The Promise of Open Banking Persists in the Face of Turbulence at CFPB

Like many in the financial services industry, we have been following the rapid changes at the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau (CFPB). To recap: 

• On Jan. 31, former CFPB Director Rohit Chopra was dismissed from his post and newly appointed Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent briefly took the reins as Acting Director. 
• On Friday, Feb. 7, Russell Vought became Acting Director of the CFPB. 
• Over the weekend, CFPB staff received a series of emails instructing them to cease performing all supervision and examination work tasks. 
• In addition, the CFPB staff were informed that the CFPB’s headquarters is closed this week (Feb. 10-14) and all employees and contractors in Washington should “work remotely unless instructed otherwise from our Acting Director or his designee.”

Understandably, this is creating an environment of confusion and uncertainty for participants in the financial data ecosystem. As long-time advocates of Open Banking, MX is focused on how these changes could affect the future of regulations related to Open Banking such as Section 1033 of the Dodd-Frank Act. 

Section 1033 became effective on Jan. 17, 2025. As a result of this effective date, it presently still stands, and its tiered compliance deadlines remain in place, with the first deadline in April 2026. 

However, with this rapid pace of change under the current administration, anything could happen in the coming weeks and months. We will continue to keep ourselves updated on these shifts and share insights with our clients and the broader ecosystem. And, our focus on ensuring our products and services comply with Section 1033 will continue. 

For more than a decade, MX has been a leader in Open Banking and consumer-permissioned data sharing. Our Data Access solution combines an API platform that meets FDX standards with built-in analytics to create actionable intelligence. 

But, we aren’t champions of Open Banking because of regulatory compliance requirements. We truly believe that Open Banking creates a competitive advantage for financial institutions, an engine of innovation and growth for fintechs, and helps enable financial strength for consumers. 

A Competitive Advantage for Financial Institutions

Consumers want personalized products, services, and offers across mobile and digital experiences. However, most financial institutions are missing key details on where consumers share data — details they can gain from Open Banking. What’s more, consumers are willing to share even more data if they know it will result in a better experience. 

An Engine for Fintech Innovation and Growth 

For fintechs, interoperable open banking platforms and connections can deliver significant benefits to drive innovation and growth forward. It can help increase market reach, lead to faster integrations and reduce time to market for product launches, generate partnership opportunities, improve scalability, and lead to cost savings. 

An Enabler of Financial Strength for Consumers

Open Banking puts consumers in control of their data, as well as creates a more secure ecosystem by eliminating the need to share credentials to access data or link accounts. And, with the freedom and flexibility that Open Finance enables, consumers have more choice and control over the data they share and how they engage with their finances. And, they gain unparalleled access to a broader range of products and services. 

Open Banking (and Open Finance) helps put the right financial solutions in the hands of the right consumers at the right time while also fueling higher deposits and income for financial providers so they can pour more energy into innovation that moves the industry forward. Regardless of regulatory churn, this doesn’t change. Open Banking is here and already well adopted across the globe.

We believe that consumer-permissioned data access is the right path forward despite uncertainty about the CFPB’s future. We are committed to supporting our clients through this time of dynamic shift in technology, consumer expectations, and politics.