A coalition of U.S. crypto, fintech, and retail organizations is coming together to advocate for open banking, issuing a warning in a letter that major banks’ efforts to impose fees for data access could disrupt the integration between the financial system and digital wallets and stablecoins.
Entities such as the Blockchain Association, the Crypto Council for Innovation, the National Association of Convenience Stores, and the National Retail Federation have reached out to the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau (CFPB) urging the regulator to maintain essential protections in its forthcoming Rule 1033.
This rule would empower consumers to share their financial data with third-party services freely, facilitating connections between bank accounts and crypto exchanges, stablecoin wallets, and various fintech platforms.
The coalition asserted that large banks are pushing to limit the definition of who counts as a consumer representative and to introduce fees for data access. These alterations would solidify the position of current market players, diminish competition, and sever the ties between crypto and digital wallets and the U.S. banking infrastructure, according to the group.
“A robust open banking rule is essential for a competitive, vibrant, and innovative financial services environment,” the letter states. “In the last decade, many financial innovations available to Americans today were developed with the understanding that the U.S. was progressing towards an open banking system.”
Although banks claim that open banking would incur additional costs, the coalition contended that expenses related to cloud storage and technology infrastructure are standard and anticipated for modern banks globally.
The coalition cautioned that diluting Rule 1033 could cause the U.S. to fall behind major economies such as the U.K., Singapore, and Brazil, where open banking frameworks are already well-established.
“Strong open banking regulations are fundamental to keeping the U.S. competitive,” the group stated, urging the CFPB to finalize Rule 1033 “without yielding to the largest banks’ attempts to monetize access to Americans’ own financial data.”
