under acting Director Russell Vought. In recent weeks it has also dropped a host of lawsuits, including against JPMorgan Chase, Bank of America and Wells Fargo over fraud on the Zelle P2P payments network.
Last month, it performed another U-turn, dropping an interpretive rule declaring that pay-in-four BNPL lenders should be treated in the same way as credit cards.
And, this week the House of Representatives also voted to disapprove the watchdog's rule capping overdraft fees. The rule would have forced banks and credit unions with assets exceeding $10 billion to cap overdraft fees at $5 or set fees to cover only costs and losses, or comply with standard lending laws.