The California Consumer Financial Protection Law (CCFPL) went into effect on January 1. The CCFPL requires the Department of Financial Protection & Innovation (DFPI), formerly the Department of Business Oversight, to establish an Office of Financial Technology Innovation (OFTI). The DFPI stated in its recent monthly bulletin that OFTI would allow it to “work proactively with entrepreneurs and create a regulatory framework for responsible, emerging financial products.” DFPI wasted no time in shifting its focus to emerging financial products in the fintech industry when it recently announced that it had signed memoranda of understanding (MOUs) with five companies offering earned wage access (EWA) products, allowing them to continue operating in California under certain conditions. This is a significant event for two reasons: First, it shows that the OFTI plans to be active in working with fintech companies that want to offer new products to California consumers; and second, because it will be one of the first instances of a state financial regulator directly addressing EWA products