Paige Smith
(Bloomberg) — Walmart Inc. and one of its financial technology partners allegedly opened expensive bank accounts for delivery drivers without their consent, a U.S. consumer protection agency said Monday.
The Consumer Financial Protection Bureau sued Walmart and Branch Messenger Inc., claiming they required participants in the Spark Driver program to be paid through high-cost accounts or be fired.
“Walmart made false promises, illegally opened accounts, and took advantage of more than a million delivery drivers,” CFPB Director Rohit Chopra said in a statement after the agency sued the two companies before the United States District Court for the District of Minnesota.
Neither Walmart nor Branch Messenger responded to a request for comment.
This is the latest enforcement action by the CFPB, which has picked up its pace in the final days of the Biden administration. The agency sued three of the country’s largest banks on their handling of Zelle fraud and finalized an overdraft fee cap this month.
The CFPB said Walmart required delivery drivers to use Branch Messenger, a fintech that offers workers deposit accounts and debit cards through their employers. Branch Messenger partners with Evolve Bank & Trust to offer these accounts. Evolve has recently come under scrutiny for its fintech-bank partnerships due to its relationship with Synapse Financial Technologies Inc., which filed for bankruptcy earlier this year.
In addition to opening the accounts without consent, the CFPB says Walmart and Branch Messenger also falsely stated that drivers could instantly access their paychecks.
Walmart launched its Spark delivery service in 2018 and relies on third-party drivers to deliver online orders to homes. The retailer said last month that e-commerce sales grew more than 20% in the United States in the most recent quarter.
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