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It's not about Apple. It's Apple, Google and Amazon, PayPal, Block, Venmo and Zelle.[1] Everybody with over 50,000,000 transactions annually gets CFPB oversight. Actual rule: [2]

This doesn't really do much. It creates no consumer rights. It does give CFPB examiners the power to examine records and interview people. It means that numbers such as how many PayPal customers have complaints will be looked at. Bank examiners look at error rates, fraud losses, unresolved complaints, and such. The effect will probably be that some of the big players with weak customer service will have to get their act together.

[1] https://www.consumerfinance.gov/about-us/newsroom/cfpb-final...

[2] https://files.consumerfinance.gov/f/documents/cfpb_final-rul...

As someone who runs an actual bank, the headlines around this story are super misleading. In no meaningful way will be Apple be treated like a bank in the way that we generally expect banks to be treated.

Data and identity custodians become money custodians, and vice versa. U.S. CFPB requires that banks export personal data when authorized by consumers, laying the groundwork for commercial data vaults. Could a Personal Data Vault on Mac Mini be connected to Apple Private Cloud Compute (PCC) LLM?

https://www.consumerfinance.gov/about-us/newsroom/cfpb-final...

> The rule requires financial institutions, credit card issuers, and other financial providers to unlock an individual’s personal financial data and transfer it to another provider at the consumer’s request for free.. Consumers will be able to access, or authorize a third party to access, data such as transaction information, account balance information, information needed to initiate payments, upcoming bill information, and basic account verification information. Financial providers must make this information available without charging fees. The rule moves the United States closer to having a competitive, safe, secure, and reliable “open banking” system.

Will Facebook return to the digital currency business? https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Diem_(digital_currency)

If I was a betting man, which I am, I wouldnt draw attention to myself if I was the CFPB

It's written like it's a strange thing:

> role is normally limited to banks and financial services companies.

Was anyone expecting a system that handles 6 trillion dollars a year to not fall under financial regulatory purview?

Which I realise is not the actual thrust of the rule change (obviously they were already under some regs already), but it's just such an odd intro.

Apple withdrawing Pay Later when it became clear they'd need to comply with lending regs is quite telling too. Presumably they were attempting to sneak in the back door and claim "it's tech not banking" and got told they're not above the law when the Truth in Lending Act was confirmed to cover the system.

  Apple will now be treated like a bank

As in ... to big to fail?

A friend of mine , 15 years ago (ios 3), already predicted that the only reason why apple would stash that amount of cash was if they planned on turning into a bank.

Hats off to you, my friend !

I work at a bank (not US one though). Good luck with little everchanging regulation hell all banks are continuously exposed to, it keeps hefty dedicated departments alive and well across whole industry.

Previously: https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=42203655

I am surprised by all those "you are not above the law and you can not do what you want" rulings lately, e.g. USA wanting to separate Google and Chrome. Everyone always says lobbyists and corruption rule the US and only the EU puts up a little fight against big tech (e.g. GDPR) but here are refreshing counter examples.

Money is a human construct, and like its cousin the easter bunny, conforms to an arbitrary set of rules, and valuable things are created outbof thin air. Dont beleave me, well then, next spring, walk thee down to a bustling day care center and seek the sage advice of one of the owl eyed littles , who should they discover your lack of understanding, will, should they see your need, fill you in on the phenominon of the easter bunny. In fact the whole banking industry should be listened too, as if it has a soft pallet, and while earnest, isn't ready to be in charge of anything.