What type of payments does RESPA prohibit?

The Real Estate Settlement Procedures Act (RESPA) specifically aims to eliminate kickbacks and referral fees that can unnecessarily increase the cost of settlement services. The prohibition on kickbacks to settlement service providers is essential to ensuring that consumers are not burdened with inflated costs due to unethical financial incentives.

In the context of the choices provided, kickbacks among settlement service providers can create conflicts of interest and ultimately harm consumers by inflating costs without providing any value. Thus, RESPA’s aim to maintain transparency in the real estate transaction process makes the correct choice the prohibition on kickbacks to settlement service providers.