Consumers will have more control over their financial data and privacy because of a new rule the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau issued Tuesday.
The Personal Financial Data Rights require financial institutions, credit card issuers and other financial providers to unlock a consumer’s personal financial data and transfer it to another provider free at the consumer’s request, the bureau said. Implementation will be in phases, with larger institutions required to comply by April 1, 2026, while the smallest covered institutions will have until April 1, 2030. Certain small banks and credit unions are not subject to the rule.
With the new rule, consumers will be able to more easily change financial providers, which will create more competition among providers to win and keep clients’ business, the bureau said. Ultimately, that will help lower prices on loans and improve customer service across payment, credit and banking markets, it said.
“Rather than constantly create a better product or service, we see ‘innovation’ on how firms can make it harder to cancel or switch,” said bureau director Rohit Chopra in prepared remarks at the Federal Reserve Bank of Philadelphia. “Rather than advertise the true price up front, we see mysterious junk fees pop up later in the process. Instead of making things simple to work across different brands, we find ourselves buying proprietary plugs, switches, and other accessories that only work with specific products. These types of issues…
