CFPB

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FDATA North America Responds to CFPB Request for Information (RFI) on ‘Junk Fees’

Contact: Kerrie Rushton, (202) 365-6338, [email protected] 

April 8, 2022, Washington, DC – The Financial Data and Technology Association (FDATA) of North America submitted a comment letter today to the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau (CFPB) in response to its Request for Information (“RFI”) regarding fees assessed by financial services companies. FDATA used this opportunity to once again urge the CFPB to finalize a regulation under Section 1033 of the Dodd-Frank Act, an action which would create a long-overdue consumer data right in the United States. 

The letter states that FDATA believes the most practical remedy to reducing predatory fees in the financial ecosystem is to implement an open finance regime in the United States, stressing that “the center of such a framework must be an unambiguous and legally binding customer financial data right, which would ensure that consumers and small businesses could easily shop for financial services and products among scores of potential providers in an open, transparent marketplace.”

The lack of a customer financial data right in the United States reduces competition in data-driven financial services, artificially stifles consumer choice and creates an environment in which fees charged to end users may stay stagnant – or even increase – over time. To tackle these thorny challenges, FDATA North America once again encouraged the CFPB to utilize the authority vested in it under Section 1033 of the Dodd-Frank Act to promulgate, by rule, a customer financial data right that will “spur greater financial services innovation and competition, lower fees, and improve financial access and inclusion.” 

To further demonstrate how a consumer data right could help address the issues raised in the RFI, the letter makes note of CFPB Director Rohit Chopra’s remarks during a press call regarding overdraft fees in December of last year, where he astutely noted that “If America can shift to an open banking infrastructure, it will be harder for banks to trap customers into an account for the purpose of fee harvesting.” 

The letter also shared information on the successful implementation of open finance regimes in other countries which demonstrate the wide-ranging economic and consumer benefits that can be delivered by a final 1033 rule. A copy of the letter is here: FDATA CFPB Junk Fee RFI Letter April 2022

ABOUT FDATA NORTH AMERICA
FDATA was heavily involved in the UK Open Banking Working Group in 2015. In 2016, the working group’s output was published by Her Majesty’s Treasury as the Open Banking Standard. FDATA North America was founded in early 2018. Its members collectively provide tens of millions of consumers in Canada, the United States and Mexico with aggregation-based tools to better manage their finances.

Members include air (Alliance for Innovative Regulation), APImetrics, Basis Theory, Betterment, BillGO, Codat, Direct ID, Envestnet Yodlee, EQ Bank, Experian, finansystech, Fiserv, Flinks, Hank Payments, Interac, Intuit, Inverite, Kabbage, Mogo, Morningstsar, M Science, MX, Petal, Plaid, Questrade, RocketMortgage, SaltEdge, Trustly, ValidiFI, Vaultree, VoPay, Wealthica, Xero, and others.

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FDATA North America Congratulates Chopra on Confirmation, Calls for Speedy Action on Open Finance Regulation

 

Contact: Kerrie Rushton, (202) 365-6338, [email protected] 

September 30, 2021, Washington, DC – The Financial Data and Technology Association (FDATA) of North America today issued a statement following the successful Senate confirmation for Rohit Chopra to be director of the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau:

“We congratulate Mr. Chopra on his confirmation and are eager to work with him and CFPB staff to advance an open finance regime in the United States. Section 1033 of the Dodd-Frank Wall Street Reform and Consumer Protection Act authorizes the CFPB to establish by regulation a consumer financial services data right in the United States. The Obama administration recognized a customer’s inherent right to their financial data, and so did the Trump administration. President Biden’s recent competition executive order similarly called for the CFPB to quickly issue a regulation honoring Section 1033. Now that Chopra is confirmed, that work can — and must — move forward.

“With nations across the world moving toward open banking, U.S. policymakers must work quickly to implement a customer-centric, 21st century financial services marketplace that boosts competition, better protects consumers, and helps improve financial inclusion.”

ABOUT FDATA NORTH AMERICA
FDATA was heavily involved in the UK Open Banking Working Group in 2015. In 2016, the working group’s output was published by Her Majesty’s Treasury as the Open Banking Standard. FDATA North America was founded in early 2018. Its members collectively provide tens of millions of consumers in Canada, the United States and Mexico with aggregation-based tools to better manage their finances.

Members include air (Alliance for Innovative Regulation), APImetrics, Basis Theory, Betterment, BillGo, Codat, Direct ID, Envestnet Yodlee, EQ Bank, Experian, Fiserv, Flinks, Interac, Intuit, Inverite, Kabbage, Mogo, Morningstsar, M Science, MX, Petal, Plaid, Questrade, Rocket Mortgage, SaltEdge, Trustly, ValidiFI, VoPay, Wealthica, Xero, and others.

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FDATA North America: White House EO Will Help Individuals, Families and Small Businesses Recovering From Pandemic

Contact: Kerrie Rushton, (202) 365-6338, [email protected]

July 9, 2021, Washington, DC – The Financial Data and Technology Association (FDATA) of North America today issued a statement following the release of President Joe Biden’s Executive Order on financial competition. In the order, the president directs the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau (CFPB) to issue a regulation that would allow bank customers to have access to, and share, their own financial data. FDATA North America Executive Director Steve Boms said:

“Today’s Executive Order represents a significant step forward for consumers and small business towards an open finance regime in the United States. Coming out of a pandemic and recession, a CFPB rule will improve financial inclusion, enhance customers’ access to affordable credit, and help families and businesses improve their financial wellbeing.

This order also will help create a customer-centric, 21st century financial services marketplace that boosts competition. Major markets around the world have implemented or are designing open finance regimes. U.S. consumers must not be left behind and, today, the White House is one step closer to making sure that they are not. FDATA North America and its members are eager to work with the CFPB and the Biden administration to implement this incredibly important regulation.”

ABOUT FDATA NORTH AMERICA
FDATA was heavily involved in the UK Open Banking Working Group in 2015. In 2016, the working group’s output was published by Her Majesty’s Treasury as the Open Banking Standard. FDATA North America was founded in early 2018. Its members collectively provide tens of millions of consumers in Canada, the United States and Mexico with aggregation-based tools to better manage their finances.

Members include: air (Alliance for Innovative Regulation), APImetrics, Betterment, BillGO, Codat, Direct ID, Envestnet Yodlee, EQ Bank, Experian, Fiserv, Flinks, Interac, Intuit, Inverite, Kabbage, Mogo, Morningstsar, M Science, MX, Petal, Plaid, Questrade, Quicken Loans, SaltEdge, Trustly, ValidiFI, VoPay, Wealthica, Xero, and others.

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FDATA North America Submits Comments to US Financial Regulators’ Request for Information on Financial Institutions’ Use of AI and ML

June 29, 2021, Washington, DC – Today, the Financial Data and Technology Association (FDATA) of North America submitted comments to the US financial regulators as part of their Request for Information (RFI) on financial institutions’ use of artificial intelligence (AI), including machine learning (ML). The Federal Reserve, Consumer Financial Protection Bureau (CFPB), Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation (NCUA), National Credit Union Administration (NCUA), and Office of the Comptroller of the Currency (OCC) sought comments on the use of AI by financial institutions and their products and services to consumers.

Throughout the submission, FDATA North America Executive Director Steve Boms discussed the importance of embracing new technologies that improve customer experience and foster innovation. Additionally, Boms noted that “as nations around the world adapt to modernized open finance regime in which the consumer and small business have the unfettered ability to access and share their financial data with companies of their choosing, financial institutions and service providers are quickly embracing AI to attract and retain their customers, expand access to credit and improve financial access, and combat financial crime.”

Boms concluded by underscoring that “the promulgation of a legally binding financial data right is a critical first step towards broader deployment of AI-enabled financial tools that can meaningfully improve financial access and wellbeing,” along with more clarity from the agencies regarding the application of existing supervisory expectations on third-party bank partners that utilize AI-enabled tools for various financial products and services.

Image result for paperclip iconFDATA North America Submission to Financial Regulators’ AI/ ML RFI

 

ABOUT FDATA NORTH AMERICA
FDATA was heavily involved in the UK Open Banking Working Group in 2015. In 2016, the working group’s output was published by Her Majesty’s Treasury as the Open Banking Standard. FDATA North America was founded in early 2018. Its members collectively provide tens of millions of consumers in Canada, the United States and Mexico with aggregation-based tools to better manage their finances.

Members include air (Alliance for Innovative Regulation), APImetrics, Betterment, BillGo, Codat, Direct ID, Envestnet Yodlee, EQ Bank, Experian, Fiserv, Flinks, Interac, Intuit, Inverite, Kabbage, Mogo, Morningstsar, M Science, MX, Petal, Plaid, Questrade, Quicken Loans, SaltEdge, Trustly, ValidiFI, VoPay, Wealthica, Xero, and others.

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FDATA North America Responds to US CFPB ANPR on Consumer Access to Financial Records

February 3, 2021, Washington, DC – Today, FDATA North America submitted comments to the US Consumer Financial Protection Bureau (CFPB) in response to its Advanced Notice of Proposed Rulemaking (ANPR) regarding consumer access to financial records, or Section 1033 of the Dodd-Frank Wall Street Reform and Consumer Protection Act.

In the submission, FDATA North America Executive Director Steve Boms praised the CFPB for formally beginning the process of crafting a rule in this critically important area following many years of careful examination of the customer-permissioned data access and financial services ecosystems. “FDATA North America strongly supports the authority given to the CFPB by Congress in 2010 to promulgate, by rule, a consumer financial data right that will spur greater financial services innovation and competition and improve consumer financial access and inclusion,” Boms noted.

Boms concluded the association’s submission by encouraging the Bureau “to fully utilize its Section 1033 authority to create a customer financial data right to allow consumers and small businesses to have unrestricted access to technology-based tools that can help them improve their financial wellbeing, along with other important bedrocks of an open finance regime.”

Image result for paperclip iconFDATA North America CFPB ANPR Submission

ABOUT FDATA NORTH AMERICA
FDATA was heavily involved in the UK Open Banking Working Group in 2015. In 2016, the working group’s output was published by Her Majesty’s Treasury as the Open Banking Standard. FDATA North America was founded in early 2018. Its members collectively provide tens of millions of consumers in Canada, the United States and Mexico with aggregation-based tools to better manage their finances. Existing FDATA North America members include: air (Alliance for Innovative Regulation), API Metrics, Betterment, Direct ID, Envestnet Yodlee, EQ Bank, Experian, Fintech Growth Syndicate, Fiserv, Flinks, Interac, Intuit, Kabbage, Mogo, Morningstsar, M Science, MX, Petal, Plaid, Questrade, Quicken Loans, TransUnion, Trustly, ValidiFI, VoPay, Wealthica, Xero, and others.

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FDATA North America Statement on the CFPB ANPR on Dodd-Frank 1033

FDATA North America Statement on the CFPB ANPR on Dodd-Frank 1033

Contact: Kerrie Rushton, (202) 365-6338, [email protected]

October 22, Washington, DC – Steve Boms, Executive Director of the Financial Data and Technology Association (FDATA) of North America released the following statement regarding the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau’s advanced notice of proposed rulemaking (ANPR) on Section 1033 of the Dodd-Frank Wall Street Reform and Consumer Protection Act:

“This day certainly is a welcome one for consumers and small businesses. Congress gave the CFPB the power a decade ago to ensure Americans have a uniform right to access and use their financial data however they see fit, and today the Bureau is a step closer to asserting that right. If adopted, a rule implementing Section 1033 of the Dodd-Frank Act would be a major building block toward a consumer-centric open finance ecosystem in the United States.

“In any open finance system, consumer protection and security are paramount, which is why every market globally with an open finance framework has a legally binding data right as its centerpiece. We encourage the CFPB to fully utilize its Section 1033 authority to create a consumer financial data right to allow consumers and small businesses to have unrestricted access to technology-based tools that can help them improve their financial wellbeing.”

ABOUT FDATA NORTH AMERICA

FDATA was heavily involved in the UK Open Banking Working Group in 2015. In 2016, the working group’s output was published by Her Majesty’s Treasury as the Open Banking Standard. FDATA North America was founded in early 2018. Its members collectively provide tens of millions of consumers in Canada, the United States and Mexico with aggregation-based tools to better manage their finances. Existing FDATA North America members include: air (Alliance for Innovative Regulation), API Metrics, Betterment, Direct ID, Envestnet Yodlee, EQ Bank, Experian, Fintech Growth Syndicate, Fiserv, Flinks, Interac, Intuit, Kabbage, Mogo, Morningstar, M Science, MX, Petal, Plaid, Questrade, Quicken Loans, TransUnion, Trustly, ValidFi, VoPay, Wealthica, Xero, and others.

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FDATA North America to Highlight the Need for a Legal Consumer Data Right at CFPB Data Access Symposium

February 25, 2020, Washington, DC – FDATA North America has submitted remarks to the Consumer Protection Financial Bureau (CFPB) in advance of tomorrow’s symposium on Consumer Access to Financial Records. FDATA North America’s Executive Director Steve Boms will provide remarks on the difficulty that consumers and small businesses experience in connecting their financial institution accounts with the third-party tools of their choice in the United States on both an initial and recurring basis, noting that “we believe the critical first step towards an open finance framework is the promulgation by policymakers of a consumer and small business financial data right.”

Image result for paperclip iconFDATA North America CFPB Data Access Symposium Testimony

Click here for more information on the symposium. 

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