Google Sues as Consumer Finance Bureau Claims Control Over Defunct Google Pay

Google is suing the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau (CFPB), which on Friday ordered federal supervision of Google Pay, the company’s payment arm.

The CFPB had previously raised concerns that Google Pay created potential risks to consumers.

The agency cited nearly 300 consumer complaints, suggesting that Google might not have properly investigated or explained certain disputed transactions.

In June, Google stopped offering the U.S. version of its Google Pay app that let people send money directly to each other—telling users they will still be able use Google Wallet for tapping to pay in stores and managing their payment methods.

Nonetheless, on Dec. 6 the CFPB publicly released an order asserting that Google Pay met the legal criteria for supervision, although the service has already been suspended in the United States.

In citing Google Pay, the CFPB invoked a largely unused provision of the Dodd-Frank Act that allows the agency to examine non-bank financial institutions “that pose risks to consumers.”

According to the bureau’s announcement, “the CFPB’s order does not constitute a finding that the entity has engaged in wrongdoing.”

Instead, the agency stated that it was acting to enhance transparency and provide better guidance on how it makes determinations, by authorizing “the release of certain information about any final determinations made.”

In response, Google Payment Corp. filed a complaint in the United States District Court for the District of Columbia, challenging the CFPB’s order.

“This is a clear case of government overreach involving Google Pay peer-to-peer payments, which never raised risks and is no longer provided in the U.S., and we are challenging it in court,” a Google spokesperson told The Epoch Times in an email.

The complaint, also filed Dec. 6, asserted that the decision was based on an overly broad interpretation of the agency’s authority.

It alleged that the CFPB relied on what it called a “small number of unsubstantiated complaints” tied to Google Pay and that the order wasn’t related to wrongdoing.

Further, the company contends that there is no ongoing or future risk to consumers since the product no longer exists, and questions whether the agency is authorized to designate a company for supervision based on a product it no longer offers.

The filing argues that the CFPB overstepped its statutory authority and failed to consider Google Pay’s extensive compliance measures, as well as its record of state-level regulatory examinations with no noted consumer protection deficiencies.

The complaint further stated that the bureau’s approach, which included multiple rounds of supplemental filings expanding its theories and evidence, did not adhere to its own procedural requirements.

Google also criticized what it described as a coercive approach, claiming the CFPB threatened to publish the contested designation unless the company consented to supervision, thereby pressuring it to relinquish its statutory right to contest the matter.

Reuters contributed to this report.