RSSThe Consumer Financial Protection Bureau recently sued Walmart and its fintech partner Branch Messenger for allegedly illegally opening deposit accounts for more than 1 million delivery drivers.
Starting in 2021, Walmart and Branch Messenger allegedly harvested more than $10 million in ‘junk fees’ through Walmart’s Spark Driver program, a platform allowing individuals to become delivery drivers on an independent contractor basis for the Bentonville, Ark.-based retail giant.
Walmart and Branch, a fintech company offering a deposit account at West Memphis, Ark.-based Evolve Bank & Trust, reportedly opened Branch accounts for Spark Drivers, with Walmart then depositing drivers’ pay into those accounts without their consent. Walmart and Branch allegedly misrepresented to drivers that the fees would enable them to instantly send their earnings to an account of their choice.
“Walmart told Spark Drivers that they were required to use Branch to get paid and that they would terminate workers who did not want to use these accounts,” according to the Dec. 23 lawsuit. “Walmart and Branch also misled workers about the availability of same-day access to their earnings. Drivers had to follow a complex process to access their funds, and when they finally did, they faced further delays or fees if they needed to transfer the money they earned into an account of their choice.”
Branch also failed to investigate reported errors or keep necessary records, didn’t honor stop payment requests, failed to provide certain disclosures and illegally required consumers to waive their legal rights, according to the CFPB.
