NCLC, on behalf of its low-income clients, submitted a Statement for the Record in connection with the January 13, 2026 hearing on “Delivering for American Consumers: A Review of FinTech Innovations and Regulations” before the Subcommittee on Digital Assets, Financial Technology and Artificial Intelligence of the House Committee on Financial Services.
The statement emphasized that innovations can take many forms. New forms of technology can improve financial services, reduce costs, increase access, and create new opportunities. But the uses of new technologies and business models are not inherently positive. They can also exacerbate old problems, be used to evade consumer protections, and create news risks for both individuals and the economy as a whole. The statement highlighted:
- The Committee should oppose the “Earned Wage Access Consumer Protection Act.” The bill would fuel the ongoing affordability crisis by insulating a new form of payday loan that takes hundreds of dollars a year from low-wage workers from any meaningful federal and state protections, including those for servicemembers.
- Buy now, pay later loans, when used sparingly, can offer benefits over credit cards, but the loans have many risks and the business model is to push growing, unaffordable debt onto struggling families. Congress should codify the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau’s 2024 BNPL rule and go farther to protect people from a new form of debt trap.
- Artificial intelligence (AI) will have many positive uses in financial services and will also accelerate dangerous business practices and create new serious risks as yet unknown. Congress should reject bills, such as the discussion draft of the Model Risk Management Modernization Act or H.R. 4801 (Hill), the Unleashing AI Innovation in Financial Services Act, that create “alternative compliance” or “sandbox” programs allowing companies that use AI or other so-called “innovative” products to obtain waivers of federal consumer protection laws. Congress should also support states’ role in our federalist system and oppose President Trump’s efforts to block both red and blue states from protecting the public from dangerous uses of AI.
The full statement is available here.
See all resources related to: Consumer Protection Regulation, High-Cost Credit