MD: AFC Request to Veto HB SB 94

The Honorable Wes Moore
Governor of Maryland
100 State Circle
Annapolis, MD 21401

Re: Request to veto HB SB 94

Dear Governor Moore:

I am writing on behalf of the American Fintech Council (AFC) to respectfully urge you to veto Senate Bill 94 (“SB 94”) when it arrives on your desk.

AFC is the premier trade association representing the largest financial technology (Fintech) companies, including the largest number of Earned Wage Access (EWA) providers. Our mission is to promote a transparent, inclusive, and customer-centric financial system by supporting responsible innovation in financial services and encouraging sound public policy.

In October of last year, House Bill 1294 (the “EWA Law”) took effect, creating the first and only formal regulatory framework for EWA in the State of Maryland. Prior to the passage of the EWA Law, Maryland did not have a formal framework with which the Maryland Office of Financial Regulation (OFR) could regulate EWA products or their providers. Only through the collaboration and dedicated work of Maryland legislators, OFR leaders, industry, and consumer advocates, was the EWA Law able to pass in a manner intended to ensure that responsible EWA providers could operate in the state, OFR maintained prudent oversight, and that EWA users received proper protections.

Since the EWA Law took effect on October 1, 2025, OFR continues to process EWA providers’ license applications. Many AFC members who applied for their licenses well in advance of October 1 have not yet received them. Others have been asked to sign memoranda of understand admitting to years of unlicensed activity and pay a penalty even though EWA providers were not required to be licensed in Maryland until October of 2025. Unfortunately, as it has been explained to us by several of our members, OFR has seemingly eschewed good-faith efforts by responsible providers to obtain the appropriate licenses to operate in the State. We have also heard from our members that OFR may be engaging in investigatory activities that portend a pursuit of legally tenuous enforcement actions.

It is clear that the EWA Law has yet to be fully executed, that OFR has not yet met its current statutory responsibilities and that the industry is not receiving the legally mandated oversight established by the existing EWA Law. However, during the 2026 session, the Maryland Legislature opted to pursue fundamental changes to the EWA licensing regime through SB 94. AFC believes that this legislative effort was premature and harmful to both EWA providers and users, as it removes the clarity and any semblance of significant reliance interest needed to offer EWA services properly within Maryland.

It is with this context in mind that we oppose to SB 94. Allowing SB 94 to take effect would only add additional complexity to implementing the existing EWA Law before OFR has even properly enacted the existing statute. We therefore respectfully request that you veto SB 94 and instead work with OFR to ensure that they fulfill their existing statutory obligations in administering the legislature’s intent within the EWA Law, namely the proper oversight of the responsible EWA providers who have applied for licensure.  

The pragmatic policymaking pursued by the Maryland Legislature just last session was constructed to provide adequate methods with which to determine if any amendments to the EWA Law would be necessary. Once fully and correctly implemented, the EWA law gives OFR discretion to collect information from the providers it has licensed. Only once data from properly licensed providers has been collected and analyzed can it be reasonably determined if the EWA law needs to be adjusted. To pursue legislation that would reopen the provisions of the EWA Law does not give adequate respect to the thoughtful policy mechanisms put in place just months prior to the introduction of SB 94.

We remain committed to working with you, leaders in the legislature, and OFR to clearly and appropriately execute the established regulatory framework for Earned Wage Access in Maryland. As we have for so many years, we are committed to transparent collaboration to ensure Marylanders have the safe and affordable financial options they deserve.

We welcome the opportunity to discuss this matter further.

Sincerely,

Ashley B. Urisman

Director of State Government Affairs

American Fintech Council

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