On October 5, 2016, the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau (“CFPB”) issued its long-awaited final rule to further regulate prepaid card products, or “prepaid accounts” (the “Final Rule” or “Rule”). The Final Rule follows the CFPB’s December 2014 publication of a Notice of Proposed Rulemaking (“Proposed Rule”) on prepaid accounts. As discussed below, the Rule generally takes effect on October 1, 2017 (the “Effective Date”).

The Final Rule weighs in at nearly 1,700 pages, and we continue to work our way through the rule, the official staff interpretations of the Rule (the “Commentary”), and the supplementary information accompanying the Rule. This summary identifies key provisions of the Final Rule addressing scope, disclosures, error resolution and liability, and provisions regarding so-called “hybrid credit-prepaid cards.” A more detailed analysis, including an analysis of the interrelationship between the amendments to Regulation E and Regulation Z, and how those amendments will impact existing prepaid card products and programs, is forthcoming.