The course is taught in a case-study format, modeled loosely on business school pedagogy. Each session is anchored to a real company, enforcement action, or market event. You will engage with primary sources — statutes, regulations, agency guidance, enforcement orders, and judicial decisions — rather than a casebook.

We will address uniform state laws (UCC Articles 3, 4, and 4A), applicable federal statutes and regulations (including the Electronic Fund Transfer Act, the Truth in Lending Act, the Bank Secrecy Act, and Dodd-Frank), proprietary network rules, and the overlapping jurisdictions of the CFPB, OCC, Federal Reserve, FDIC, FinCEN, and SEC.

In examining each payment method, we will consider how risk is allocated among participants, what claims and defenses arise on the underlying contracts, and how the regulatory framework shapes — and is shaped by — commercial practice.

While there is no casebook, you will need to get Payments Systems in the U.S.: A Guide for the Payments Professional (3rd ed.) by Carol Coye Benson, Scott Loftesness, and Russ Jones. You can get this off of Amazon. This is a great foundational reference guide for payments, and will help supplement the other course materials and provide a simple to understand baseline understanding of different payment systems.

Lastly, you will need to be able to access and review statutes, regs, and other materials. If you have Westlaw or Lexis access, you should have what you need. But, if you like this in a print version (like me), I suggest Aspen's Comprehensive Commercial Law: 2025 Statutory Supplement. This is also available on Amazon.

Generative AI may not be used as part of this class. AI is a powerful tool, but one of the real dangers is that it lets you conclude too early that you understand something — and it hallucinates in ways you're likely not yet equipped to catch. That judgment only comes from learning to read, interpret, synthesize, and communicate legal materials yourself. This course is nominally about payments law, but that skill is really what it's about.