Committee hears competing views on regulating earned‑wage access; industry split over proposed real‑time database

The Senate Industry and Business Committee heard testimony on House Bill 1393, a measure to regulate earned‑wage access (EWA) providers and to add penalties for noncompliance. Testimony laid out a clear industry split: vendors that provide direct‑to‑consumer advances and regulatory consultants pressed for a real‑time transaction database; employer‑integrated providers and fintech trade groups opposed a database requirement, saying it would raise costs, raise privacy concerns and may not address real harms seen in EWA.