The Consumer Financial Protection Bureau (CFPB) has ordered international remittance company Servicio UniTeller to pay a $700,000 penalty.
This penalty is in response to multiple violations for the requirements governing electronic money transfers, including failing to refund customers after the company made money transfer errors.
The CFPB claims it found Servicio UniTeller failed to comply with many Electronic Fund Transfer Act requirements, including failing to provide accurate disclosures to senders.
Due to this, Servicio UniTeller has been ordered to bring its business practices into compliance with the law, reimburse harmed consumers, and to pay a $700,000 penalty.
Servicio UniTeller is a nonbank remittance transfer provider headquartered in New Jersey. The company, which is a subsidiary of Grupo Financiero Banorte, offers international money transfers, including remittance transfers to consumers in 48 states and the District of Columbia. It also has payment locations in over 70 foreign countries.
Between 2013 and 2021, the CFPB found that Servicio UniTeller repeatedly failed to comply with the Electronic Fund Transfer Act and requirements under its Remittance Transfer Rule (a subpart of Regulation E) related to error resolution, customer disclosures, policy and procedure, and document retention.
It also claims the remittance company failed to timely refund certain fees to senders.
The CFPB stated that Servicio UniTeller did not refund fees when a sender properly submitted an error notice, substantiated by Servicio UniTeller, that the recipient of the remittance transfer was unable to access the funds by the promised date.
The company also failed to develop and maintain sufficient written error-resolution policies and procedures, as well as failed to retain evidence showing its compliance.
Finally, the CFPB stated that Servicio UniTeller failed to accurately inform senders of their cancellation rights and didn’t accurately disclose the date the funds would be available.
CFPB Director Rohit Chopra said, “Consumers paid fees to Servicio UniTeller when they sent money to their families overseas, but when the money did not arrive on time, Servicio UniTeller failed to provide appropriate refunds.
“The CFPB and state regulators are carefully watching remittance providers to ensure they follow the law.”
As part of the penalty, Servicio UniTeller will refund around $30,000 to harmed customers. It will also pay a $700,000 fine.
Earlier this week, The National Commission for Technology and Freedoms, France’s privacy watchdog, slapped Microsoft with a €60m fine.
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