CFPB Drops Lawsuit Against Walmart and FinTech Company Branch

The Consumer Financial Protection Bureau (CFPB) reportedly dropped a lawsuit against Walmart and Branch that it filed in December.

The agency filed a notice of dismissal Tuesday (May 13), Bloomberg reported Tuesday.

The CFPB sued Walmart and Branch on Dec. 23, alleging that the retailer and the FinTech company illegally opened accounts for gig economy delivery drivers without their consent, required drivers to receive their pay through those accounts, collected junk fees from the drivers, and did not deliver the “instant access” to pay that they had promised.

The agency’s complaint centered on Walmart’s Spark Driver program, which includes gig economy drivers making last-mile deliveries from Walmart stores, and Branch’s deposit account that is accessible through a digital app and debit card.

“Walmart made false promises, illegally opened accounts, and took advantage of more than a million delivery drivers,” Rohit Chopra, who was director of the CFPB at the time, said in a press release announcing the lawsuit.

Reached by PYMNTS on the day the lawsuit was filed, Walmart said in an emailed statement that it was looking forward to defending itself in court.

“The CFPB’s rushed lawsuit is riddled with factual errors and contains exaggerations and blatant misstatements of settled principles of law,” the statement said.

On the same day, Branch said in a statement emailed to PYMNTS that the CFPB’s lawsuit misstates the law and facts and ignores the quick and easy access to funds that Branch provides to Walmart and drivers.

“Despite the company’s extensive cooperation with its investigation, the CFPB refused to engage with Branch in any meaningful way about this matter, instead rushing to file a lawsuit,” the statement said.

This is the latest of several CFPB lawsuits filed under the Biden administration that have been dropped during the new Trump administration.

In April, the agency dropped a case it filed last year against Pennsylvania company Horizon Card Services and parent company Reliant Holdings.

Reliant told Bloomberg at the time the case was dropped, “Today’s decision by the CFPB to voluntarily dismiss this case with prejudice serves as proof that they find their own case to be completely meritless.”

Bloomberg said in its April 23 report that at least a dozen actions launched by former CFPB Director Chopra had been dropped by the Trump administration.

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