Fintech And Crypto Leaders Urge Trump to Block Bank Data Access Fees

Fintech and crypto executives wrote to the Trump administration asking it to prevent U.S. banks from charging fees when companies access customer financial data. The request targets JPMorgan Chase’s plan to start billing data aggregators like Plaid and MX for connecting bank accounts to digital wallets, exchanges, and payment apps.

The letter, delivered this week, comes from industry leaders who say the new bank fees would increase costs for millions of Americans who link their bank accounts to crypto exchanges, neobanks, and payment platforms.

The executives argue these charges would limit consumer choice and damage the open banking system that allows people to move their financial data between competing services.

JPMorgan Chase has led the push to charge third parties for account data access that banks have previously provided without direct fees. The bank distributed pricing schedules to data aggregators in July, with implementation expected later this year.

JPMorgan says it has invested heavily in secure interfaces and that data companies generate massive volumes of data requests, with only a small fraction coming from actual customer actions. Bank representatives claim aggregators do not always handle data responsibly and that more than 90% of the billions of requests are unrelated to direct customer actions.

The timing coincides with recent White House action on “debanking.” On August 7, Trump issued an executive order directing regulators to prevent banks from denying services based on political or religious reasons. 

While separate from the data fee dispute, the order has encouraged industry groups seeking broader protections for consumers connecting bank accounts to legal services, including crypto platforms.

Financial Technology Association members and crypto trade groups had already written to the administration on July 24, urging it to defend open banking in court. They warned that legal and commercial resistance from large banks threatens everyday tools like digital wallets, investing apps, and small business software.

The dispute centers on Section 1033 of the Dodd-Frank Act and the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau's open banking rule finalized in late 2024. The rule required free consumer access to deposit and card data and the ability to share it with third parties. Large banks sued to block the rule immediately after it was issued.