Jan 16 (Reuters) - The Consumer Financial Protection Bureau (CFPB) on Thursday ordered

payments firm Block to pay a penalty citing fraud and weak security protocols on its

mobile payment service Cash App.

The regulator said Block deprived Cash App users of meaningful and effective customer

service and left the network vulnerable to criminals defrauding users.

The move is one of the final regulatory actions under the Biden administration as Washington

awaits the inauguration of President-elect Donald Trump.

Billionaire Elon Musk, who is slated to co-head a new government agency to slash

government spending, has called for the elimination of the CFPB.

The order includes up to $120 million in redress to consumers and a $55 million penalty to

be paid into the CFPB's victim relief fund.

"Cash App created the conditions for fraud to proliferate on its popular payment

platform," said CFPB Director Rohit Chopra in a statement.

Block said the issues raised by the CFPB were "historical" and did not "reflect the Cash

App experience today."

"While we strongly disagree with the CFPB's mischaracterizations, we made the decision

to settle this matter in the interest of putting it behind us and focusing on what's best for

our customers and our business," the company said.

On Wednesday, Block also

agreed

to pay $80 million to a group of 48 state financial regulators after the agencies

determined the company had insufficient policies for policing Cash App.