Online Payday Lending And The CAN-SPAM Act

Online payday lenders have grown to be a very popular business over the years, but they are also the most controversial. They tend to target people who don’t have proper documentation for their earnings, but are unable or unwilling to successfully copy and paste it from their paycheck stubs. The US Federal Trade Commission has created regulations for such lenders and set out guidelines that will help protect consumers.

The 35 FTC rules cover topics like advertising practices, proper disclosures, contact information, penalties and more. These guidelines are meant to help give consumers better control of the situation when dealing with financial transactions online.

The rules are divided into three categories, and each one deals with a different aspect of online payday lending. So if you’re considering these companies for yourself, you should assess all the information you can find about the particular company and any other reputable options that exist. For example, although some people may want to use an online lender, they may be better off going with a more traditional lender like Western Union or MoneyGram.

Credit Card Lenders And The CAN-SPAM Act

The law passed by Congress and signed into effect by President Bush in 2003 is known as the Controlling the Assault of Non-Solicited Pornography And Marketing Act Of 2003 (CAN-SPAM). It was designed to give people better control of their inboxes and the huge amounts of unsolicited spam that are sent around the world each day.

The law required that senders of commercial emails include certain information, such as an opt-out link, a legitimate physical address, and a valid phone number in the email they send. If there are indications that the email in question is unsolicited, it can be reported to the FTC which then investigates it for possible violations of the CAN-SPAM Act.

The rules are covered under a number of different sections including rules on who can send out messages and what kinds of messages they can send out. There are also special rules for sensitive financial transactions like payment processing and online payday lending.

Some of the rules that apply to credit card lenders who want to send out commercial emails include a requirement that they have a consent form on file or have reasonable proof that the recipient has consented to receive the messages. The law also requires them to include a valid physical address and a valid phone number. This means that if they have an 800 number, it should be included in the sender information. If they don’t, then it shouldn’t be there.

The rules also state that the subject line must be “clear and conspicuous” so that it will get the reader’s attention when they scan their inbox. This means that disclosures should be placed in plain view where there is no confusion as to what the email is about. It can’t look like part of a form letter.

There are also rules about opt-out information, but these are pretty standard for anyone who follows the CAN-SPAM Act at all. Any commercial email can contain an opt-out message at the bottom of it, and it must contain a working address to which people can write if they want to opt out of future messages.

Conclusion

By now you should have a good understanding of the basic legal rules that apply to how online payday lenders and credit card companies are regulated. It’s important to understand both the CAN-SPAM Act and the FTC rules so that you remain in control of your inbox, so you can do all these things as needed. If any rules are broken, then there are always other agencies people can turn to for help, like the FTC or the State Attorney General’s offices.