The news: We recently covered JPMorgan’s decision to charge fintechs for access to customer data. Fintechs aren’t taking this lightly and don’t appear to be accepting of their fate.
How we got here: The Consumer Financial Protection Bureau (CFPB) is planning to repeal the Biden-era Section 1033 open banking rule, according to legal filings. And JPMorgan acted quickly to leverage the probable regulatory rollback, innovating a brand-new revenue stream. The problem, according to fintechs, is that it comes at their expense.
Fintechs’ reaction: They view the fees as a "cynical attempt to take advantage of regulatory uncertainty" and an "about-face" by the CFPB, per Payments Dive. Chief Executive Penny Lee of the Financial Technology Association told Payments Dive that charging for data access "undermines [consumer] freedom;" "threatens to jeopardize millions of Americans’ access to the financial services of their choice;" and is "designed to crush competition, hold back American innovation, and lock consumers into bank-only products."