Chime, Inc. d/b/a Sendwave
On October 17, 2023, the Bureau issued an order against Chime, Inc. doing business as Sendwave, a nonbank remittance transfer provider headquartered in Boston, Massachusetts. Sendwave offers and provides consumers international money transfer services, known as remittance transfers, in 50 states and the District of Columbia through its mobile application, the Sendwave App. The app enables users to send money to recipients in several countries primarily in Africa and Asia. The Bureau found that Sendwave violated the Consumer Financial Protection Act of 2010’s (CFPA) prohibition on deceptive acts and practices by misrepresenting to consumers the speed and cost of its remittance transfers. The Bureau also found that Sendwave violated the Electronic Fund Transfer Act (EFTA) and its implementing Regulation E, including Subpart B, known as the Remittance Transfer Rule, by: (1) wrongly requiring customers to waive their rights; (2) failing to provide required disclosures, including the date of fund availability and exchange rate; (3) failing to provide timely disclosures; and (4) failing to investigate errors properly and maintain required policies and procedures for error resolution. The violations of EFTA and Regulation E also constitute violations of the CFPA. The order requires Sendwave to provide approximately $1.5 million in redress to consumers and to pay a $1.5 million civil money penalty. Sendwave must also take measures to ensure future compliance.
CONSUMER CONTACT INFORMATION
Consumers with inquiries related to redress under the order may contact Sendwave by toll-free phone at 1-888-966-8603; by email at help@sendwave.com; or by mail or in person at Sendwave, 100 Hano St, Ste 9, Boston, MA 02134.