{"id":19389,"date":"2026-07-01T21:33:49","date_gmt":"2026-07-01T21:33:49","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/siliconvalleymovingpost.com\/?p=19389"},"modified":"2026-07-01T21:33:49","modified_gmt":"2026-07-01T21:33:49","slug":"democratic-congressman-asks-the-cfpb-to-investigate-rent-now-pay-later-companies","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/siliconvalleymovingpost.com\/?p=19389","title":{"rendered":"Democratic congressman asks the CFPB to investigate \u2018rent now, pay later\u2019 companies"},"content":{"rendered":"
\n

By KEN SWEET, AP Business Writer<\/strong><\/p>\n

NEW YORK (AP) \u2014 A Democratic member of Congress is calling for the federal government to investigate the growing \u201crent now, pay later\u201d industry, saying Americans may not understand the fees and cost structure of these products as the services become more widely available.<\/p>\n

Read more Alibaba to pay US $600M to settle allegations it allowed illegal drug and equipment sales<\/a><\/p>\n

Rep. Maxwell Frost, D-Florida, sent a letter to Consumer Financial Protection Bureau Acting Director Russell Vought urging the bureau to investigate rent now, pay later companies and hold them accountable for potential violations of federal consumer financial protection laws. In the letter, obtained by The Associated Press, Frost also asked the bureau to explain what it is doing to protect renters and whether landlords are steering tenants toward rent-financing products.<\/p>\n

\u201cRent now, pay later\u201d companies allow renters to split their monthly rent into smaller payments over the course of a month. A renter with a $1,000 monthly rent bill might pay in four weekly payments of $250 or two payments of $500.<\/p>\n

First elected to Congress in 2022 at the age of 25, Frost said he frequently used buy now, pay later services to furnish his first apartment in Washington, which put him heavily into debt. In an interview, Frost said it was only because he made a healthy salary as a member of Congress that he was recently able to pay those debts off. He said he believes his experience is likely the same as other young Americans.<\/p>\n

\u201cAmericans should know they have rights when using these buy now, pay later products,\u201d Frost said. \u201cThis is why the CFPB was created in the first place.\u201d<\/p>\n

Frost looked into using his credit card to pay rent, but \u201cthank God that didn\u2019t happen,\u201d he added.<\/p>\n

Companies such as Flex and Livble say breaking rent into multiple payments can help renters manage cash flow. The buy now, pay later company Affirm has also done limited trials that allow its customers to split rent into multiple payments. But several of these payment plans can come with high fees and finance charges. In February, the AP reported on how users of these services were paying as much as $50 a month to split their rent.<\/p>\n

\n<\/div>\n

These RNPL companies differ from companies like Bilt, which allows some renters to pay rent through its credit card and rewards platform. Bilt says it has more than 5 million members, and its customers have historically used its service to earn rewards points on rent payments. RNPL companies are more focused on allowing customers to finance large rent payments across multiple payments.<\/p>\n

Frost says there should be more disclosure to consumers around the products as they become more popular.<\/p>\n

Read more Venezuelan medics fear earthquake aftermath will trigger widening medical crisis<\/a><\/p>\n

\u201cWhile many of these companies market their loans as \u2018innovative\u2019 products that can help struggling cash-strapped renters, including by allegedly boosting their credit scores, many of these products more closely resemble repackaged payday loans,\u201d Frost said in his letter.<\/p>\n

A February report by Protect Borrowers and Toward Justice argued that some RNPL companies should comply with Truth in Lending Act requirements based on how they structure their products. The industry strongly disagreed with the groups\u2019 findings at the time.<\/p>\n

\n<\/div>\n

\u201cIn addition to structural reforms to drive down the cost of housing, lawmakers, policymakers, and law enforcement at every level of government need to wake up to the reality that a broad array of companies are cashing in, at working people\u2019s expense, on the massive burden of rent in Americans\u2019 lives,\u201d the groups said in the report.<\/p>\n

The Consumer Financial Protection Bureau has sharply curtailed its work under the second Trump administration. Under Vought, the bureau has rolled back regulations and guidance, dropped enforcement actions and moved to rescind previous agency activity. Other calls by members of Congress for bureau investigations have largely gone unanswered. The bureau did not immediately respond to a request for comment on Frost\u2019s letter.<\/p>\n

Vought\u2019s tenure at the CFPB will end this summer. President Trump has nominated Brian Johnson, an executive formerly with Capital One, to be the next permanent director of the bureau. Johnson previously held a high-ranking position at the bureau during Trump\u2019s first term in office.<\/p>\n

Frost said that if the bureau does not act on buy now, pay later and rent now, pay later companies, he hopes to use information gathered from this letter and other resources to propose legislation next year if Democrats take control of Congress.<\/p>\n

\u201cI\u2019m not holding my breath for the Trump administration to do the right thing, but this is the first step of many we can take to make sure these products are used correctly and Americans are protected,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n

Read more Dodgers players say Dave Roberts\u2019 success goes beyond 1,000 wins<\/a><\/p>\n<\/div>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

A Democratic member of Congress is calling for a federal investigation into the “rent now, pay later” industry. Rep. Maxwell Frost from Florida has sent a letter to the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau, asking the agency to investigate these companies for potential violations of consumer protection laws.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":19388,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[43,2],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-19389","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-based-on-facts-either-observed-and-verified-directly-by-the-reporter-or-reported-and-verified-from-knowledgeable-sources","category-news"],"yoast_head":"\nDemocratic congressman asks the CFPB to investigate \u2018rent now, pay later\u2019 companies - Silicon Valley Moving Post<\/title>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"index, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, max-video-preview:-1\" \/>\n<link rel=\"canonical\" href=\"https:\/\/siliconvalleymovingpost.com\/?p=19389\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:locale\" content=\"en_US\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:type\" content=\"article\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:title\" content=\"Democratic congressman asks the CFPB to investigate \u2018rent now, pay later\u2019 companies - Silicon Valley Moving Post\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:description\" content=\"A Democratic member of Congress is calling for a federal investigation into the "rent now, pay later" industry. Rep. Maxwell Frost from Florida has sent a letter to the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau, asking the agency to investigate these companies for potential violations of consumer protection laws.\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:url\" content=\"https:\/\/siliconvalleymovingpost.com\/?p=19389\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:site_name\" content=\"Silicon Valley Moving Post\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:published_time\" content=\"2026-07-01T21:33:49+00:00\" \/>\n<meta name=\"author\" content=\"admin\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:card\" content=\"summary_large_image\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:label1\" content=\"Written by\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:data1\" content=\"admin\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:label2\" content=\"Est. reading time\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:data2\" content=\"4 minutes\" \/>\n<script type=\"application\/ld+json\" class=\"yoast-schema-graph\">{\"@context\":\"https:\\\/\\\/schema.org\",\"@graph\":[{\"@type\":\"Article\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/siliconvalleymovingpost.com\\\/?p=19389#article\",\"isPartOf\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/siliconvalleymovingpost.com\\\/?p=19389\"},\"author\":{\"name\":\"admin\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/siliconvalleymovingpost.com\\\/#\\\/schema\\\/person\\\/636e2e5a10a21cf87fe6eb5951e8a6b7\"},\"headline\":\"Democratic congressman asks the CFPB to investigate \u2018rent now, pay later\u2019 companies\",\"datePublished\":\"2026-07-01T21:33:49+00:00\",\"mainEntityOfPage\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/siliconvalleymovingpost.com\\\/?p=19389\"},\"wordCount\":815,\"commentCount\":0,\"image\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/siliconvalleymovingpost.com\\\/?p=19389#primaryimage\"},\"thumbnailUrl\":\"https:\\\/\\\/siliconvalleymovingpost.com\\\/wp-content\\\/uploads\\\/2026\\\/07\\\/88767e2c9d642376d8f56427f9a64c6b.webp\",\"articleSection\":[\"Based on facts, either observed and verified directly by the reporter, or reported and verified from knowledgeable sources.\",\"News\"],\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"potentialAction\":[{\"@type\":\"CommentAction\",\"name\":\"Comment\",\"target\":[\"https:\\\/\\\/siliconvalleymovingpost.com\\\/?p=19389#respond\"]}]},{\"@type\":\"WebPage\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/siliconvalleymovingpost.com\\\/?p=19389\",\"url\":\"https:\\\/\\\/siliconvalleymovingpost.com\\\/?p=19389\",\"name\":\"Democratic congressman asks the CFPB to investigate \u2018rent now, pay later\u2019 companies - Silicon Valley Moving Post\",\"isPartOf\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/siliconvalleymovingpost.com\\\/#website\"},\"primaryImageOfPage\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/siliconvalleymovingpost.com\\\/?p=19389#primaryimage\"},\"image\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/siliconvalleymovingpost.com\\\/?p=19389#primaryimage\"},\"thumbnailUrl\":\"https:\\\/\\\/siliconvalleymovingpost.com\\\/wp-content\\\/uploads\\\/2026\\\/07\\\/88767e2c9d642376d8f56427f9a64c6b.webp\",\"datePublished\":\"2026-07-01T21:33:49+00:00\",\"author\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/siliconvalleymovingpost.com\\\/#\\\/schema\\\/person\\\/636e2e5a10a21cf87fe6eb5951e8a6b7\"},\"breadcrumb\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/siliconvalleymovingpost.com\\\/?p=19389#breadcrumb\"},\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"potentialAction\":[{\"@type\":\"ReadAction\",\"target\":[\"https:\\\/\\\/siliconvalleymovingpost.com\\\/?p=19389\"]}]},{\"@type\":\"ImageObject\",\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/siliconvalleymovingpost.com\\\/?p=19389#primaryimage\",\"url\":\"https:\\\/\\\/siliconvalleymovingpost.com\\\/wp-content\\\/uploads\\\/2026\\\/07\\\/88767e2c9d642376d8f56427f9a64c6b.webp\",\"contentUrl\":\"https:\\\/\\\/siliconvalleymovingpost.com\\\/wp-content\\\/uploads\\\/2026\\\/07\\\/88767e2c9d642376d8f56427f9a64c6b.webp\",\"width\":1024,\"height\":682},{\"@type\":\"BreadcrumbList\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/siliconvalleymovingpost.com\\\/?p=19389#breadcrumb\",\"itemListElement\":[{\"@type\":\"ListItem\",\"position\":1,\"name\":\"Home\",\"item\":\"https:\\\/\\\/siliconvalleymovingpost.com\\\/\"},{\"@type\":\"ListItem\",\"position\":2,\"name\":\"Democratic congressman asks the CFPB to investigate \u2018rent now, pay later\u2019 companies\"}]},{\"@type\":\"WebSite\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/siliconvalleymovingpost.com\\\/#website\",\"url\":\"https:\\\/\\\/siliconvalleymovingpost.com\\\/\",\"name\":\"Silicon Valley Moving Post\",\"description\":\"\",\"potentialAction\":[{\"@type\":\"SearchAction\",\"target\":{\"@type\":\"EntryPoint\",\"urlTemplate\":\"https:\\\/\\\/siliconvalleymovingpost.com\\\/?s={search_term_string}\"},\"query-input\":{\"@type\":\"PropertyValueSpecification\",\"valueRequired\":true,\"valueName\":\"search_term_string\"}}],\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\"},{\"@type\":\"Person\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/siliconvalleymovingpost.com\\\/#\\\/schema\\\/person\\\/636e2e5a10a21cf87fe6eb5951e8a6b7\",\"name\":\"admin\",\"image\":{\"@type\":\"ImageObject\",\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/secure.gravatar.com\\\/avatar\\\/50b1ad2e498f523425ee0a8cc5180a210646db1622662a3d56cc405d3e0c346a?s=96&d=mm&r=g\",\"url\":\"https:\\\/\\\/secure.gravatar.com\\\/avatar\\\/50b1ad2e498f523425ee0a8cc5180a210646db1622662a3d56cc405d3e0c346a?s=96&d=mm&r=g\",\"contentUrl\":\"https:\\\/\\\/secure.gravatar.com\\\/avatar\\\/50b1ad2e498f523425ee0a8cc5180a210646db1622662a3d56cc405d3e0c346a?s=96&d=mm&r=g\",\"caption\":\"admin\"},\"sameAs\":[\"http:\\\/\\\/siliconvalleymovingpost.com\"],\"url\":\"https:\\\/\\\/siliconvalleymovingpost.com\\\/?author=1\"}]}<\/script>\n<!-- \/ Yoast SEO plugin. -->","yoast_head_json":{"title":"Democratic congressman asks the CFPB to investigate \u2018rent now, pay later\u2019 companies - Silicon Valley Moving Post","robots":{"index":"index","follow":"follow","max-snippet":"max-snippet:-1","max-image-preview":"max-image-preview:large","max-video-preview":"max-video-preview:-1"},"canonical":"https:\/\/siliconvalleymovingpost.com\/?p=19389","og_locale":"en_US","og_type":"article","og_title":"Democratic congressman asks the CFPB to investigate \u2018rent now, pay later\u2019 companies - Silicon Valley Moving Post","og_description":"A Democratic member of Congress is calling for a federal investigation into the \"rent now, pay later\" industry. Rep. Maxwell Frost from Florida has sent a letter to the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau, asking the agency to investigate these companies for potential violations of consumer protection laws.","og_url":"https:\/\/siliconvalleymovingpost.com\/?p=19389","og_site_name":"Silicon Valley Moving Post","article_published_time":"2026-07-01T21:33:49+00:00","author":"admin","twitter_card":"summary_large_image","twitter_misc":{"Written by":"admin","Est. reading time":"4 minutes"},"schema":{"@context":"https:\/\/schema.org","@graph":[{"@type":"Article","@id":"https:\/\/siliconvalleymovingpost.com\/?p=19389#article","isPartOf":{"@id":"https:\/\/siliconvalleymovingpost.com\/?p=19389"},"author":{"name":"admin","@id":"https:\/\/siliconvalleymovingpost.com\/#\/schema\/person\/636e2e5a10a21cf87fe6eb5951e8a6b7"},"headline":"Democratic congressman asks the CFPB to investigate \u2018rent now, pay later\u2019 companies","datePublished":"2026-07-01T21:33:49+00:00","mainEntityOfPage":{"@id":"https:\/\/siliconvalleymovingpost.com\/?p=19389"},"wordCount":815,"commentCount":0,"image":{"@id":"https:\/\/siliconvalleymovingpost.com\/?p=19389#primaryimage"},"thumbnailUrl":"https:\/\/siliconvalleymovingpost.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/07\/88767e2c9d642376d8f56427f9a64c6b.webp","articleSection":["Based on facts, either observed and verified directly by the reporter, or reported and verified from knowledgeable sources.","News"],"inLanguage":"en-US","potentialAction":[{"@type":"CommentAction","name":"Comment","target":["https:\/\/siliconvalleymovingpost.com\/?p=19389#respond"]}]},{"@type":"WebPage","@id":"https:\/\/siliconvalleymovingpost.com\/?p=19389","url":"https:\/\/siliconvalleymovingpost.com\/?p=19389","name":"Democratic congressman asks the CFPB to investigate \u2018rent now, pay later\u2019 companies - Silicon Valley Moving Post","isPartOf":{"@id":"https:\/\/siliconvalleymovingpost.com\/#website"},"primaryImageOfPage":{"@id":"https:\/\/siliconvalleymovingpost.com\/?p=19389#primaryimage"},"image":{"@id":"https:\/\/siliconvalleymovingpost.com\/?p=19389#primaryimage"},"thumbnailUrl":"https:\/\/siliconvalleymovingpost.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/07\/88767e2c9d642376d8f56427f9a64c6b.webp","datePublished":"2026-07-01T21:33:49+00:00","author":{"@id":"https:\/\/siliconvalleymovingpost.com\/#\/schema\/person\/636e2e5a10a21cf87fe6eb5951e8a6b7"},"breadcrumb":{"@id":"https:\/\/siliconvalleymovingpost.com\/?p=19389#breadcrumb"},"inLanguage":"en-US","potentialAction":[{"@type":"ReadAction","target":["https:\/\/siliconvalleymovingpost.com\/?p=19389"]}]},{"@type":"ImageObject","inLanguage":"en-US","@id":"https:\/\/siliconvalleymovingpost.com\/?p=19389#primaryimage","url":"https:\/\/siliconvalleymovingpost.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/07\/88767e2c9d642376d8f56427f9a64c6b.webp","contentUrl":"https:\/\/siliconvalleymovingpost.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/07\/88767e2c9d642376d8f56427f9a64c6b.webp","width":1024,"height":682},{"@type":"BreadcrumbList","@id":"https:\/\/siliconvalleymovingpost.com\/?p=19389#breadcrumb","itemListElement":[{"@type":"ListItem","position":1,"name":"Home","item":"https:\/\/siliconvalleymovingpost.com\/"},{"@type":"ListItem","position":2,"name":"Democratic congressman asks the CFPB to investigate \u2018rent now, pay later\u2019 companies"}]},{"@type":"WebSite","@id":"https:\/\/siliconvalleymovingpost.com\/#website","url":"https:\/\/siliconvalleymovingpost.com\/","name":"Silicon Valley Moving Post","description":"","potentialAction":[{"@type":"SearchAction","target":{"@type":"EntryPoint","urlTemplate":"https:\/\/siliconvalleymovingpost.com\/?s={search_term_string}"},"query-input":{"@type":"PropertyValueSpecification","valueRequired":true,"valueName":"search_term_string"}}],"inLanguage":"en-US"},{"@type":"Person","@id":"https:\/\/siliconvalleymovingpost.com\/#\/schema\/person\/636e2e5a10a21cf87fe6eb5951e8a6b7","name":"admin","image":{"@type":"ImageObject","inLanguage":"en-US","@id":"https:\/\/secure.gravatar.com\/avatar\/50b1ad2e498f523425ee0a8cc5180a210646db1622662a3d56cc405d3e0c346a?s=96&d=mm&r=g","url":"https:\/\/secure.gravatar.com\/avatar\/50b1ad2e498f523425ee0a8cc5180a210646db1622662a3d56cc405d3e0c346a?s=96&d=mm&r=g","contentUrl":"https:\/\/secure.gravatar.com\/avatar\/50b1ad2e498f523425ee0a8cc5180a210646db1622662a3d56cc405d3e0c346a?s=96&d=mm&r=g","caption":"admin"},"sameAs":["http:\/\/siliconvalleymovingpost.com"],"url":"https:\/\/siliconvalleymovingpost.com\/?author=1"}]}},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/siliconvalleymovingpost.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/19389","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/siliconvalleymovingpost.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/siliconvalleymovingpost.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/siliconvalleymovingpost.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/siliconvalleymovingpost.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcomments&post=19389"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/siliconvalleymovingpost.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/19389\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/siliconvalleymovingpost.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/media\/19388"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/siliconvalleymovingpost.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=19389"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/siliconvalleymovingpost.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcategories&post=19389"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/siliconvalleymovingpost.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Ftags&post=19389"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}