A group of crypto and fintech executives urged US President Donald Trump to block banks from charging fees for access to their customer data, arguing it stifles consumer choice.
A letter sent to Trump on Wednesday accused big banks of looking to “preserve their market position by imposing exorbitant new ‘account access’ fees that would prevent consumers from connecting their accounts to better financial products of their choice.”
Crypto exchange Gemini, trading platform Robinhood, along with crypto lobby groups the Crypto Council for Innovation and the Blockchain Association, backed the letter, which claimed the fees would cripple the US crypto, artificial intelligence and digital payments industries.
Crypto sways Trump on open banking rule
Former President Joe Biden’s “open banking rule” from the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau, finalized in October last year, allowed customers to share bank data with fintechs for free.
The rule was welcomed by the crypto community, but was strongly opposed by leading banking industry groups, which sued the regulator. Trump originally sided with the banks to kill the rule, but backtracked in late July after pressure from the crypto lobby to keep the rule.
The Trump administration told a judge it will leave the rule in place while it creates a new one.
Fees to tank US crypto clout, group claims
Crypto companies, such as exchanges, rely on banking data to connect their users’ bank accounts to the platforms to allow for easier bank-to-exchange transfers.
In their letter on Wednesday, the crypto and fintech executives said the bank data fees could “cripple innovative products” or shut them down entirely, which they argued could hurt Trump’s crypto-related policy goals.
“America’s ability to lead in the responsible development of digital assets depends on safe, reliable on-ramps connecting our banking system to the new ecosystem,” the letter read. “Severing this connection will drive innovation offshore and diminish U.S. influence.”
Trump campaigned to make the US a safe harbor for crypto, and the crypto industry supported his presidential run last year to the tune of hundreds of millions of dollars.
“We urge you to use the full power of your office and the broader Administration to prevent the largest institutions from raising new barriers to financial freedom.”
Banking groups say crypto wants “government price fixing”
However, banking groups led by the American Bankers Association hit back at the letter on Wednesday, saying the group was looking to “undermine free markets and engage in government price fixing.”
“The double standard these companies want to perpetuate, where they may charge fees for service while banks are expected to provide the same service to these private companies for free, is absurd.”
The banks said the letter was written by “middlemen trying to mislead” Trump into supporting Biden-era policies “for personal profit and the right to free ride off the major investments banks have made in protecting consumers’ data.”
The banking and crypto sectors have also been at odds this week over stablecoins, with banking groups urging Congress on Tuesday to close what they claimed is a loophole allowing stablecoin issuers to pay yields on their tokens through affiliates.
Legal Panel: Crypto wanted to overthrow banks, now it’s becoming them in stablecoin fight