Cryptocurrency and fintech advocacy groups are pressing the Trump administration to back a contentious open banking rule that holds sway over consumers’ ability to share their financial data.
The Blockchain Association, Crypto Council for Innovation, and the Financial Technology Association, among others, warned that consumer financial data rights are “under attack,” while criticizing banks’ pushback, in a letter sent Tuesday to the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau.
“The nation’s largest banks want to roll back open banking, weaken consumer financial data sharing, and crush competition to protect their position in the marketplace,” they said in the letter.
The CFPB, which aims to ensure consumers are treated fairly by banks and other financial institutions, finalized a rule last year requiring banks, credit unions, and others to make available consumers’ data “upon request to consumers and authorized third parties.” The Bank Policy Institute, which represents the country’s top banks, sued the CFPB, arguing that the agency overstepped and said the rule “jeopardizes consumers’ privacy” and said banks have a responsibility to protect consumers.