CFPB Seeks Public Comment in Implementing Dodd-Frank’s Consumer Right of Access to Financial Records

2 November 2020
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Key takeaways:
  • On October 22, 2020, the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau (“CFPB”) issued an advance notice of proposed rulemaking (“ANPR”) inviting public comment as the agency considers the implementation of Section 1033 of the Dodd-Frank Wall Street Reform and Consumer Protection Act, which governs consumer access to electronic financial records.
  • The ANPR is a preliminary step in the rulemaking process that does not add new substantive requirements on industry; instead it poses a series of questions for public comment. Nonetheless, the document’s approving tone towards innovation that the fintech ecosystem has developed in recent years is noteworthy.
  • Specifically, the CFPB’s questions to industry center on issues of balancing benefits and costs of data access, contemplating a role for industry-developed data access standards and mechanisms, and seeking to harmonize data access rights with other legal obligations of data holders, users, and aggregators.