On December 6, 2024, the CFPB sued Comerica Bank for systematically failing its 3.4 million Direct Express cardholders - primarily unbanked Americans receiving federal benefits. According to the CFPB, the bank disconnected 24 million customer service calls, charged illegal ATM fees to over 1 million customers, and mishandled fraud complaints related to the Direct Express prepaid debit card program.
CFPB Director Rohit Chopra said the following in a statement:
“The CFPB is suing Comerica Bank for illegally harming disabled and older Americans who count on Social Security and other federal benefits. By deliberately disconnecting millions of calls and harvesting illegal junk fees, Comerica boosted its bottom line at the expense of Americans living on a fixed income.”
Comerica Bank is a subsidiary of Comerica Inc., a publicly traded financial services company that is among the 25 largest bank holding companies in the United States. Since 2008, the Department of Treasury has contracted with Comerica Bank to administer the Direct Express program, which allows federal beneficiaries to receive their monthly benefits payments through prepaid debit cards. Direct Express is a prepaid card that beneficiaries can use to pay for groceries, gas, and other expenses.
In its investigation, the CFPB found that Comerica harmed its customers by:
Deliberately disconnecting customer service calls;
Charging consumers illegal ATM fees;
Misleading fraud victims;
Imposing illegal terms of service on consumers seeking to stop payments;
Failing to investigate account problems; and
Forcing consumers to close accounts, which often resulted in additional fees.
The CFPB is asking the court to order Comerica to stop these practices, issue refunds to affected customers, and pay civil penalties that would go to the CFPB's victim relief fund.
Read the CFPB’s press release here.
The full complaint can be found here.