IN: Testimony in Support of HB 1125

TO: Indiana Senate Insurance & Financial Institutions Committee
FROM: Ashley Urisman, Director, State Government Affairs, American Fintech Council (AFC)
DATE: April 2, 2025
SUBJECT: HB 1125

Position: Support.

Testimony:

Good Morning and thank you Chairman Baldwin and members of the committee. My name is Ashley Urisman, and I am the Director of State Government Affairs for the American Fintech Council (AFC). I am here today to testify in support of House Bill 1125 (HB 1125) in its current form.

AFC is the premier trade association representing the leading financial technology companies, including the largest providers of Earned Wage Access (EWA) services. AFC’s mission is to promote a transparent, inclusive, and customer-centric financial system. A core part of our mission is supporting responsible innovation and sound public policy in Finical Services.

As a new and distinct financial product, EWA must be governed by distinct regulations. To ensure that EWA providers safely and effectively serve consumers (which include more than 300,000 Hoosiers to date), AFC has established clear standards on what constitutes a responsible EWA product, and ensures users remain protected. Our standards require

• A voluntary no-cost option be made available for all users;

• All expediting fees disclosed in a clear and transparent manner;

• There is no interest charged or late fees charged on EWA transactions;

• These transactions are credit invisible, no underwriting or credit checks are required to access a user’s earned wages;

• EWA transactions are non-recourse and can be canceled at anytime; users can cancel their service at any time, meaning it does not have to be repaid, and failure to repay will not be reported to credit agencies or be referred to collections.

We believe the guardrails set forth in HB 1125 reflect our standards. These standards also differentiate EWA from credit products like loans and credit cards. It is critical that consumers remain well-informed about their financial options, and an important part of that information ecosystem is the ability of EWA providers to communicate with their customers. Thank you again for the opportunity to offer my support for HB 1125. I am happy to answer any questions you may have.

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