Legal
Effective date: April 1, 2026 · Last updated: April 1, 2026
About this policy
This policy describes how Meridian's co-marketing feature is designed to comply with the Real Estate Settlement Procedures Act (RESPA), specifically Section 8, which prohibits kickbacks and unearned fees in connection with real estate settlement services. This policy is provided for informational purposes and does not constitute legal advice.
RESPA Section 8 prohibits any person from giving or accepting a fee, kickback, or thing of value pursuant to any agreement in connection with a real estate settlement service referral. However, RESPA permits payments for goods actually furnished or services actually performed, including co-marketing arrangements where payment is proportional to the value of advertising space or services provided. The CFPB has issued guidance indicating that lender-agent co-marketing arrangements may be permissible when: (1) payment is based on the fair market value of the advertising space, not on referrals; (2) the advertising space is actually provided; and (3) there is no agreement to refer business.
Meridian's co-marketing engine is designed with the following RESPA-compliance requirements built in: Proportional billing: The lender's payment is strictly proportional to the percentage of advertising space they receive. If a lender pays 50% of an agent's subscription, they receive exactly 50% of the available advertising space on the agent's portal and IDX site. Mandatory co-branding: When a lender co-marketing arrangement is active, the lender's name, NMLS number, and branding are automatically displayed on the agent's client-facing pages. This co-branding cannot be hidden or disabled while billing is active. No referral conditioning: The platform contains no mechanism to condition advertising space on referrals. The advertising arrangement is based solely on financial contribution. Automatic audit trail: Every co-marketing arrangement generates an immutable, timestamped audit log that records the setup, any changes, billing amounts, and the proportion of advertising space provided. This log is CFPB-ready and can be exported at any time. Advertisement labeling: All lender advertising displays an "Advertisement" label automatically. This cannot be disabled.
Meridian does not: facilitate any agreement to refer settlement service business; allow lender payments that exceed the fair market value of advertising space; allow advertising space that is disproportionate to lender payment; allow co-branding to be hidden while billing is active; condition lender payments on actual referrals made.
While Meridian's platform is designed to facilitate RESPA-compliant co-marketing, users remain solely responsible for: ensuring their overall business practices comply with RESPA; not entering into any side agreements with lenders that condition advertising on referrals; consulting qualified legal counsel before entering into co-marketing arrangements; maintaining their own records of co-marketing activities; ensuring their lender partners understand the terms of the arrangement. Meridian is a technology platform and does not provide legal advice. The fact that Meridian generates an audit trail does not constitute a representation that any particular arrangement is RESPA-compliant.
Each co-marketing arrangement generates an audit log that includes: timestamp of arrangement creation; agent and lender identifying information (including lender NMLS number); the percentage of subscription cost paid by the lender; the percentage of advertising space allocated to the lender; confirmation that co-branding was displayed; any changes to the arrangement with timestamps; deactivation records with timestamps. This audit log is stored immutably and can be exported by the agent at any time through the co-marketing dashboard.
Meridian enforces a hard limit of 50% of the agent's subscription cost as the maximum lender contribution. This limit is enforced at the platform level and cannot be overridden. This limit is based on conservative interpretation of RESPA guidance regarding the proportion of co-marketing costs that may be borne by settlement service providers.
If you have questions about RESPA compliance or Meridian's co-marketing feature, please contact us at legal@osmeridian.com. We recommend all users consult with a real estate attorney familiar with RESPA before entering into co-marketing arrangements.