Court Orders FinTech Block to Provide Emails to CFPB

A federal court has ruled that FinTech Block must provide information to a regulator.

The Consumer Financial Protection Bureau (CFPB) is seeking emails to and from Brian Grassadonia — the co-creator of Block’s Cash App payment platform — as part of an investigation into how Block handles customer complaints about fraud and errors, Reuters reported Thursday (Dec. 1).

The bureau demanded information from Block in 2020 and 2021 before suing the firm in August, saying it had “slow-walked” its responses, according to the report.

Block had said in court filings that it would comply with the request.

In the federal court’s order, U.S. Magistrate Judge Sallie Kim said that the CFPB’s request was not “unduly burdensome” and that she was “confused” why Block had opposed the demands, per the report.

Reached for comment, a Block spokesperson told PYMNTS in an email: “The Court’s order is consistent with and reflects Block’s intention throughout: we have responded to the CFPB’s requests and will continue to do so. We remain committed to working cooperatively with the bureau.”

Block is being investigated by the CFPB and several state attorneys general regarding its Cash App service, with the CFPB focusing on the service’s handling of “customer complaints and disputes,” Bloomberg reported in March.

The Cash App service is primarily utilized to let users send money to friends and family as well as to buy stocks or bitcoin directly from one’s phone.

In the August court filing by the CFPB, the bureau said Block had yet to turn over documents it had requested and petitioned a federal judge to force the company to comply, Bloomberg reported at the time.

“The bureau cannot sit back while its investigation is stymied by Block’s slow-walking,” the CFPB’s filing said, per the August report by Bloomberg.