ABA and a coalition of financial trade associations today voiced their support for allowing customers to access financial records and to share that data securely. In a letter to the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau responding to an advance notice of proposed rulemaking on consumer access to financial records, the groups urged the bureau to maintain a principles-based approach to sharing data and emphasized the importance of ensuring consumers remain protected when they choose to share their financial data.
The groups added that the bureau’s 2017 set of principles on responsible sharing of consumer data have served as a “flexible bedrock for industry collaboration,” and that “the evolving financial marketplace should have evolving standards that protect consumers while promoting innovation.” A more prescriptive approach “may undermine the progress that has already taken place and risks leaving consumers exposed if undertaken too narrowly,” the groups wrote.
In a separate letter to the bureau, ABA noted that there are steps the bureau can take to ensure that bank customers can control their financial data and benefit from financial innovation, including ensuring that core providers offer community banks the tools to facilitate secure data sharing; bringing data aggregators under direct supervision; and requiring aggregators to periodically reconfirm consumer authorization to access their accounts.
ABA previously outlined a set of principles for the responsible sharing of consumer financial data and recommendations to ensure that bank customers have control over how their financial data is shared.