The Consumer Financial Protection Bureau (CFPB), an independent agency of the US government, sued Walmart and the workforce payments company Branch Messenger on Monday for allegedly forcing delivery drivers to use specific bank accounts, costing them more than $10 million in junk fees and misleading them about payment access. The lawsuit focuses on Walmart’s Spark Driver program, which utilises gig workers for deliveries.
The lawsuit
The CFPB alleged in the lawsuit that Walmart forced drivers in its Spark Driver program to open and use Branch accounts for receiving their pay. It claimed that Walmart and Branch opened accounts for drivers without their consent, depositing earnings directly into Branch accounts. Walmart allegedly told drivers they had to use Branch and threatened termination for non-compliance.
“Today, the CFPB sued Walmart Inc. and Branch Messenger, Inc. for forcing gig economy drivers to use costly and risky accounts to get paid and for deceiving workers about how they could access their earnings,” the CFPB said in a statement on the social media platform X.
Misleading payment practices
The lawsuit also said that Walmart and Branch misled drivers about accessing their earnings quickly, resulting in over $10 million in fees for drivers transferring money to their preferred accounts.
“Walmart made false promises, illegally opened accounts, and took advantage of more than a million delivery drivers,” said CFPB director Rohit Chopra. “Companies cannot force workers into getting paid through accounts that drain their earnings with junk fees.”
Walmart runs the Spark Driver program nationally. Branch, a financial technology company, provides a digital bank account through Evolve Bank & Trust.
The lawsuit accuses Branch of additional illegal activities, including failing to investigate errors, ignoring stop payment requests, and neglecting required record-keeping.
The CFPB alleges these violations occurred for roughly two years, beginning in 2021. The lawsuit aims to halt the practices, compensate affected drivers, and impose a financial penalty payable to the CFPB’s victim relief fund. This penalty would be paid into the CFPB’s victims relief fund.
Walmart and Branch Messenger’s response
Both Walmart and Branch Messenger denied the allegations. They accused the CFPB of not giving them sufficient time to respond before filing the lawsuit.
“We look forward to vigorously defending the company before a court that, unlike the CFPB, honors the due process of law,” Walmart said.
The CFPB’s action follows its other initiatives concerning worker protections, including guidance on background checks and employer-driven debt. This marks the CFPB’s first action against a fintech partner of Evolve Bank & Trust related to deposit accounts, though the agency has previously sued another Evolve partner in the short-term loan sector. The Federal Reserve also took action against Evolve Bank & Trust in June for failing to oversee its fintech partners.
