Earned Wage Access: Financial Services Passes Bill; Focus Should Be On 2027

Research evidence excerpt

Earned Wage Access: Financial Services Passes Bill; Focus Should Be On 2027

TD Securities (USA) LLC POLICY NOTE

July 1, 2026

■WRG Financial Services Earned Wage Access: Financial Services

Passes Bill; Focus Should Be On 2027

Jaret Seiberg THE TD COWEN INSIGHT

202 868 5313

House Financial Services on Tuesday voted 29 to 22 in favor of legislation to regulate Earned

jaret.seiberg@tdsecurities.com

Wage Access. Democrats were opposed though we see the objections as less about the

substance of the bill and more about preemption of state law. We believe that opens the door

for a compromise though it would likely be in the next Congress rather than this year.

Our View

■We view the bill as positive for EWA as it provides workable, nationwide rules.

■We do not see a path for HR 9330 to become law in 2026 given the lack of progress in

the Senate. It also seems unlikely to be added to an end-of-Congress bill like the National

Defense Authorization Act.

■Yet it still matters because we believe there is bipartisan interest in regulating EWA even

if the vote on the Earned Wage Access Consumer Protection Act was partisan with Rep.

Maxine Waters leading the opposition.

■We see Democratic objections as mostly over preemption rather than the policy regime. It is

why we see the door open for a bipartisan effort in the next Congress.

Details of HR 9330

■Require providers to include a free option if they offer an option where they are

compensated. If seeking a tip, there cannot be a default amount other than $0.

■Transfers for the free option must occur within one business day.

■Electing the free option cannot cause the consumer to lose access to the service or to the

amount of paycheck advance made available.

■Mandates disclosures related to frequency and amount of advances.