Washington, D.C. — On Wednesday, the U.S. Senate voted to approve a resolution revoking the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau’s final rule to supervise digital payment apps like Venmo, Apple Pay and Google Wallet the same way the agency monitors companies that issue traditional credit cards and bank accounts. The vote is the latest in a damning and telling chain of events benefiting Elon Musk:
- Nov. 21, 2024: The CFPB finalizes a rule enabling the agency to proactively supervise digital payment apps
- Nov. 27, 2024: Musk tweets “Delete CFPB”
- Jan. 28, 2025: X CEO announces that X Money will debut with a partnership with Visa
- Feb. 7, 2025: Musk’s DOGE staffers enter the CFPB and kick off an effort to shut it down
- March 5, 2025: The Senate votes to revoke the CFPB’s digital payments rule
The following is a statement from Emily Peterson-Cassin, corporate power director at Demand Progress:
“The U.S. Senate just gave Elon Musk a green light to throw consumers to the online wolves. In no way should X, a platform already swarming with bots and crypto scams, be allowed to accept real-time payments without having to follow the same consumer protection oversight that major banks have to follow. Without CFPB supervision, X Money users who are hacked, scammed or want to dispute fraudulent payments could be left to fend for themselves. We call on the House to stand on the side of consumers, and not online scammers, by voting against this corrupt, reckless bill.”