Before the CFPB's Open Banking Proposal Drops 🪶

The CFPB's updated open banking proposal has been under White House review since August, and its release could come any day. Before it does, we want to lay out what's at stake for consumers and the financial tools they use every day.

The central question for consumers remains the same: How can Americans keep using the financial tools they choose while keeping their data protected?

What Section 1033 means for consumers

Section 1033 of the Dodd-Frank Act gives consumers a right to access certain financial information. In 2024, the CFPB issued a rule setting requirements for sharing that information with consumers and authorized third parties. The rule's compliance dates are now on hold following a court order, and the bureau is reconsidering questions around third-party access, fees, privacy, and security.

These questions have practical consequences. Roughly 100 million consumers have authorized an app or other third party to access their financial data, whether to pay a friend back, organize a budget, save, or invest. Those connections give consumers more choices and can make everyday financial tasks easier.

Consistent protections across the system

When someone connects a financial account to an app, their information may pass through several companies, including a data aggregator that links the bank to the service. Consumers should be able to count on every company in that chain having clear responsibilities for protecting that information.

Testifying before the House Financial Services Committee in March, Laura MacCleery of UnidosUS described the oversight gap that developed before the original open banking rule:

"Banks were subject to GLBA privacy requirements, federal supervisory examinations, security standards, and state privacy laws. Data aggregators were subject to essentially none of these at the federal level."

A durable framework should apply consistent protections to every company handling consumers' financial information, and most Americans agree: 76% of adults said all organizations holding consumer data should follow the same sharing rules, according to a 2025 Morning Consult and ABA survey.

What to watch in the next proposal

The proposal should give consumers and businesses clear answers to a few practical questions:

• Who can access the information? Consumers should understand what they are authorizing, which companies will receive their data, and how to withdraw permission.
• How can that information be used? Collection and use should be limited to what the requested service needs, with clear rules on retention and further sharing.
• Who is responsible for protecting it? Banks, data aggregators, and fintech platforms should have clear security obligations and accountability if something goes wrong.

Once White House review is complete, the CFPB can publish the proposal for public comment, giving consumers and businesses a chance to weigh in before any changes are final. We'll keep tracking it as details emerge.

Americans should not have to choose between convenience and security.