JPMorgan has made headlines in the data aggregation sector following its decision to end free access to its data for fintech firms. This move came shortly after the bank finalized a payment-for-data agreement with Plaid in September, and it has since updated contracts with other fintech companies representing over 95% of data requests on its platforms.
In June, JPMorgan reported that out of 1.89 billion data requests made on its systems, only 13% were initiated by customers for transaction purposes. The majority of these API calls were utilized by fintech companies for various reasons, including product enhancement, fraud prevention, and data harvesting for commercial use.
The renewed partnership with Plaid now extends to additional firms such as Yodlee, Morningstar, and Akoya. Following extensive negotiations, JPMorgan agreed to offer a reduced pricing structure compared to its initial proposal and allowed for certain concessions regarding the management of data requests, as reported by CNBC.
This development marks a significant deviation from a previously established open banking guideline set by the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau, which was rescinded during the Trump administration. As a result, this shift may encourage more banks to implement charges on fintech firms for data access.