Data

Cheat Sheet: White House pushes the CFPB to formalize consumer access and control over financial data

  • Executive order encourages the CFPB to issue regulations that put consumer data in the hands of the consumers.
  • The directive builds on existing legislation known as the Dodd-Frank Act of 2010.
close

Email a Friend

Cheat Sheet: White House pushes the CFPB to formalize consumer access and control over financial data

The White House signed an executive order that intends to put consumer financial data in the hands of consumers. 

Details

  • On July 9, President Joe Biden issued an executive order intended to encourage competition across a broad range of industries.
  • A section in the executive order called on the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau to issue regulations that would allow consumers to access and share their financial information and banking data. 
  • The executive order builds on existing but unimplemented CFPB regulation, specifically Section 1033 of the Dodd-Frank Wall Street Reform and Consumer Protection Act, which permits the agency to issue rules regarding financial data access and sharing.

Consumer Financial Protection Bureau 

In July 2010, Congress passed and President Barack Obama signed the Dodd-Frank Act. The act was intended to address the failures of consumer protection following the financial crisis of 2007 - 2009. The Dodd-Frank Act overhauled existing financial regulations by reorganizing the regulatory system and redistributing responsibilities among agencies. It also created new government agencies like the CFPB, which is responsible for consumer protection in the financial services industry. 

Section 1033 of the Dodd-Frank Act permits the CFPB to issue regulations regarding data sharing -- the CFPB just hasn’t acted on it. However, there’s been growing movement on the issue. In 2016, the CFPB director at the time publicly endorsed consumers’ rights to access their financial information. A year later, the CFPB released guiding principles on the issue as well. 

The clearest sign of intent came in October 2020, when the agency issued an advanced notice of proposed rulemaking. The notice also requested public input with a February 2021 deadline for banks, advocacy and interest groups, fintechs and the general public to share their comments and concerns on a range of issues like consumer privacy and security. Since then, there’s been little traction except for the rulemaking process’ inclusion on the agency’s most recent agenda.

Biden’s executive order is just the latest push to implement Section 1033 of the Dodd-Frank Act. In essence, the executive order doesn’t change much except put pressure on the CFPB to act on its permission to issue regulations on data sharing. If fully realized, Section 1033 could force banks and financial providers to incorporate digital sharing technologies into their banking infrastructure to make it easier for consumers to access and share their data. It would put consumer data in the hands of the consumers, giving them control over their financial information. 

However, some critics argue not all financial institutions, such as community banks and credit unions, have the budget or the expertise to build their own data-sharing technologies. 

As things stand...

As things stand, banks have more access and control over consumers’ banking information, with little efficient operational communication and cooperation between financial institutions, which hinders consumers from making decisions like switching banks. A Consumer Reports survey found that 53 percent of respondents gave up on switching their banks. Of those, 63 percent cited the hassle of transferring their automatic payments and deposits for giving up; 37 percent said it takes too much time and effort. 

SPONSORED

Years of inaction have led to some banks and fintechs taking things into their own hands. Companies like Plaid, Finicity, and MX have products that allow them to aggregate consumer financial data with consumer consent. The gathered data can be used in different use cases, such as in third-parties like money management apps and underwriting loans when traditional credit history isn’t available. 

The advent of data aggregators seems to have triggered a slow change that sees most banks coming around to the idea of data sharing. While some banks oppose data aggregation methods like screen scraping, banks like JPMorgan Chase have entered into data access agreements with fintechs which allow the latter to access and utilize consumer data via JPMorgan’s APIs. Similarly, Plaid entered into an agreement with Capital One last month, where Plaid agreed to halt screen scraping and use Capital One’s APIs to gather data.

0 comments on “Cheat Sheet: White House pushes the CFPB to formalize consumer access and control over financial data”

Outlier OpinionsMakers

Banking, Data

Behind Finastra’s integration of Plaid to simplify the banking experience for end users

  • Finastra recently integrated Plaid into its Fusion Digital Banking platform, enabling banks and credit unions to deliver a simplified banking experience – account verification and authorization – to their end customers through Plaid Link. 
  • Combined with Plaid's API, FIs using Fusion Digital Banking can incorporate credential-less integrations and easier user interactions. 
Sara Khairi | May 08, 2023
Data, Lending

How Pagaya uses alternative solutions to decision on credit, enabling more financial inclusion

  • Pagaya combines alternative solutions powered by AI with traditional credit reporting databases.
  • The firm analyzes hundreds of data points to generate tailored recommendations that allow its partners to make credit decisions for borrowers that may not meet a particular FICO cutoff.
Sara Khairi | April 20, 2023
Data, Sponsored

How marginal improvements in data strategy can yield tremendous results

  • The truth is brutal: data is hard, and most people don’t understand it.
  • Here's how marginal improvements to a company's data strategy can have a profound impact.
Quantalytix | December 14, 2022
Data, Podcasts, Sponsored

‘Earned wage access is the next evolution in improving day-to-day liquidity’: Argyle’s Matthew Gomes

  • Director of strategy at Argyle, Matt Gomes, joins us on the Tearsheet Podcast.
  • Listen in to our conversation about how payroll and employment data API platforms enable financial institutions to bring the next generation of financial products to consumers.
Argyle | September 22, 2022
Data, Podcasts, Sponsored

‘Developers have become as central a figure as the banks’: Fiserv’s Niranjan Ramaswamy

  • VP and GM of embedded fintech at Fiserv, Niranjan Ramaswamy, joins us on the Tearsheet Podcast.
  • Listen to our conversation about how Fiserv empowers developers to build products that bring fintechs and FIs together.
Fiserv | September 21, 2022
More Articles