CFPB Issues Personal Financial Data Rights Rulemaking
The Consumer Financial Protection Bureau on Thursday outlined options it said are designed to strengthen consumers’ access to, and control over, their financial data.
The Bureau described these options as a first step before issuing a proposed data rights rule that would implement section 1033 of the Dodd-Frank Act. Under the options the CFPB is considering, consumers would be able to more easily and safely walk away from companies offering bad products and poor service and move towards companies competing for their business with alternate or innovative products and services.
“Dominant firms shouldn’t be able to hoard our personal data and appropriate the value to themselves,” said CFPB Director Rohit Chopra. “The CFPB’s personal financial data rights rulemaking has the potential to jumpstart competition, giving Americans new options for financial products.”
The rulemaking aims to create a marketplace where companies would need to improve their offerings to keep their customers. Nascent firms would be able to use consumer-authorized data to build and widely offer products and services that can compete with big incumbents. Consumers could switch providers to get a better deal or escape poor customer service, and companies would have to keep and attract customers through competitive prices, high-quality services, and improved products.
The document released today is an outline of proposals and alternatives under consideration for the CFPB’s data rights rulemaking. If today’s proposal is finalized, the rule would require firms to make a consumer’s financial information available to them or to a third party at that consumer’s direction. The CFPB is also considering proposals that would include important options around privacy for personal financial data authorized for third party use, including limitations that would prevent third parties from reselling authorized data for other uses.
The rulemaking process will include panel convenings to seek feedback from small entities on the proposals under consideration. Later, the panel will prepare a report on the input received from the small entities, and the CFPB will consider the input as it develops a proposed rule.
Read the CFPB’s Outline of Proposals and Alternatives Under Consideration, Small Business Advisory Review Panel for Required Rulemaking on Personal Financial Data Rights .
Additional related materials are available on our rulemaking page.
Chopra’s remarks on the personal financial data rights rulemaking.
