Plaid has issued a series of recommendations to the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau (CFPB) in response to the Bureau’s request for stakeholder feedback on its proposal regarding consumer financial data rights.
Plaid’s letter outlines that the CFPB’s draft rulemaking, published in October 2022, aims to fulfill the “consumer empowerment goal” underpinning Section 1033 of the Dodd-Frank Act and to foster a fair, transparent, and competitive financial services marketplace. The CFPB notes that if the proposals are finalized, the rule would mandate that firms make a consumer’s financial information available to them or to a third party designated by the consumer.
Plaid has put forward five key recommendations: establish a comprehensive financial data access right; require companies to provide consumers with transparency and control over their data; ensure consistent data access for consumers, regardless of where they manage their finances; safeguard consumers’ data access while facilitating the industry’s transition to APIs; and implement clear standards while supervising data aggregators.
Ben White, who focuses on policy and technical standards at Plaid and authored the letter, stated: “We believe that this framework would enable the CFPB to ensure that consumers have consistent access to their own data, along with the protections they need, and that innovation can continue to flourish in the financial services ecosystem. We look forward to the CFPB continuing this effort on behalf of consumers.”