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The Treasury Department's recent fintech report serves as "a positive step towards creating a regulatory environment that allows credit unions to grow, innovate, and offer better products and services to members," NAFCU President and CEO Dan Berger told Treasury Secretary Steven Mnuchin in a letter Monday. Berger then outlined NAFCU-sought recommendations found within the report.
 
The issues in the report supported by NAFCU include:
 
Small-dollar lending: The Treasury Department recommends that the Bureau of Consumer Financial Protection (formerly the CFPB) rescind its payday lending rule because the industry is already regulated by the states. NAFCU supports exempting credit unions from this rulemaking and backs efforts by the NCUA to promote responsible short-term, small-dollar installment lending through its payday alternative loans (PALs) program. NAFCU has encouraged the bureau to work with the NCUA to accommodate more flexible PALs options.
 
Debt collection: The department recommends that the bureau establish federal standards for third-party debt collectors. However, Treasury does not recommend a broad expansion of the Fair Debt Collection Practices Act to first-party debt collectors. Although the bureau has yet to issue a proposal related to third- or first-party debt collection, NAFCU maintains that credit unions should not be the target of future debt collection rules.
 
Telephone Consumer Protection Act (TCPA) reform: The Treasury Department recommends a number of NAFCU-supported ideas, including creating a reassigned numbers database and establishing a safe harbor for calls to reassigned numbers. In addition, Treasury recommends that the Federal Communications Commission provide clear guidance on methods for consumers to revoke consent. NAFCU also supports Treasury's recommendation that Congress make certain statutory changes to the TCPA.
 
Payments: Following NAFCU's recommendations, the Treasury Department suggests that the Federal Reserve play an operational role in a future faster payments system and develop a framework that emphasizes competitive fairness to credit unions.

Remittances: Treasury supports the bureau's efforts to reassess Regulation E and recommends that it provide more flexibility regarding the issuance of Regulation E disclosures and raise the current transfer safe harbor – aligning with NAFCU's position.
 
Consumer financial data/Section 1033 of the Dodd-Frank Act: The Treasury Department report offers a more expansive view on how consumers may authorize third-party access to their data. NAFCU is hopeful that the report's recognition of liability concerns will ensure that credit unions are not subject to new regulatory burdens that create additional privacy risks.
 
Data security: Like NAFCU, Treasury recommends that Congress enact a federal data security and breach notification law that will protect consumers' financial data and recognize existing federal data security requirements for financial institutions.
 
New credit models: Recommendations from the Treasury Department align with NAFCU's position that regulators should encourage flexibility in terms of allowing the use of more than one credit model.
 
Regulatory review of outdated regulations and electronic signatures: NAFCU supports Treasury's recommendation that financial regulators should periodically review existing regulations to ensure they are fulfilling their original purpose in the least costly manner.