An Act to create 203.04 (2) (i), 203.04 (5) and 203.09 of the statutes; Relating to: earned wage access services.
Summary
AB1025 creates a new set of statutory provisions governing earned wage access services in Wisconsin. Earned wage access products let workers access wages they have already earned before their regular payday, often for a fee. The bill specifically limits the fees a licensee may charge for these advances: no more than $5 for advances of $75 or less, and no more than $7.50 for advances over $75, with those caps subject to future inflation adjustments.
The bill also requires the Department of Financial Institutions to adjust the maximum fee amounts beginning January 1, 2030, and every five years thereafter, using changes in the U.S. Consumer Price Index for All Urban Consumers. Those updated fee caps must be posted on the department’s website. In addition, the bill adds an applicability section stating that several existing Wisconsin consumer credit, lending, and related statutes do not apply to earned wage access services when offered by a licensee in compliance with the new chapter provisions.
Impact
AB1025 amends Wisconsin’s financial services statutes by creating new rules for earned wage access providers and carving those services out from the application of several existing consumer finance, credit, and related laws. The bill establishes fee ceilings, an inflation-adjustment mechanism, and a regulatory exemption framework that affects licensed providers, consumers using wage-access products, and the Department of Financial Institutions as the administering agency.
Sentiment
Based on the text provided, there is no recorded committee testimony or vote history to indicate controversy or support levels, so the overall sentiment cannot be measured from discussion records. The bill’s structure suggests a regulatory approach that balances consumer access to earned wages with fee limitations and oversight, which is typically intended to be seen as consumer-protective while still allowing the product to operate in the market.
Contention
No committee transcripts or votes were provided, so no specific points of contention are documented in the available record. The most likely areas of debate, given the bill’s content, would be whether the fee caps are too high or too low, whether earned wage access should be exempt from existing lending and credit laws, and whether the inflation-adjustment schedule provides enough consumer protection over time.
Wages; creating the Oklahoma Earned Wages Access Services Act; allowing an earned wage access services provider to provide certain services. Effective date.
Wages; creating the Oklahoma Earned Wages Access Services Act; allowing an earned wage access services provider to provide certain services. Effective date.
Wages; creating the Oklahoma Earned Wage Access Services Act; requiring the Department of Consumer Credit to administer act; establishing certain duties of earned wage access services providers. Effective date.