The Consumer Financial Protection Bureau charged one of the nation's largest payment processors, Meracord LLC, with a $1.4 million fine.
The Washington-based processor was fined for processing $11.5 million in illegal upfront fees from consumers on behalf of debt-relief service providers. The CFPB, created under the 2010 Dodd-Frank reform law, began the investigation after previously taking action against several of the providers that Meracord processed payments for.
"If a business is enabling bad actors that hurt consumers, then we will use our authority to stop them. We are making the point here and it applies to all companies that do business with consumer financial providers," said the CFPB's Deputy Director Steve Antonakes.
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