Walmart sued by US watchdog for opening 1 million illegal accounts, making false promises to delivery drivers
Live MintWalmart Inc and its financial technology partner, Branch Messenger Inc, are facing allegations from the US Consumer Financial Protection Bureau over claims that they opened costly bank accounts for delivery drivers without their consent, as per Bloomberg. In a lawsuit filed Monday in Minnesota federal court, the CFPB accused the companies of requiring drivers in Walmart's Spark Driver programme to use these accounts to receive payment, with termination as the alternative, the report added. “Walmart made false promises, illegally opened accounts, and took advantage of more than a million delivery drivers,” said CFPB Director Rohit Chopra in a statement regarding the lawsuit, as quoted by Bloomberg. The CFPB claims Walmart required delivery drivers to utilise accounts provided by Branch Messenger, which partners with Evolve Bank & Trust for its deposit accounts and debit card services.
History of this topic
Consumer protection agency sues Walmart, Branch alleging illegal pay practices for gig drivers
Associated Press
Walmart accused of illegally forcing over 1 million of its drivers to open bank accounts
The Independent
US sues Walmart, Branch Messenger over payment accounts for delivery drivers
India Today
Walmart hit with bombshell lawsuit accusing retail giant of massive privacy breach
Daily Mail
Walmart illegally opened delivery drivers' deposit accounts, U.S. says
NPR
Walmart wants to deliver you stuff, even if you didn’t buy it at Walmart
CNNDiscover Related
Massive GST fraud involving senior officials, transporters, and mafia exposes multicrore evasion scheme
New Indian Express