Fintechs, Researchers Lobby CFPB to Ease Bank Data Restrictions

The Consumer Financial Protection Bureau’s push to allow consumers to easily share their financial data will only entrench big banks’ power unless the agency makes it simpler for fintechs, among others, to use the data for research, advocates say.

The open banking proposal, mandated by the 2010 Dodd-Frank Act and released in October, would let consumers access their bank and credit card data at no cost and move it to fintech apps such as Wealthfront or Venmo. But it also restricts the use of data to “what is reasonably necessary to provide the consumer’s requested product or service.”

Consumer ...