Florida has reworked the collection rules that apply to check cashers and payday lenders when the checks behind their transactions bounce, recasting state law as the universal standard and tying federal Fair Debt Collection Practices Act obligations to whether an outside collector or an assumed name is in play.
The change rides inside an omnibus Department of Financial Services measure, CS/CS/CS/SB 1452, that touches everything from hurricane mitigation grants to insurance licensing. For the accounts receivable management industry, three sections matter, all dealing with returned and worthless checks.
The first, amending Section 560.309, governs how money services businesses pursue collection after a check is returned for insufficient funds, a closed account or a stop-payment order. The revised text installs the Florida Consumer Collection Practices Act, including its private-right-of-action provision in Section 559.77, as the controlling standard for all such collection activity. Compliance with the federal FDCPA’s bars on harassment, false representations and unfair practices now applies only when the licensee uses a third-party debt collector or a name other than its own.
Section 560.406 applies the same logic to deferred presentment providers, the licensees better known as payday lenders, when they chase a worthless check. They too must follow the state act across the board, with federal FDCPA duties triggered only by third-party collection or use of an alternate name. Violations under both sections remain deceptive and unfair trade practices under Florida’s broader consumer-protection statute.
The restructuring mirrors a distinction the FDCPA already draws between first-party creditors and outside collectors. By making the state act the baseline, Florida closes any gap for creditors collecting under their own name, who fall outside much of the federal law, while preserving federal exposure for those who outsource or operate behind a different brand.
A third provision, amending Section 560.405, tightens redemption mechanics for deferred presentment transactions. Borrowers redeeming a deferred check must be allowed to pay in cash or by debit card on equal terms, and providers may no longer accept payment by personal check or, under the new language, by credit card.
These provisions take effect July 1.
