Some clues as to what the CFPB might initially be focused on as they wade into the Payday Industry
Some clues as to what the CFPB might initially be focused on as they wade into the Payday Industry
Today my good friend Max Wood at Borrow Smart Alabama shared the CFPB Blog of Ballard Spahr LLP, called the “CFPB Monitor.” Max and Borrow Smart are at the forefront of the CFPB issue and his compliance efforts via Borrow Smart alongside Ballard Spahr have been way ahead of the curve.
As the CFPB evolves we get clues along the way of what might be expected. On April 7, 2014 CFPB General Counsel Meredith Fuchs released some clues in reference to several of the industry areas the CFPB is looking at, and of importance to Credit Access Business.com visitors, she made reference to “payday lending.” See below for an excerpt from Ballard Spahr’s CFPB Monitor Blog:
“Turning to payday lending, Fuchs cited the recent CFPB report in explaining that the CFPB remains concerned with consumers’ sustained use of short-term, small dollar loan products, the amortization of these products and the use of these products by the elderly and others that depend on fixed government benefits. While Fuchs vacillated on the specific timing for payday lending rule-making, she did indicate that the CFPB would continue to aggressively police the ACH, lead generators and other “choke points” that payday lenders rely upon to reach consumers. Given that the CFPB does not intend to commission any further studies analyzing the benefits of payday loans, we anticipate that the proposed rule will impose rigid, arbitrary limits on numerous payday loan features.”
It will be interesting to see how these fundamentals are addressed in the rules that eventually get put into effect. Many operators I know would agree that balanced and reasonable regulation that address the named concerns above.
Contact Michael Brown of CAB Consulting if you have comments or questions. Call 214-293-8676, or email Michael@CreditAccessBusiness.com!
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Strong job market could mean small employers are getting “ghosted” how can you prevent it?
Strong job market could mean small employers are getting “ghosted” how can you prevent it?
This week an interesting article came out in Fox Business (written in Motley Fool) titled “4 reasons hourly workers reject jobs – and what to do about them.” Many of small business owners in Texas could be seeing a rise in the so-called millennial generation phenomenon of “ghosting.” According to the Urban Dictionary “Ghosting” means the shutdown/ceasing of communication with someone without notice. Check it out: https://www.urbandictionary.com/define.php?term=Ghosting
In the cases where Ghosting occurs, it starts with a “no show” of usually a newer hire within the first week or two of employment. The ghosting employee does not call, text, or email that they have quit the job. Also they either turn off their phone or block your phone number and send you straight to voicemail when you try and call. It is truly a strange and often occurring phenomenon…gone are the days when someone has the personal honor to at least let someone know that you have abandoned a job so they can make arrangements to run their business. C’mon kids!
In these boom times in the Texas job market it is likely that the new hire knows they can walk into just about any local service business of their choosing and get a new job that day. The article shares four approaches that could help our payday loan, title loan, and cash advance business owners in Texas to address the problem, very glad to share!
“1. Location
Workers want a short, convenient commute. When interviewing, the person wants the job at the time and will not be considering how inconvenient a long commute might be. Do some thinking for them and consider how long that drive is before you hire them, and they ghost you on day 3 because the drive it too long.
2. Scheduling
These days, workers want the option to choose their own hours and uphold a schedule that fits into their lives. If you’re too rigid with your schedule, you may lose out on talent that could otherwise serve your business well. Many of us have set store hours but varying things in terms of who opens and closes from week to week could be an option. But when there’s room for flexibility, it pays to offer it.
3. Job function
Nobody wants to sign up for a boring job, or one whose daily tasks seem glaringly unpleasant. In today’s competitive job market, hourly workers can afford to be more choosey about how they spend their days, so if you’re looking to fill some positions that are heavy on grunt work, you may need to rethink those roles and find ways to incorporate some more appealing tasks into the mix.
4. Pay
It stands to reason that hourly workers would rather earn more money than less. And in some cases, a small bump in pay could spell the difference between attracting talent versus having your job offers rejected. To this end, review your compensation strategy and make sure the hourly wages you’re dishing out are on par with your competition. If they’re not, you may need to shift some resources to pay your workers better.
The right hourly workers can add a lot of value to your business, and not having to pay on a salary basis means that you, as an employer, get more flexibility with regard to how much those employees cost you.
But the last thing you want to do is spin your wheels in an effort to attract and keep hourly workers, so if you’ve been struggling to hire or keep your team members, keep the above points in mind. In many cases, being a bit more generous, creative, and flexible could help you grow your staff and get your business the support it needs to thrive.”
Here is a link to The Motley Fool / Fox Business article cited above: https://www.foxbusiness.com/small-business/4-reasons-hourly-workers-reject-jobs-and-what-to-do-about-them
This blog post was written by Michael Brown, President of CAB Consulting and the Texas Organization of Financial Service Centers. He can be reached at 214-293-8676, or Michael@CreditAccessBusiness.com.
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Pursuing or Threatening Criminal Charges
Pursuing or Threatening Criminal Charges
Frequently the topic of pursuing or threatening criminal charges against a customer who has defaulted on a loan via a Non-Sufficient Funds check or ACH debit comes up as I work with CAB Consulting clients. My understanding has always been that unless the customer is guilty of outright fraud that you cannot pursue criminal charges, go to Sherrif’s hot check division, etc. “Outright fraud” would be an umbrella term for forgery, fraud, theft, or other criminal conduct.
On October 14th, the OCCC released an Advisory Bulletin on this subject that makes some important clarifications. OCCC noted that there must be specific evidence of criminal conduct, intent to commit a criminal act, the consumer must have knowingly or intentionally violated criminal law, and that these criteria would need to be proven beyond a reasonable doubt. Pursuing consumers who did not exhibit any of these behaviors would be a violation of Texas Finance Code and the Texas debt Collection Act.
NSF checks and NSF ACH debit returns simply are not something we can pursue criminal charges on. If the OCCC feels this issue is worthy of an Advisory Bulletin then I am confident that research of this activity will be added to the examination checklist.
See below for a link to the Advisory Bulletin. As always, feel free to call or email Michael Brown at CAB Consulting. 214-293-8676 or Michael@CreditAccessBusiness.com.
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Operator Alert: Tell employees to pay extra close attention to cash in store
Operator Alert: Tell employees to pay extra close attention to cash in store
There is some funny money making the rounds in Abilene and the East Texas region. There were two incidents recently that were uncovered. The way money usually works is that it will circulate in a region so I want to make sure everyone is upping the amount of attention put towards identifying counterfeit bills.
Incident #1: Fake ‘movie’ money used at movie theater and other Abilene businesses (KTXS News).
Abilene police are investigating a case they hope will have a Hollywood ending. APD’s Fraud Unit says suspects have made purchases at more than 20 local businesses using counterfeit bills made specifically for use in the movies. Ironically, one of the places that accepted the funny money was a movie theater.
Link: http://www.ktxs.com/news/fake-money-used-as-movie-prop-circulating-in-abilene/167827285
Incident #2: Movie money found in East Texas. (Longview Journal)
There have been additional news articles on the use of the counterfeit “movie” money in East Texas as well. The Longview Journal posted an article that the “movie” money has been reported in other parts of East Texas such as: Lufkin, Diboll, and Jasper.
Link: https://www.news-journal.com/news/2016/aug/29/fake-movie-money-hits-et/
This blog post was written by Michael Brown, President of CAB Consulting and the Texas Organization of Financial Service Centers. He can be reached at 214-293-8676, or Michael@CreditAccessBusiness.com.
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