Macon Times

Georgia's Attorney General, Chris Carr, has joined a multi-state settlement with payment processor ACI Worldwide, following a 2021 testing error that resulted in an attempted unauthorized withdrawal of $2.3 billion from mortgage-holders' accounts. This $10 million settlement, involving 49 attorneys general, aims to provide restitution and safeguards for impacted consumers in the state, with Georgia set to receive a total of $550,436.63 from the agreement and a related consent order.

Georgia's Attorney General Chris Carr, along with 49 other attorneys general, has reached a $10 million multi-state settlement with payment processor ACI Worldwide due to a 2021 testing error that led to an attempted unauthorized withdrawal of $2.3 billion from mortgage-holders' accounts. Georgia will receive $334,300.27 from this settlement. The case was investigated and negotiated with state financial regulators, including the Georgia Department of Banking and Finance, which has entered into a separate $10 million settlement agreement and consent order with ACI, resulting in an additional $216,136.36 for Georgia.

The Attorney General was quoted in his press release stating: "ACI’s testing error impacted the financial stability of nearly 20,000 hardworking Georgians. This settlement helps to ensure appropriate safeguards are in place to protect consumer data and prevent this type of mistake from ever happening again."

The press release by the Attorney general claims that state financial regulators, including the Georgia Department of Banking and Finance, played a role in the investigation and negotiations. They have reached a separate multi-state settlement agreement and consent order with ACI, which will bring an additional $10 million, with Georgia receiving an extra $216,136.36 as part of this arrangement.

The Attorney General's press release says that ACI Payments, a subsidiary of ACI Worldwide Corp., processes payments for various clients, including mortgage servicers like Nationstar Mortgage (Mr. Cooper). In April 2021, ACI mistakenly submitted live customer data into the payment system, leading to the unauthorized withdrawal of mortgage payments from thousands of Mr. Cooper customers, affecting 477,000 individuals with $2.3 billion in transactions. While most withdrawals were reversed, some consumers faced overdraft fees; impacted individuals have received restitution through ACI and other settlements.

Georgia Department of Banking and Finance Commissioner Kevin Hagler said in the AG's press release that the settlement underscores the collective effort of states to compel ACI Payments to enhance its internal controls for safeguarding customer data in the future.

The Attorney General's press release claims that an investigation found that the April 2021 incident happened because of serious problems with ACI's privacy and data security procedures and technical setup. To prevent similar incidents, the $20 million settlement mandates that ACI use fake data, not real customer data, for system and software testing. ACI is also required to keep testing and development work separate from its consumer payment systems.