Attorney General Brenna Bird Leads Coalition in $664M Settlement with Snap Finance
October 21, 2026
DES MOINES—Attorney General Brenna Bird announced today she is leading a coalition of 17 attorneys general in a nearly $664 million settlement with Snap Finance. As part of the settlement, Snap Finance will automatically cancel $2,367,148 in lease payments owed by Iowans who entered into lease-to-own agreements from 2017-2022, and those Iowans will be able to keep and own their merchandise with no further payments.
Snap Finance (“Snap”) is a consumer financial services company that offers a lease-to-own (or “LTO”) agreement through merchant partners rather than through its own brick-and-mortar stores like traditional rent-to-own stores. Snap’s LTO product is often one of multiple purchasing options offered by a single merchant. When a customer selects the Snap LTO option, Snap purchases the merchandise from the merchant, Snap takes the title or owns the merchandise, and then Snap leases it to the customer until the customer pays off the full cost of the lease under the agreement.
The attorneys general investigated Snap’s alleged violations of consumer protection laws. Snap used misleading disclosures about the nature of their leasing arrangements; Snap did not allow customers to view the full terms of their contracts; customers experienced extreme communication issues when they were trying to return products; and Snap’s payment terms were confusing to customers.
For example, the states asserted that some customers thought they were entering into agreements with short pay-back windows of 100-days or fewer but instead entered into long-term contracts that ended up being more expensive. Customers were misinformed that leasing a product and making on-time payments could increase their credit score; but that was not the case. The states investigated potential bad debt collection practices and Snap’s potentially deceptive process about returning products and terminating leases.
“Snap Finance misled Iowans to believe their lease-to-own finance option was a good as cash and would help their credit ratings,” said Attorney General Bird. “The truth was not as simple. Iowans were stuck with a complicated contract with little-to-no way to get customer service, and in some cases, no way to cancel their contract. Our consumer protection laws say a company must be transparent in dealing with Iowans. Snap has agreed to change its practices to be more transparent, and this settlement brings Iowans real relief.”
Snap cooperated with the settling states’ investigation and has agreed to the following business practice changes to address the states’ concerns:
Advertising restrictions: Snap has agreed to not use misleading slogans such as “cash payoff,” “same as cash,” and “no additional fees required,” that potentially hid the true cost of the lease a customer was agreeing to.
Disclosure and transparency: Snap must ensure that customers are shown the full terms and cost of a lease in accordance with state law before the lease can be signed.
Servicing protections: Today’s settlement makes it clear when Snap must repair or replace property that a customer leases and ensures Snap will do so. Additionally, Snap is prohibited from threatening seizure of a product for non-payment of a lease when it has no intent to do so.
Disclosures about credit ratings: Snap’s is prohibited from misrepresenting that applying for a lease or utilizing Snap’s LTO product will help customers increase their credit score.
Lease termination and surrender: Snap is required to provide clear disclosure of the right to terminate a lease, and Snap is prohibited from interfering with that right. Additionally, the settlement requires practical ways for a customer to return property when terminating a lease while pausing payment accrual when termination requests are processed.
Merchant training and Compliance: Snap must meet certain initial and ongoing training requirements and provide annual compliance reports for three years.
The total lease forgiveness for consumers in all of today’s settling states will receive is $662,102,518. Snap is also paying $2,750,000 to the states. Iowa will receive $250,000 to go into the consumer education and litigation fund for future consumer enforcement efforts.
Iowa and Nebraska led today's settlement and is joined by the negotiating committee states of Florida, Idaho, Kansas, Kentucky, and West Virginia as well as the states of Arkansas, Georgia, Louisiana, Mississippi, Missouri, North Dakota, Oklahoma, Texas, Utah, and Wyoming.
Read the settlement here.
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For More Information:
Jen Green | jen.green@ag.iowa.gov
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