Last week, the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau (CFPB) filed
a consent order with Fort Knox National Co. and
its subsidiary Military Assistance Co. (MAC), alleging that the
companies duped U.S. military service members into paying millions
of dollars in hidden fees.
Fort Knox National Co., through MAC, is one of the largest
processors of military allotments in the nation. Through the
allotment system, service members can arrange to have payments to
creditors and family members deducted directly from their
paychecks. The arrangement facilitates the transfer of funds for
service members who may not have easy access to banks or ATMs. In a
press release the CFPB noted that
"[t]he allotment system was created to help deployed service
members send money home ... at a time when automatic bank payments
and electronic transfers were not yet common bank services."
According to the CFPB, many creditors and lenders "have in
recent years been known to direct service members
