Apple, PayPal Among Tech Giants Ordered to Reveal How Their Payment Networks Function

The Consumer Financial Protection Bureau (CFPB) is calling for transparency and more information from tech giants who have created their own proprietary payment networks, raising potential antitrust concerns.

CFPB Director Rohit Chopra has ordered Amazon, Apple, PayPal and other large businesses Thursday to disclose how their payment systems work and what consumer protections are put in place.

"Big Tech companies are eagerly expanding their empires to gain greater control and insight into our spending habits," Chopra said in a statement.

Concerns rise as payment systems such as Apple Pay and Google Pay are hardwired into smart devices and work as independent payment networks. Banks and consumer groups have also raised concerns about the networks, even trying to compete with adding services like Zelle to banks such as Wells Fargo.

For more reporting from the Associated Press, see below.

Before being confirmed as director last month, Chopra was a commissioner on the Federal Trade Commission where he used his role to raise concerns about anticompetitive behavior at large technology firms. He also raised the issue during his confirmation hearing at the Senate Banking Committee as well, so his tougher stance on regulation is no surprise.

The CFPB has rescinded or scaled back a number of policies put in place by the Trump administration. And the bureau is staffing up in anticipation of taking a more active role in regulation and enforcement, as it did during the Obama administration.

"Since the Bureau was founded, a growing share of banking activity has occurred outside of the purview of leading regulators, putting consumers and the resiliency of the financial system at risk," said Richard Hunt, CEO of the Consumer Bankers Association, the trade group for the nation's big consumer banks.