Washington, DC, July 12, 2021 – In response to President Biden’s Executive Order on Promoting Competition in the American Economy the Financial Technology Association said the following:

The FTA strongly supports competition in financial services and empowering consumers with control over their financial data. Consumer-centric financial technology (fintech) companies are working hard to advance innovative new models that provide consumers with greater financial access, choice, and opportunity. Forward-leaning policies, including with respect to the chartering and licensure of responsible new fintech entrants, can help drive a more robust, dynamic, equitable, and competitive financial services landscape.

To this end, an often-overlooked provision of the Dodd Frank Act, Section 1033, has begun to pave the way for an innovative financial system that includes a wide array of consumer-centric financial technology providers. Section 1033 states that consumers own their data, allowing them to share their data when and where they like to power personalized financial services. Since then, we have seen the development of a number of new financial services companies that offer a wide array of innovative services for consumers, such as cash-flow underwriting to increase access to credit and checking account balance monitoring to protect against overdraft fees.

Earlier this year, the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau (CFPB) announced its intention to commence a rulemaking on Section 1033, and a number of our member companies joined others to submit a comment. The President’s Executive Order directs the CFPB to continue pursuing this rulemaking with the intention of unlocking further financial innovation and choice for consumers. The safe and consumer-centric aggregation and sharing of financial data will underpin a future of finance that ensures a robust and healthy financial ecosystem that results in more personalized, accessible, and cheaper financial solutions for consumers.