When you cannot manage technology, Technology will manage you.
William M. Le Roy, J.D., LL.M.
Founder & Principal at PHOENIX Consulting, LLC.
CFPB vs. Global Tel Link Corporation d/b/a ViaPath Technologies; Telmate, LLC d/b/a ViaPath Technologies; and TouchPay Holdings, LLC d/b/a GTL Financial Services.
On November 14, 2024, the Bureau issued an order against Global Tel Link Corporation, d/b/a ViaPath Technologies (“Global Tel Link”), and its subsidiaries Telmate, LLC, d/b/a ViaPath Technologies (“Telmate”), and TouchPay Holdings, LLC, d/b/a GTL Financial Services (“TouchPay”).
Together with its subsidiaries, Global Tel Link is one of the country’s largest providers of money transfer services to justice-involved consumers. Many consumers who are incarcerated rely on these money transfer services to receive from their friends and family the funds they need to pay for items in correctional facilities’ commissaries, including basic necessities such as food, medicine, and clothing.
The Bureau found that Global Tel Link and its subsidiaries engaged in unfair acts or practices in violation of the Consumer Financial Protection Act (CFPA) by blocking consumers’ accounts when a money transfer was charged-back, which prevented friends and family consumers from sending, and incarcerated consumers from receiving, funds via debit card or credit card transfer. To get an account unblocked, friends and family consumers had to pay the amount of the chargeback plus, in some circumstances, a fee, even though they had not filed the chargeback.
The Bureau also found that Global Tel Link and its subsidiaries engaged in unfair acts or practices in violation of the CFPA when they failed to disclose to consumers complete fee schedules for money transfers, depriving consumers of information "that would allow them to understand how the payment channel, payment method, or amount they deposit may impact the fee they are charged for the money-transfer transaction."
In addition to money transfer services, Global Tel Link and Telmate also provide “Unified Accounts” to friends and family consumers to pay for online messaging, video visitation, and telephone services so they can communicate with people who are incarcerated.
The Bureau found that Global Tel Link and Telmate engaged in abusive acts or practices in violation of the CFPA by, between 2019 and 2023, emptying and then retaining the funds from consumers’ Unified Accounts after a period of inactivity, without sufficiently notifying them.
The order requires Global Tel Link and its subsidiaries to pay at least $2 million in redress to affected consumers whose Unified Accounts were emptied out and to consumers who paid to unblock a trust or commissary account that had been blocked due to a chargeback filed by a third party.
The order further requires them to pay $1 million in civil money penalties. Finally, the order prohibits the companies from blocking accounts due to consumer chargebacks, requires them to disclose complete money transfer fee schedules to consumers, and requires them to return to consumers any funds in inactive Unified Accounts.
PHOENIX Consulting Notes:
What many in our industry fail to understand it that during COVID, thousands of loan servicing, technology, and legal practitioner professionals, all with "insider knowledge" were let go from their positions. Many of them were let go unceremoniously, and some under very hurtful circumstances.
Since that time, many of these individuals have found positions within the federal regulator workspace community, (including the CFPB) where they have been sharing their years of expertise and operational experiences.
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As a result, we now have a regulator community armed with insider specific knowledge that spans multiple industry verticals, including Loan Servicing Operations, Loan Servicing Technologies, Third-party Data sharing weaknesses, internal management culture weaknesses, etc.
What this means for our industry is that we now have a regulator community armed with the nuance's. This truth presents a new set of circumstances that many within our community are ill-prepared to deal with.
If there was ever a time to focus resources upon self-audits, top-down reviews, and process / technology improvements, now is that time.
The CFPB's Consent Order can be found here:
The CFPB's Stipulation can be found here:
The CFPB Press Release can be found here:
The Case Docket Report can be found here: