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On April 28, Maryland enacted SB 94, which revises the state’s earned wage access (EWA) framework and amends tipping provisions under Maryland’s Consumer Loan Law and Secondary Mortgage Loan Law. The law prohibits lenders and EWA providers from soliciting, charging, or accepting tips from consumers and expands certain consumer protection requirements applicable to EWA providers.
The legislation eliminates Maryland’s prior framework permitting optional tipping with a default tip amount set at zero. Instead, the law broadly prohibits lenders and EWA providers from accepting tips or giving consumers the option to provide them. In addition, the bill prevents EWA providers from making false, misleading, or deceptive statements about fees, rates, terms, or conditions. Providers also must disclose in service contracts that Maryland law prohibits tips or donations.
Finally, the bill provides that licensed EWA providers may not discriminate against consumers based on protected characteristics when granting or denying earned wage access requests.
Putting It Into Practice: Maryland’s enactment adds to continued federal and state activity around the legal treatment and regulation of earned wage access products (previously discussed here, here, and here). The law also reflects increased scrutiny of optional tipping models and fee disclosures in EWA products. EWA providers, fintech companies, and lenders operating in Maryland should review tipping practices, marketing materials, service agreements, and compliance procedures ahead of the law’s October 1, 2026 effective date.
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