Contact: Laine Williams, (202) 897-4757, [email protected]
Washington, DC, May 21, 2025 – The Financial Data and Technology Association of North America (“FDATA North America”), a trade association representing more than 30 financial technology companies and consumer-permissioned data access platforms in Canada and the United States, today sent a letter to Acting Consumer Financial Protection Bureau (“CFPB” or “Bureau”) Director Russell Vought urging the Bureau not to seek to vacate the final rule implementing Section 1033 of the Dodd-Frank Wall Street Reform and Consumer Protection Act (“the Dodd-Frank Act”).
The CFPB’s final Personal Financial Data Rights rule, finalized in October 2024, provides a long-overdue framework to ensure consumers can access and share their financial data with the technology-based tools, products and services of their choice. While FDATA North America and its members have consistently supported enhancements to the rule, the association stressed that vacating the rule and starting over would be a step backward for both innovation and consumer rights.
In its letter, FDATA North America warned that seeking to vacate the rule “would severely hamper financial innovation, decrease market competition, and give more control to the largest banks in the country to thwart competitors.” It would also prolong regulatory uncertainty, delay the transition to secure data-sharing technologies like APIs, and undercut progress toward a more open and competitive financial ecosystem.
The letter noted that the final rule aligns with recommendations issued by the U.S. Department of the Treasury in 2018 under the first Trump Administration, which affirmed that Section 1033 of the Dodd-Frank Act applies to instances in which consumers authorize third parties—such as data aggregators and fintech providers—to access their financial data for improved financial services.
“Seeking to vacate the rule would send a troubling signal to innovators, investors, and consumers alike,” said Steve Boms, Executive Director of FDATA North America. “The Bureau should focus instead on refining the existing rule—not discarding years of progress and jeopardizing the future of consumer data access.”
FDATA North America urged the CFPB to address the administration’s concerns around regulatory overreach by amending, rather than vacating, the final rule.
FDATA North America’s members enable more than 100 million consumers across North America to securely access, use, and share their financial data. The association remains committed to working with the CFPB and all stakeholders to protect and advance consumer data rights.
A full copy of the letter is available here.