Committee hears testimony opposing H.99 exemption for earned-wage-access services

The Vermont House Committee on Commerce and Economic Development on Feb. 4 heard testimony on H.99, a bill that would classify certain earned-wage-access (EWA) services outside Vermont's existing consumer-lending laws. Witnesses representing consumer-advocacy groups, older-adult advocates and the banking industry disagreed sharply over whether the products are loans and how they should be regulated.