Rewards Programs and Co-Brand Relationships Between Credit Card Issuers and Merchants - The Consumer Finance Podcast
Do Gift Cards Keep on Giving How the Law Affects the Consumer, the Retailer and the State
On 8 July 2025, the US Department of Justice Antitrust Division (the Division) unveiled a new Whistleblower Rewards Program (the Whistleblower Program) that provides a significant monetary incentive—up to 30% of the recovered...more
- What is new: DOJ’s Antitrust Division announced its Whistleblower Rewards Program, which offers up to 30% of criminal fines over $1 million to individuals reporting original information about eligible antitrust and related...more
Key Takeaways - DOJ Launches Whistleblower Rewards Program: The Department of Justice (DOJ), in partnership with the United States Postal Service (USPS), introduced its first-ever Antitrust Whistleblower Rewards Program,...more
On July 8, 2025, the Department of Justice Antitrust Division (the Division) announced a new program that could provide monetary payouts to individuals who report criminal antitrust violations. The program, described in a...more
On July 8, the Antitrust Division of the United States Justice Department (“DOJ Antitrust”) announced a Whistleblowers Rewards Program (“Program”) in partnership with another member of the Procurement Collusion Strike Force,...more
Taking your retail brand to the next level and attracting an equity investment based on the value of your brand requires not only business acumen but strategies for brand protection. Protecting your trademarks by way of...more
On July 8, 2025, the Antitrust Division of the U.S. Department of Justice (“DOJ”) announced the launch of a whistleblower rewards program in partnership with the U.S. Postal Service (“USPS” or the “Postal Service”) and the...more
On July 8, the DOJ Antitrust Division (Division) announced the creation of its first-ever Whistleblower Rewards Program (Rewards Program). The new Rewards Program brings the Division in line with other DOJ whistleblower...more
The Department of Justice Antitrust Division (DOJ Antitrust Division) has announced that it is launching a Whistleblower Rewards Program that will offer monetary awards to individuals who report antitrust crimes. The new...more
On Tuesday, July 8, the DOJ Antitrust Division announced a first-of-its-kind Antitrust Whistleblower Rewards Program (the “Program”). But the Program’s fine print suggests it may not be as lucrative for whistleblowers as it...more
Cartel conduct tends to occur in secret. As a result, the Antitrust Division has long focused on augmenting its abilities to identify conspiracies and to incentivize self-reporting of conduct that may otherwise go undetected....more
On July 8, the US Department of Justice’s (DOJ) Antitrust Division, in partnership with the United States Postal Service (USPS), announced the launch of a Whistleblower Rewards Program. This new initiative is designed to...more
In this article, we share a timeline of our monthly "bites" for 2024 applicable to the credit card industry. The year saw the CFPB give a fair amount of attention to credit card products, with a focus on pricing....more
On January 15, 2025, days before the start of the Trump administration, the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau (CFPB) published a proposed interpretive rule (Proposed Rule) seeking public comment on how the Electronic Fund...more
Welcome to Wiley’s update on recent developments and what’s next in consumer protection at the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau (CFPB) and Federal Trade Commission (FTC). In this newsletter, we analyze recent regulatory...more
The Consumer Financial Protection Bureau (CFPB) has cautioned companies against what it views as illegal or unlawful credit card rewards practices, sharing new research about retail credit card issues and unveiling a novel...more
On December 18, 2024, the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau (the “CFPB”) issued a circular to other law enforcement agencies warning that some credit card companies operating rewards programs may be breaking the law, and...more
On December 18, the CFPB issued a circular titled “Consumer Financial Protection Circular 2024-07,” which provided an analysis of whether credit card issuers and their partners may violate federal consumer protection law by...more
Some credit card companies operating rewards programs may be violating the law by failing to provide promised rewards, the CFPB said, in a circular to law enforcement agencies....more
In December 2024, the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau (Bureau) rolled out a series of important measures aimed at addressing potential misconduct in the credit card industry, improving consumer protections, and promoting...more
On December 18, the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau (CFPB or Bureau) issued a circular to “other law enforcement agencies,” urging them to take action against certain credit card practices. The CFPB highlights alleged...more
With back-to-school (BTS) in full swing, shoppers are navigating pressing economic challenges like inflation and financial uncertainty, they increasingly seek convenient and cost-saving solutions. Almost all BTS shoppers...more
The Department of Transportation is allowing Alaska Airlines (“Alaska”) and Hawaiian Airlines (“Hawaiian”) to close their merger—as long as the airlines protect their passenger rewards program against devaluation and ensure...more
Recently, the FDIC ordered two affiliated state nonmember banks to each pay a $1,000,000 civil monetary penalty (orders here and here). These penalties resolve claims of unfair practices related to their rewards programs and...more
On September 5, the U.S. Department of Transportation (DOT) initiated an inquiry into the rewards programs of the four largest U.S. airlines to investigate potential unfair, deceptive, or anticompetitive practices. Secretary...more