AN ACT to enact the earned wage access services act.

The General Assembly of North Carolina enacts:

SECTION 1.  Chapter 53 of the General Statutes is amended by adding a new Article to read:

Article 26.

Earned Wage Access Services Act.

§ 53‑440.  Short title.

This act may be cited as the Earned Wage Access Services Act.

§ 53‑441.  Definitions.

The following definitions apply in this Article:

(1)        Commissioner. – The North Carolina Commissioner of Banks.

(2)        Consumer. – An individual residing in this State.

(3)        Earned wage access (EWA) service provider. – A person engaged in the business of providing earned wage access services.

(4)        Earned wage access services. – The payment of earned wages to a consumer prior to the next date on which an obligor is scheduled to pay the consumer, the amount of which is deducted from the obligor's next payment of wages to the consumer.

(5)        Earned wages. – Money in an amount that a consumer or obligor has represented and that an EWA service provider has verified as accruing to the benefit of the consumer for services rendered to an obligor.

(6)        Obligor. – An employer or another person that is contractually obligated to pay a consumer a sum of money on an hourly, project‑based, piecework, or other basis for services rendered by the consumer. This term does not include a customer of an obligor or other third party whose obligation to pay the consumer is based solely on the consumer's agency relationship with the obligor.

§ 53‑442.  Earned wage access services and fees allowed; information sharing.

(a)        Earned Wage Access Services. – An earned wage access (EWA) service provider registered under this Article may provide earned wage access services through a contract with an obligor or service provider to an obligor so long as all of the following are true:

(1)        The EWA service provider verifies the consumer's earned wages based on data relating directly to the consumer's earnings in that pay period.

(2)        The EWA service provider informs the consumer in writing that the consumer has a right to receive the full amount of the obligor's next payment of wages on the next date on which the obligor is scheduled to pay the consumer if the consumer chooses to not use earned wage access services.

(3)        The consumer authorizes in writing that the amount of the payment of earned wages from the EWA service provider shall be deducted from the obligor's next payment of wages to the consumer.

(b)        Information Sharing. – An obligor shall not share information with an EWA service provider relating to the obligor's accrued and expected obligations to the consumer unless all of the following are true:

(1)        The obligor has entered into a contract for earned wage access services with the EWA service provider.

(2)        The consumer provides advance consent to sharing that information with the EWA service provider.

(c)        Fees. – An EWA service provider may impose fees on a consumer for earned wage access services so long as the fees are disclosed in writing to the consumer before the consumer chooses to use the earned wage access services.

§ 53‑443.  Article's relationship to other laws.

(a)        If an EWA service provider complies with this Article, all of the following are deemed to be true:

(1)        The EWA service provider's earned wage access services are not lending activity and its payments pursuant to those services are not loans.

(2)        Any fees for the EWA service provider's earned wage access services are not interest.

(b)        To the extent that this Article conflicts with any other law, this Article supersedes that law for purposes of regulating earned wage access services in this State.

§ 53‑444.  Registration requirement.

(a)        A person shall not provide earned wage access services without first registering as an EWA service provider with the Commissioner in a format prescribed by the Commissioner and submitting a registration fee, as required by this section. An EWA service provider shall comply with all provisions of this Article.

(b)        An EWA service provider shall pay a nonrefundable fee of one thousand dollars ($1,000) at the time of registration and at the time of each renewal of registration. Registrations shall be renewed every three years.

(c)        The Commissioner may deny an EWA service provider's registration or renewal of registration for failure to comply with this Article.

§ 53‑445.  Registration application.

(a)        Application. – Applications for registration under this Article shall be filed in a form acceptable to the Commissioner. To be considered complete, the application shall be verified by attestation of the applicant or a designee of the applicant and shall include all of the following:

(1)        The applicant's legal name, along with any assumed business name, principal address, including street address and mailing address, contact information, and social security number or taxpayer identification number.

(2)        The applicant's form and place of organization, if applicable.

(3)        A certificate of good standing from the state in which the applicant was organized, if applicable.

(4)        A certificate of authority from the North Carolina Secretary of State to conduct business in this State, if required by Article 15 of Chapter 55 of the General Statutes, or other evidence of the applicant's registration or qualification to do business in this State.

(5)        The qualifications and business history of the applicant and, if applicable, the business history of any person controlling the applicant, including a description of any injunction or administrative order by any state or federal authority to which the person is or has been subject.

(6)        A record of any criminal convictions for the applicant, or in the case of an applicant that is an entity, each individual who has control of the applicant, for a 10‑year period prior to the date of the application, including the applicant's consent to a federal and State criminal background check and a set of the applicant's fingerprints in a form acceptable to the Commissioner. In the case of an applicant that is an entity, each individual who has control over the applicant shall consent to a federal and State criminal background check and shall submit a set of the individual's fingerprints.

(7)        The applicant's financial condition, including its credit history, business history, and most recent audited annual financial statement, or if the applicant is a wholly owned subsidiary, of the applicant's parent entity. This statement shall include the balance sheet, statement of income or loss, statement of changes in shareholder equity, if applicable, and statement of changes in financial position.

(8)        Any additional information that the Commissioner deems relevant.

(b)        Abandoned Application. – The Commissioner may deem an application abandoned if the applicant fails to respond to a written request for information by the Commissioner within 30 days of the date of the request.

§ 53‑446.  Examinations; charges.

For the purpose of protecting consumer interests and determining an EWA service provider's compliance with the requirements of this Article, the Commissioner may conduct an examination of an EWA service provider. The EWA service provider shall reimburse the Office of the Commissioner of Banks all reasonable costs and expenses of the examination. In unusual circumstances and in the interest of justice, the Commissioner may waive reimbursement for the costs and expenses of an examination under this section.

§ 53‑447.  Rules.

The Commissioner may adopt rules to enforce this Article.

§ 53‑448.  Penalties; enforcement.

(a)        After notice and opportunity for hearing in accordance with Article 3A of Chapter 150B of the General Statutes, the Commissioner may do any of the following:

(1)        Revoke, suspend, or refuse to renew an EWA service provider's registration.

(2)        Order an EWA service provider to cease and desist from providing earned wage access services.

(3)        Assess a civil penalty of not more than one thousand dollars ($1,000) for each violation or ten thousand dollars ($10,000) for each violation that the Commissioner finds to be willful.

(4)        Order the EWA service provider to make restitution to the injured consumer.

(b)        The powers vested in the Commissioner by this Article are in addition to any other enforcement powers of the Commissioner.

(c)        An EWA service provider's failure to comply with the requirements of this Article is an unfair or deceptive trade practice under Chapter 75 of the General Statutes.

SECTION 2.  This act becomes effective October 1, 2021.