Download Consumer Protection Principles for Financial Data Sharing: Ensuring Consumer Interests and more Exams Financial Products and Services in PDF only on Docsity! 1 1700 G Street, N.W., Washington, DC 20552 October 18, 2017 Consumer Protection Principles: Consumer-Authorized Financial Data Sharing and Aggregation In the Dodd-Frank Act, Congress instructed the Bureau to implement and enforce consumer financial law “for the purpose of ensuring that all consumers have access to markets for consumer financial products and services and that markets for consumer financial products and services are fair, transparent, and competitive.”1 Congress further instructed the Bureau to exercise its authorities so that “markets for consumer financial products and services operate transparently and efficiently to facilitate access and innovation.”2 For some time, a range of companies—many of them “fintech” companies—have been accessing consumer account data with consumers’ authorization and providing services to consumers using data from the consumers’ various financial accounts. Such “data aggregation”-based services include the provision of financial advice or financial management tools, the verification of accounts and transactions, the facilitation of underwriting or fraud-screening, and a range of other functions. This type of consumer-authorized data access and aggregation holds the promise of improved and innovative consumer financial products and services, enhanced control for consumers over their financial lives, and increased competition in the provision of financial services to consumers. There are many significant consumer protection challenges to be considered—particularly with respect to data privacy and security—as these technologies and practices continue to develop. In part through a November 2016 public Request for Information, the Bureau is aware that a range of industry stakeholders are working, through a variety of individual arrangements as well as broader industry initiatives, on agreements, systems, and standards for data access, aggregation, use, redistribution, and disposal. The Bureau believes that consumer interests must be the priority of all stakeholders as the aggregation services-related market develops. A common understanding of consumer interests is essential so that effective consumer protections can be integrated consistently into this market. As a result, the Bureau today is releasing a set of Consumer Protection Principles intended to reiterate the importance of consumer interests to all stakeholders in the developing market for services based on the consumer-authorized use of financial data. The Principles express the Bureau’s vision for realizing a robust, safe, and workable data aggregation market that gives consumers protection, usefulness, and value. 1 12 U.S.C. 5511(a). 2 12 U.S.C. 5511(b)(5). 2 The Bureau recognizes that many consumer protections apply to this market under existing statutes and regulations. These Principles are not intended to alter, interpret, or otherwise provide guidance on—although they may accord with—the scope of those existing protections. Thus, the Principles do not themselves establish binding requirements or obligations relevant to the Bureau’s exercise of its rulemaking, supervisory, or enforcement authority. In addition, the Principles are not intended as a statement of the Bureau’s future enforcement or supervisory priorities. The Bureau will continue to monitor closely developments in this market. The Bureau will also continue to assess how the Principles set forth below may best be realized in the design and delivery of consumer financial products and services. The Bureau stands ready to facilitate constructive efforts or to take other appropriate action to protect consumers.
