ViClarity Compliance Update

Free webinar for what’s ahead in 2025; CFPB publishes final “open banking” rule; national strategy to encourage financial inclusion, and more. 

The Dakota Credit Union Association’s dues-supported compliance solution –  ViClarity – is a world leader in credit union compliance. To read the complete articles/answers that are linked, you will need to log in with your username and password. If you have questions about establishing your members-only account with ViClarity, click here for detailed instructions or contact John Alexander in the DakCU office.

Town Hall Webinar: Lessons Learned & What’s Ahead for 2025!
The regulatory environment for credit unions is complex and constantly evolving, with an increasing amount of focus on compliance. Join ViClarity on Wednesday, Dec 11 at 1:00 p.m. (CT) for a high-level overview of lessons learned from recent changes and challenges in the financial regulatory landscape. We’ll also discuss upcoming regulatory changes and emerging compliance trends, all of which will require credit unions to adjust their practices in the coming year. This webinar will provide you with tools, strategies and the foresight needed to stay ahead of regulatory shifts and ensure your credit union's continued compliance and success. Register here.
 
CFPB Publishes Final “Open-Banking” Rule
The Consumer Financial Protection Bureau (CFPB) finalized the Personal Financial Data Rights rule which requires financial institutions to “unlock” a consumer’s personal financial data and transfer it to another provider at the consumer’s request for free. The CFPB has indicated that this rule is intended to allow consumers to more easily switch to providers with competitive rates and services. The CFPB is also intending to help lower the cost of loans for the consumer as well as improve customer service across payments, credit, and banking markets. For the purposes of the final rule, the term “data provider” includes depository institutions, such as credit unions. Read the full article here.
 
CFPB Orders State-Chartered Credit Union to Pay Civil Penalties
The Consumer Financial Protection Bureau (CFPB) has issued an order against a credit union for allegedly harming its members through its rollout of a new online banking system. The order required that the credit union make the consumers whole, as well as pay a $1.5 million civil penalty to the CFPB’s victims relief fund. While there were several occurrences which gave rise to the civil penalty, most stemmed from when the state-chartered credit union attempted to launch a new virtual banking platform. The credit union anticipated its banking services would be inaccessible for several days during the transition to the new platform, but the period of inaccessibility was much longer than the credit union had originally anticipated. More on the topic here.
 
FinCEN Updates Jurisdictions with AML, CFT, and CPF Deficiencies
The Financial Crimes Enforcement Network (FinCEN) is informing financial institutions that the Financial Action Task Force (FATF) recently updated its jurisdictions with strategic anti-money laundering (AML), countering the financing of terrorism (CFT), and countering the financing of proliferation of weapons of mass destruction (CPF) deficiencies at the conclusion of its plenary meeting this month. FinCEN has indicated that U.S. financial institutions should consider the FATF’s stance toward these jurisdictions when reviewing their obligations and risk-based policies, procedures, and practices. Read more here.
 
U.S. Treasury Releases National Strategy to Encourage Financial Inclusion
The U.S. Treasury has released the National Strategy for Financial Inclusion in the United States. The report identifies objectives and recommendations for policymakers, industry, employers, and community organizations to advance consumer access to safe financial products and services and strengthen financial security. The strategy is based on five core objectives, each with specific actionable recommendations to guide stakeholders in the public, private, and nonprofit sectors in creating meaningful progress to improve financial inclusion. Learn more here.