Financial Data and Technology Association of North America

Contact: Laine Williams, (202) 897-4757,  [email protected] 

August 5, 2024, Washington, DC – The Financial Data and Technology Association of North America (FDATA), a trade association representing more than 30 financial technology companies and consumer-permissioned data access platforms in Canada and the United States, today submitted a comment in response to the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau’s (“CFPB” or “Bureau”) proposed rule to limit creditors from obtaining or using information on medical debts for credit eligibility determinations under the Fair Credit Reporting Act (“FCRA”).

While FDATA North America takes no position on the underlying merits of the CFPB’s proposed rule, it raised significant operational concerns about the practical implementation of the rule for consumer-permissioned open banking platforms that function as Consumer Reporting Agencies (“CRAs”). FDATA North America underscored that absent an affirmative requirement for data providers to identify medical debts as such, the current lack of a uniform mechanism for open banking platforms to identify whether an account connected by a consumer is a medical debt presents a major compliance challenge.

FDATA North America highlighted that for open banking platforms to comply with the CFPB’s proposed medical debt rule, it is essential that lenders affirmatively identify accounts as medical debts whenever a consumer grants data access to a third-party platform. Without this requirement, platforms will struggle to determine with certainty whether an account is a medical debt, leading to compliance challenges with the Bureau’s proposed rule.

FDATA North America called for the CFPB to mandate that data providers within consumer-permissioned ecosystems disclose the type of account from which the consumer is seeking to share data to ensure effective compliance. This measure would ensure that open banking platforms, when regulated as CRAs, have access to the same account information currently available in the traditional CRA space.

A full copy of the letter is available here.

Contact: Laine Williams, (202) 897-4757,  [email protected] 

July 26, 2024, Washington, DC – The Financial Data and Technology Association of North America (FDATA) submitted to the Canadian House of Commons’ Standing Committee on Finance (FINA) its recommendations in advance of the 2025 budget. Our submission emphasized the need for the rapid and well-governed implementation of Canada’s open banking system and the expansion of open banking into an open finance framework to drive innovation and competition in the financial sector.

We urged the Canadian government to:

• Include language in Budget 2025 to ensure the implementation of Canada’s open banking system, allowing both consumers and small business owners to have full access to its benefits and prioritizing the growth of Canada’s innovation economy.
• Outline the government’s approach to open finance, the next logical step in financial services. Budget 2025 should establish a timeline for expanding the framework to include additional types of financial accounts, ultimately encompassing any financial account controlled by a consumer or small business.
• Ensure that the Financial Consumer Agency of Canada (FCAC) governs the system in a manner that does not inadvertently dissuade smaller entities from participating.

In the submission, FDATA highlighted that Budget 2024’s delivery of Canada’s initial CDB framework marked an important milestone in a long, consultative journey. Budget 2025 should both ensure delivery of open banking in line with the government’s and the market’s expectations and build on this important progress, including unambiguously making small business accounts part of the first phase and ensuring that the FCAC’s enforcement of the system is appropriately tiered based on the size, complexity, and use case of participating entities.

A full copy of the submission is available here.

Contact: Laine Williams, (202) 897-4757, [email protected] 

July 24, 2024, Washington, DC– The Financial Data and Technology Association of North America (FDATA), a trade association representing more than 30 financial technology companies and consumer-permissioned data access platforms in Canada and the United States, today submitted a comment in response to the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau’s (CFPB or Bureau) interpretive rule classifying Buy Now, Pay Later (BNPL) loans as Regulation Z-regulated products under the Truth in Lending Act (TILA).

FDATA North America commended the CFPB for classifying BNPL loans as Regulation Z-regulated products under the TILA, which will ensure that these loans are considered “covered data” under the Bureau’s forthcoming final rule implementing Section 1033 of the Dodd-Frank Wall Street Reform and Consumer Protection Act (Section 1033). The Section 1033 rule will allow consumers to share their balance and transaction information across credit card, checking, and savings accounts with third-party financial providers of their choice, ensuring greater financial transparency and empowerment. The designation of BNPL loans will enable consumers to make more informed financial decisions and manage their finances more effectively when considering applying for, utilizing, and servicing BPNL loans.

As the leading trade association that has long advocated for the inclusion of all consumer financial accounts under the CFPB’s Section 1033 rule, FDATA North America supports this incremental step towards a more expansive Section 1033 rulemaking. FDATA North America encourages the Bureau to continuously broaden the types of accounts covered under its Section 1033 rulemaking over time, ensuring that all consumers can access and share their financial data digitally and benefit from important protections when they do so.

A full copy of the letter is available here.

Contact: Laine Williams, (202) 897-4757, [email protected] 

June 20, 2024, Washington, DC – The Financial Data and Technology Association of North America (FDATA), a trade association representing more than 30 financial technology companies and consumer-permissioned data access platforms in the United States and Canada, today sent a letter to Missouri Secretary of State Jay Ashcroft in response to warnings the agency sent to state-registered advisors regarding potential investor harm associated with advisors’ use of technology-based tools to help manage their clients’ portfolios.

The Missouri Securities Division on May 23, 2024, sent warning letters to more than 40 state-registered advisors raising concerns about advisors using clients’ log-in credentials to access financial information with client consent.

In its letter, FDATA North America emphasized that allowing financial advisors to access and review clients’ financial information is essential for providing informed recommendations that improve financial outcomes for Missourians. FDATA North America also highlighted the potential negative impact of the Division’s warning, which discourages the use of third-party tools that can enhance clients’ investment and financial outcomes. FDATA North America reiterated its commitment to data privacy and information sharing while advocating for secure consumer-permissioned data access and urged the Missouri Securities Division to consider mandating, in alignment with forthcoming federal rules by the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau, the promulgation of secure interfaces for consumer-permissioned data access for retirement and securities accounts, ensuring that consumers can safely share their financial data with third parties.

A full copy of the letter is available here.

Contact: Laine Williams, (202) 897-4757, [email protected] 

May 21, 2024, Washington, DC – The Financial Data and Technology Association of North America (FDATA), a trade association representing more than 30 financial technology companies and consumer-permissioned data access platforms in Canada and the United States, today responded to the Bank of Canada’s Retail Payments Supervision Consultation regarding its new supervisory guidelines for payment service providers (PSPs). FDATA North America expressed broad support for the Retail Payments Activities Act (RPAA) regulations while requesting additional clarity in the Bank’s guidance.

FDATA North America highlighted that implementation of the RPAA regulations will establish a robust regulatory framework for as many as 2,500 PSPs, significantly advancing Canada’s financial services modernization. In the response, FDATA North America emphasized that the RPAA regulations should facilitate the inclusion of payment use cases into Canada’s consumer-driven banking framework, as announced by Deputy Prime Minister and Minister of Finance Chrystia Freeland in the 2024 budget. By incorporating payment initiation use cases at this early stage, Canada can align with other G7 nations that have already established non-bank PSP regulations and open finance frameworks.

In its comments, FDATA North America provided detailed responses to key aspects of the supervisory guidelines. For operational risk and incident response, it urged comprehensive due diligence for outsourced service providers, flexible compliance standards like SOC II Type 2 audits, clear thresholds for distinguishing different types of PSPs, and an extended 24-hour reporting period for material breaches. It proposed that PSPs report incidents solely to the Office of the Privacy Commissioner (OPC) to reduce duplicative reporting. For safeguarding end-user funds, FDATA requested clarity on the definition of “holding funds” and recommended excluding firms that facilitate transactions but don’t hold funds. Additionally, it called for explicit criteria for changes warranting notification, particularly for cloud migration, to help PSPs manage risks while complying.

A full copy of the response is available here.

Contact: Laine Williams, (202) 897-4757, [email protected] 

May 2, 2024, Washington, DC – The Financial Data and Technology Association of North America (FDATA), 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 the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau (CFPB or Bureau) addressing concerns in the Bureau’s approach to digital wallets and passthrough payment platforms in both its Notice of Proposed Rulemaking (NPRM) on Personal Financial Data Rights and its NPRM on Defining Larger Participants of a Market for General-Use Digital Consumer Payments.

The letter highlighted a critical oversight in the CFPB’s draft regulations, which grouped digital wallets—designed to hold consumer assets—with passthrough payment platforms that merely facilitate transactions via accounts at other financial institutions. FDATA emphasized that this conflation could compromise regulatory effectiveness, confuse consumers, and stifle innovation in the market, with key points from the letter including:

• General Definitions: The proposed rules offered overly broad definitions for digital wallets that did not acknowledge the operational distinctions from passthrough payment services.
• Regulatory and Consumer Impacts: The lack of distinction was criticized for potentially imposing undue regulatory burdens on passthrough platforms without offering additional consumer protections.
• Call for Tailored Regulation: FDATA North America advocated for the CFPB to refine its regulations to accurately mirror the diverse functionalities within digital financial services, ensuring focused and effective consumer protections.
• Concern Over Data Duplication: The current approach could lead to unnecessary and confusing duplications in regulatory data requirements.
• Innovation at Risk: The letter emphasized the importance of a regulatory framework that understands the operational realities of digital finance to foster innovation and ensure consumer safety.
• Plea for Precise Rulemaking: FDATA North America stressed the need for rulemakings that distinguish between the various digital financial services, benefiting consumers, providers, and the broader financial ecosystem.

FDATA called on the CFPB to exempt passthrough payment platforms from being considered data providers under its Personal Financial Data Rights rule and from the supervisory requirements set forth in its payments Larger Participant Rulemaking.

A full copy of the letter is available here.

Contact: Laine Williams, (202) 897-4757, [email protected] 

Washington, DC, April 16, 2024 – The Financial Data and Technology Association of North America (FDATA), a trade association representing more than 30 financial technology companies and consumer-permissioned data access platforms in Canada and the United States, today applauded the government’s inclusion of a framework to deliver consumer-driven banking as part of Budget 2024.

FDATA North America, which has long advocated for consumer and small business benefits that an open finance framework will deliver for Canadians, commended the government for outlining a detailed vision of the design of open finance in Canada and a commitment to begin implementing the system through legislation this spring and announcing its intention to create an open finance framework in Canada that is interoperable with the framework that the U.S. Consumer Financial Protection Bureau will finalize later this year. As the government begins its work to finally deliver open finance in Canada in 2025, FDATA North America encourages the Department of Finance to include small business accounts under the scope of the framework to ensure that Canadian SMEs receive the same open finance benefits as consumers.

Steve Boms, Executive Director of FDATA, released the following statement:

“We are greatly encouraged by the Government of Canada’s commitment to advance open finance in Canada. The inclusion of Consumer Driven Banking in Budget 2024 marks a significant step for the financial empowerment of consumers and small and medium-sized enterprises. Once successfully implemented, this will foster a more innovative Canadian financial services marketplace, and promote a fairer and more inclusive financial services ecosystem. It reflects a global trend towards consumer-centric financial services and brings Canada in line with the regimes established by nearly every other G-7 nation.

We applaud the comprehensive framework announced in the budget and look forward to working closely with the government as it actualizes open finance to benefit Canadian consumers and small businesses.”

Contact: Laine Williams, (202) 897-4757, [email protected] 

March 15, 2024 Washington, DC – The Financial Data and Technology Association of North America (FDATA) today sent a letter to Wyoming Governor Mark Gordon and Wyoming legislators including Representative Cyrus Western, Representative Daniel Singh, Representative Mike Yin, Senator Alfie Ellis, Senator Tara Nethercott, and Senator Chris Rothfuss, highlighting concerns about a Wyoming bill (HB 145) that was recently enacted into law and offering to provide input into Wyoming’s open banking regulations and financial innovation agenda.

As a leading advocate for consumer-permissioned, third-party access to financial data globally, our letter underscored the importance of aligning Wyoming’s open banking framework with global best practices, which provide complete control to consumers and small businesses over what data they decide to share with third parties. We pointed out that HB 145 deviates from this important open banking tenet.

As the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau moves to implement a federal open banking framework later through rulemaking later this year, we offered to engage in further discussions with Governor Gordon and the legislators to explore solutions that would make Wyoming’s open banking regulations a model for consumer empowerment and market competitiveness.

A full copy of the letter is available here.

Contact: Laine Williams, (202) 897-4757, [email protected] 

February 28, 2024 Washington, DC – The Financial Data and Technology Association of North America (FDATA) today submitted comments to Canada’s Department of Finance as part of its consultation on strengthening competition in the financial sector. Our submission underscored the necessity for the enactment and realization of several previously announced initiatives that will provide increased competition in Canada’s financial sector once delivered.

FDATA NA’s feedback highlighted four cornerstone initiatives, each critical to fostering a more inclusive, innovative, and competitive financial ecosystem:

1. Consumer-Driven Finance (CDF): We advocated for the swift advancement of CDF including the pivotal adoption of an open banking regime. This approach is designed to empower consumers and small and medium-sized enterprise (SMEs) with enhanced control over their financial data, serving as a catalyst for broadening the range of financial products and services available. Such a framework is indispensable for stimulating market competition and driving innovation.
2. Real-Time Rail (RTR): Our comments emphasized the urgent need for the accelerated deployment of the RTR to modernize Canada’s payment infrastructure. This development is key to enabling instant payment processing capabilities that will benefit both consumers and SMEs, thereby encouraging innovation and improving efficiency across the financial sector.
3. Retail Payment Activities Act (RPAA) Implementation: We stressed the importance of promptly implementing RPAA regulations to cover approximately 2,500 payment service providers (PSPs) within a comprehensive and robust regulatory framework. This initiative aims to significantly enhance the security, efficiency, and competitive nature of Canada’s payment systems.
4. Canadian Payments Act (CP Act) Amendments: FDATA NA called for essential amendments to the CP Act, allowing regulated non-bank payment providers direct access to Canada’s payment rails. This strategic move is expected to democratize the financial services marketplace, lower transaction costs, and foster a more vibrant and competitive landscape.

Through the enactment and realization of these initiatives, FDATA NA envisions a fundamental transformation within Canada’s financial sector. Leveraging models of success from international jurisdictions, we highlighted the potential of our recommendations to significantly boost the sector’s competitiveness, inclusivity, and innovation. The ultimate beneficiaries of these reforms that will deliver a more competitive financial ecosystem will be consumers, small and medium-sized enterprises, and the broader Canadian economy.

A full copy of the submission is available here.

Contact: Laine Williams, (202) 897-4757, [email protected] 

February 9, 2024 Washington, DC – The Financial Data and Technology Association of North America (FDATA) submitted comments to Canada’s Department of Finance as part of its pre-budget consultations in advance of Budget 2024. Our submission emphasized the necessity for Canada to build upon the inclusion of consumer-driven banking (CDB) in the 2023 Fall Economic Statement, moving towards a fully realized Canadian open finance framework. The letter underscored the significance of CDB as a foundational step towards financial empowerment for consumers and small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs), fostering a more innovative and competitive financial services marketplace in Canada.

Our letter urged the Canadian government to:

• Legislate a CDB Framework: Introduce specific language in Budget 2024 to legislate the CDB framework, empowering consumers and small- and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs) with secure access to their financial data, thus ensuring Canada remains competitive in the global financial ecosystem.
• Establish a Robust Governance Entity: Allocate funding for the creation of a new, neutral, and transparent governance entity to oversee the CDB framework. This body should be capable of making quick, binding decisions and be accountable for its actions, ensuring the framework’s success and longevity, and should be tasked with framework management, API auditing, accreditor oversight, technical standards oversight, liability apportionment, and dispute resolution.
• Outline a Vision for Open Finance: Beyond CDB, Budget 2024 should detail the government’s approach to open finance, the next evolution in financial services, which promises to unlock unprecedented market innovation and competition for the benefit of Canadian consumers and SMEs.

In the submission, we also asserted that any CDB governance entity in Canada must be neutral (i.e. not controlled by any particular stakeholder(s) with commercial interests in the ecosystem), transparent (i.e. it invites and considers stakeholder input and subjects its decisions to an open, publicly visible process), nimble (i.e. capable of making binding decisions relatively quickly and without undue bureaucracy), and accountable (i.e. explain its decisions and actions and be subject to judicial oversight and administrative law processes) with all stakeholders in the system agreeing to comply with the decisions and determinations made by the open banking governance entity as a condition of being active in the market.

A full copy of the submission is available here.