Banks don’t charge consumers fees to access their data, and because of banks’ innovation and investments in secure systems, consumers have access to more financial products and secure services than ever, the American Bankers Association, Bank Policy Institute and Consumer Bankers Association said today in response to claims made by retailers and fintech companies.
The Financial Technology Association and a coalition of fintechs, retailers and cryptocurrency companies released a joint letter calling on President Trump “to oppose exorbitant consumer data access fees that would prevent consumers from connecting their bank accounts to better financial products of their choice.” The groups are seeking to preserve the prohibition on charging third-party businesses fees currently enshrined in the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau’s Biden-Era rule implementing Section 1033 of the Dodd-Frank Act, which requires banks and other financial institutions to make a consumer’s financial information available to them or a third party at the consumer’s direction. The CFPB is currently drafting new rulemaking to implement the rule.
ABA, BPI and CBA said the fintech letter was “another extraordinary example of data aggregators and middlemen trying to mislead the administration into supporting Biden-era policies for personal profit and the right to free ride off the major investments banks have made in protecting consumers’ data.”
Among other things, the associations noted there are more than 120 data aggregators currently connect financial data across providers, and that banks process billions of requests from large fintech companies every month.
“We look forward to seeing a personal financial data rights rule that comports with the statute, protects consumers and ensures a level playing field to encourage innovation, a process the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau has already begun,” they said.
