The American Fintech Council (AFC) has joined a coalition of more than 80 business and finance leaders in urging President Trump to block account access fees proposed by the nation’s largest financial institutions. These fees, set to take effect in September, would charge third parties for accessing consumer financial data.
In a public letter released on August 14, AFC CEO Phil Goldfeder and other executives from fintech companies, banks, startups, crypto platforms, retailers, and small businesses called on the White House to prevent these fees. The group argues that such charges could restrict consumers’ ability to use their own financial data and limit competition in the industry.
“These fees are a dangerous attempt by incumbent banks to shut off consumer choice and entrench their dominance,” said Goldfeder. “Consumers have a right to control their own financial data, and use it to access the financial tools that work best for them. Charging third parties for access is a toll on legal, consumer-permissioned activity, and a direct threat to competition, responsible innovation, and financial inclusion.”
The coalition’s letter reflects AFC’s ongoing stance that allowing consumers permissioned access to their own data is essential for the future of financial services. They argue that limiting or making this access too expensive would harm American progress in areas like real-time payments and AI-driven financial tools.
“AFC is proud to join this coalition and will always collaborate with industry partners to put the needs of consumers first,” added Goldfeder. “We hope our collective action will encourage the administration to take swift and decisive action to stop these anti-competitive fees before they reshape the financial ecosystem in a way that significantly harms small businesses, working families, and the American economy at large.”
AFC describes itself as an organization representing leading fintech companies and innovative banks offering embedded finance solutions. Its mission includes promoting transparency, inclusivity, customer focus in finance, supporting responsible innovation in services, advocating sound public policy, fostering competition in consumer finance markets, and serving underserved communities.