CFPB Open Banking Rule Halted by Court, Agency Plans Rewrite Allowing Data Fees

A federal court halted compliance and enforcement of the CFPB's final Section 1033 open banking rule, freezing the original April 1, 2026 compliance deadline for institutions with $250 billion or more in assets.

What Changed

The Biden-era final rule (October 2024) required banks and fintechs to share consumer financial data via standardized APIs and prohibited charging fees for data access. The Trump administration's acting CFPB Director called the rule "unlawful," and the agency announced it will issue an interim final rule - bypassing normal notice-and-comment procedures.

The Fee Question

The rewritten rule is expected to allow banks to charge fintechs for data access. This would fundamentally change the economics for companies that rely on screen-scraping or free API access to bank data - including aggregators like Plaid, MX, and Finicity, and fintechs building on open data.

CFPB's Own Future

The agency itself faces existential questions. The acting director refused to request funding from the Federal Reserve (the CFPB's statutory funding source), and multiple ongoing court challenges target the agency's structure and authority.

What This Means

Open banking API compliance planning in the US is effectively on hold. Banks that invested in 1033-compliant infrastructure face timeline uncertainty. Fintechs must prepare for a world where data access may come with per-call or subscription fees rather than being free. The contrast with Europe's PSD2/PSD3 regime - where data access is mandated and free - is stark.

Sources: American Banker, American Banker