Key players include federal agencies (CFPB retreating under Trump’s second term started January 2025, with FTC/OCC/FDIC/states filling gaps), DOJ, state AGs/regulators, and firms like a bankrupt BaaS platform sued by CFPB in August 2025 for CFPA record-keeping failures, plus MoneyLion's November 2025 CFPB settlement ($1.75M restitution for MLA violations)[2][5][7]. Legislation and policy involved the vacated late fee rule (exceeding authority under CARD Act/APA), state AI laws, and emerging 2026 debates on CFPB's open banking rule (expected interim final in 2026), fraud models, fees, plus Trump's supported Credit Card Competition Act (reintroduced 2026, mandating dual networks to cut swipe fees) and 10% APR cap proposals[1][2][5][6].
This shift from federal to fractured state/federal oversight built on 2024's enforcement peak (83 actions vs. 51 in 2025), driven by Trump's rollback of CFPB/FTC, creating a patchwork of state regimes on fees/disclosures/digital assets[3][7]. It's newsworthy now amid March 31 report release, aligning with 2026 forecasts like $13.5T US card transaction value, A2A payment growth, CFPB open banking push, and legislative markups on CCCA, as institutions brace for litigation, AI scrutiny, and open finance data-sharing rules[1][2][4][6].