Why It Matters
Open banking promises greater consumer control and competition in financial services, but without unified rules and fee‑free data access, its benefits remain limited. The episode highlights how emerging AI agents could force regulators and banks to establish the necessary consent and API standards, making the discussion timely as AI adoption accelerates and policymakers grapple with fragmented state laws.
Key Takeaways
- •Section 1033 mandates free consumer‑direct data access, no fees
- •CFPB finalized open banking rule 2024; amendments pending
- •FDATA unites fintechs to shape policy in US, Canada, UK
- •Banks’ data‑access fees create competitive distortion, fintechs oppose
- •Agentic AI may accelerate open banking adoption
Pulse Analysis
The United States open‑banking landscape has been shaped by Section 1033 of the Dodd‑Frank Act, which requires that consumers obtain their financial data from banks without friction or fees. After a seven‑year CFPB rulemaking process, the agency issued its final open‑banking rule in October 2024, only to face litigation from the Bank Policy Institute and a subsequent Trump‑era review. The CFPB now seeks targeted amendments addressing hot‑button issues such as permissible data‑provider fees, the inclusion of payment information, and the scope of covered accounts.
FDATA, the fintech trade association founded in the UK and expanded to North America in 2018, serves as the collective voice for roughly three dozen members ranging from API platforms like Plaid to accounting tools such as Xero and investment services like Betterment. The organization bridges the gap between fast‑moving fintech innovators and policymakers at federal, state, and Canadian levels, crafting unified positions on liability, data privacy, and accreditation frameworks. By sharing lessons from the UK’s open‑finance rollout and Australia’s post‑screen‑scraping reforms, FDATA helps shape a regulatory environment that balances consumer protection with rapid innovation.
The next wave of open‑banking progress may be driven by agentic AI, which can automate data extraction, risk assessment, and personalized product recommendations at scale. As the CFPB prepares its amendment package, fintech firms are lobbying for clear rules that prevent banks from monetizing consumer data while allowing AI‑enabled services to flourish. If the agency adopts a balanced approach—maintaining free data access, limiting fee structures, and providing a safe AI framework—the industry could see faster credit‑worthiness modeling for thin‑file consumers, expanded embedded finance, and a more competitive banking ecosystem.
Episode Description
Open banking in the United States has been on a long and winding road, and the journey is far from over. In this episode, I sit down with Steve Boms, Executive Director of FDATA North America, the trade association representing the fintech companies at the heart of the open banking ecosystem. Steve has been one of the most active voices in shaping U.S. open banking policy for over a decade, and he brings a uniquely informed perspective to where things stand today.
We dig into the current state of the 1033 rule and what amendments are likely coming, FDATA's firm stance that banks should not be permitted to charge fees for consumer-directed data access, and the growing complexity created by a patchwork of state-level regulations on data privacy, AI, and fintech products. We close with a fascinating discussion on how agentic AI, with its need for clear consent frameworks, robust APIs, and defined liability rules, could become the next major catalyst that finally forces meaningful open banking progress in this country.
In this podcast you will learn:
The origin story of FDATA in the UK and how it came to the US.
How Steve has been involved with CFPB and Section 1033 since 2015.
Over the next 10+ years, how FDATA has been engaged in open banking policy.
How open banking and open finance has evolved in the UK.
Who their members are and what FDATA does for them.
Where we are at today when it comes to the 1033 rule.
The FDATA view on banks charging fees for access to their data.
Why this is not really a bank versus fintech fight.
Why it may be many years before we have a final rule for open banking.
Why data access negotiations have been put on pause for now.
What else Steve is working on beyond open banking.
Why he is increasing concerned about the Balkanization of financial services regulation (see his recent Open Banker column).
How they coordinate with the other fintech trade associations.
How they think about the standardization of API and other data standards.
Why Steve is optimistic about the future of open banking in the U.S.
Why AI agents could be a catalyzing force for clear open banking rules.
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Show Notes
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