DALLAS, May 2, 2022
/PRNewswire/ -- MoneyGram International, Inc. (NASDAQ: MGI), a
global leader in the evolution of digital P2P payments, today
responded to several inflammatory and misleading statements made
about the Company by Rohit Chopra,
Director of the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau ("CFPB" or the
"Bureau"). MoneyGram issued the following statement:
"Over the past week, CFPB Director Rohit
Chopra made additional false, inflammatory and misleading
statements about MoneyGram. MoneyGram is a consumer-first company
with an industry leading compliance and consumer protection
program. While we prefer to not comment on pending litigation, we
cannot stand by quietly while unfair and disparaging public
statements are made about our Company and our dedicated employees
working hard every day to protect consumers from harm.
Last week, Director Chopra on multiple occasions referred to
MoneyGram as a 'repeat offender' company. This is false. The truth
is that before the CFPB filed its lawsuit against the Company on
April 21, 2022, MoneyGram had never
before been subject to any enforcement action by the CFPB, nor had
MoneyGram ever been publicly accused of violating any of the laws
or regulations under the CFPB's purview.
MoneyGram cares deeply about consumer protection and has
cooperated fully with the CFPB during its investigation. The
Company has tried to get the Bureau to share the factual basis for
its claims, but they have refused to do so. Still to this
day, the CFPB has failed to make anything beyond vague statements
to support its allegations and has not identified any specific acts
to justify its claims.
The Director's public statements suggest that the CFPB has
uncovered widespread and systemic issues involving 'substantial'
consumer harm. In fact, data from the CFPB's own consumer complaint
portal strongly suggest otherwise. For example, a search of the
CFPB's Consumer Complaint Database shows that in the nine years
that the Remittance Rule has been in place, only 351 complaints
were made to the CFPB against MoneyGram for failing to deliver
money when promised. These complaints represent
0.0001% of the over 325 million
transactions subject to the Remittance Rule that MoneyGram
processed during that time period. In New
York, the total number of complaints in the CFPB Database
for that time period was 28, approximately three per year. There
have simply never been widespread or systemic violations by
MoneyGram of the Remittance Rule.
Director Chopra is right to focus on the very real issue of
consumer fraud in the financial services industry. MoneyGram cares
deeply about this issue, too. Unfortunately, the Director failed to
acknowledge the tremendous achievements by MoneyGram to prevent
fraud and protect consumers. After investing more than $800 million over the past decade to enhance its
compliance program, MoneyGram is now an industry leader in
compliance and fraud detection. The number of consumer fraud
complaints MoneyGram receives as a percentage of total money
transfer transactions has consistently decreased over the past
seven years. In 2021, they were only 0.013% of the 95
million money transfer transactions processed by MoneyGram.
MoneyGram stands as an industry leader in compliance. The U.S.
Department of Justice and New York Department of Financial Services
("NYDFS") have both recently recognized MoneyGram for its
substantial commitment to compliance and fraud prevention.
MoneyGram is also routinely praised by law enforcement agencies
including the FBI and Department of Homeland Security for its
cooperation with their investigations.
We would also like to address here the recent rumors about
potential follow-on state investigations into MoneyGram. MoneyGram
is not aware of any such investigations. After the CFPB filed its
lawsuit, MoneyGram proactively notified each of its state
regulators about the case. This followed MoneyGram's public
announcement of the lawsuit with the Securities and Exchange
Commission on Form 8-K filed on April 22,
2022. To date, only the Banking Division of the NYDFS has
contacted MoneyGram with questions around the CFPB case and
MoneyGram is openly engaging with NYDFS to answer its questions. Of
note, the Company had previously discussed the case with NYDFS's
enforcement division and provided substantial information to NYDFS
in response to their requests. After its review, NYDFS's
enforcement division chose not to join the CFPB's lawsuit.
MoneyGram has proudly been in good standing with its money
remittance regulators in the U.S. and around the world since it
obtained its licenses decades ago and looks forward to continuing
these open and positive relationships. Those of us at MoneyGram
care deeply about our consumers and will continue to strive to
provide the best possible consumer service while remaining
vigilantly focused on compliance.
Finally, MoneyGram continues to work toward closing the
previously announced merger transaction, with an expected closing
date to occur sometime in the fourth quarter of 2022."
About MoneyGram International, Inc.
MoneyGram International, Inc. (NASDAQ: MGI), a global leader
in the evolution of digital P2P payments, delivers innovative
financial solutions to connect the world's communities. With a
purpose-driven strategy to mobilize the movement of money, a strong
culture of fintech innovation, and leading customer-centric
capabilities, MoneyGram has grown to serve over 150
million people in the last five years. The Company leverages its
modern, mobile, and API-driven platform and collaborates with the
world's top brands to serve consumers through its
direct-to-consumer digital channel, global retail network, and
embedded finance business for enterprise
customers. MoneyGram is also a leader in pioneering
cross-border payment innovation and blockchain-enabled settlement.
For more information, please visit ir.moneygram.com, follow
@MoneyGram on social media, and explore the website and mobile app
through moneygram.com.
Media Contact
Sydney Schoolfield
media@moneygram.com
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SOURCE MoneyGram