CFPB Launches Beta Platform for Small Business Lending Data Collection

The Consumer Financial Protection Bureau (CFPB) launched a beta platform for the small business lending data collection rule under section 1071 of the Dodd-Frank Act.

“We invite the participation of financial institutions and their technology partners to test the beta platform and share feedback with the CFPB on their experience,” the regulator said in a Monday (Aug. 26) email to PYMNTS.

The email said participants can create a Login.gov account, upload sample data test files, review validation results and explore the beta platform’s features.

It added that participants can access the beta for the Small Business Lending Data Filing Platform, review a document to learn more about the beta platform and how to get started, and share this information with other colleagues with their organization or partners who may benefit from participating in the beta test.

The email also cautioned that the beta platform is for testing purposes only; the data submitted on the beta platform will not be considered for compliance with small business lending data reporting requirements; and participants must not use customers’ data — they should use only test files found in the CFPB’s test file repository or other sample file.

“Feedback on your experience will help us identify areas for potential enhancement and improve the data filing process,” the CFPB said in the email. “Teams can work in an early test environment at their own pace and convenience.”

The CFPB issued the small business lending rule March 30, 2023, broadening the data lenders will need to collect as they decide who gets business loans. Lenders will collect and disclose demographic, geographic and other details about borrowers.

According to an interim final rule issued by the CFPB June 25, after a court battle over the regulator’s funding mechanism, the dates by which lenders must begin collecting data vary by their volume of small business loans. Lenders with the highest volume must begin collecting data by July 18, 2025; those with moderate volume must do so by Jan. 16, 2026; and those with the smallest volume must do so by Oct. 18, 2026.

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