WASHINGTON– The Consumer Financial Protection Bureau (CFPB) and the Office of the Colorado Attorney General have announced joint, virtual office hours to be held as part of the American Consumer Financial Innovation Network (ACFIN).
Joint office hours provide innovators with the opportunity to discuss issues such as financial technology, innovative products or services, and other matters related to financial innovation with officials from the CFPB and state partners, the organizations stated.
The joint, virtual office hours will be held on Dec 2, 2020. CFPB Director Kathleen L. Kraninger and Colorado Attorney General Philip Weiser will participate in this event.
“The coordination between federal and state partners to promote consumer-beneficial innovation is invaluable to ensuring consumers are protected in the marketplace,” said Kraninger in a statement. “Office hours hosted by ACFIN have provided the Bureau and our state partners with first-hand knowledge of the issues that innovators and consumers are confronting as well as identifying potential solutions that are needed. I look forward to hosting Office Hours with Attorney General Weiser and discussing ways that we can continue to work together on behalf of consumers.”
‘Cheaper & Fairer’
Added said Colorado Attorney General Phil Weiser in a statement, “Innovation in the consumer financial arena holds out the promise for cheaper, fairer, and more accessible credit and banking opportunities. The Colorado Attorney General’s Office is committed to fostering creative and entrepreneurial approaches in this space that offer greater access to responsible credit and are consistent with our commitment to consumer protection. We appreciate the Bureau’s leadership in forming ACFIN and facilitating federal-state partnership.”
In 2019 the CFPB, along with state partners, launched ACFIN to enhance coordination among federal and state regulators as it relates to innovation and to further objectives such as consumer access, competition, and financial inclusion, the Bureau said.
The CFPB added ACFIN provides a platform for members to share information to facilitate coordination on innovation policies and programs.
Other Members
ACFIN members include the Office of the Comptroller of the Currency plus the attorneys general from Alabama, Arizona, Colorado, Georgia, Indiana, Ohio, South Carolina, Tennessee, and Utah; and state financial regulators from Alaska, Colorado, Florida, Georgia, Missouri, Ohio, Tennessee, Utah and Wyoming.
The Bureau said innovators interested in requesting a meeting during the joint, virtual office hours should request a meeting and describe the topic(s) they would like to discuss during their session. Requests must be received by Nov. 23, 2020. A confirmation for the specific meeting time will then be provided to the requester.