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52 | TH E M R EP O RT O R I G I NAT I O N S E R V I C I N G DATA G O V E R N M E N T S E C O N DA R Y M A R K E T THE LATEST GOVERNMENT I t's no secret that every aspect of the human experience is somehow turned into data for use by companies, but this is especially true in banking where it tracks how payments, deposits, ser- vices, which products are used—and who provided all those services— only to turn around and monetize this data one way or another. Knowing this, the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau (CFPB) has proposed new options to strengthen consumers' access to and control over their financial data as a first step before issuing a proposed data rights rule that would implement section 1033 of the Dodd-Frank Act. According to a release from the CFPB, under the options the CFPB has pro- posed, consumers would be able to more easily and safely walk away from companies offering bad products and poor service and move towards companies competing for their business with alternate or innovative products and services. "Dominant firms shouldn't be able to hoard our personal data and appropriate the value to themselves," CFPB Director Rohit Chopra said. "The CFPB's personal financial data rights rulemaking has the potential to jumpstart competition, giving Americans new options for finan- cial products." The intended goal of the new rules is the creation of a market- place where companies would need to improve their offerings to keep their customers. Lenders would be able to use consumer- authorized data to build and widely offer products and services that can compete with established companies. Consumers could switch providers to get a better deal or escape poor customer ser- vice, and companies would have to keep and attract customers through competitive prices, high- quality services, and improved products. The CFPB cites the current environment as the case for these changes: under current rules, companies hoard vast troves of data, which include which finan- cial products you use. "By monopolizing the use of personal financial data, financial institutions are able to block competitors' access to potential customers and stifle develop- ment of competitors' products and services," the CFPB said. "In addition, data protection concerns have contributed to a lack of trust among market participants, and a growing sense of powerlessness among the general public. Clear data rights for consumers have the potential to give individuals more bargaining leverage." To be clear, no changes have been implemented yet the CFPB release said, but if enacted after a public comment period, the rule would require firms to make a consumer's financial information available to them or to a third party at that consumer' request. "As described in the outline, the CFPB is considering pro- posals, for instance, that would empower consumers who want to switch providers to transfer their account history to a new company, so they do not have to start over if they are unsatis- fied with the service provided by an incumbent firm," the CFPB concluded. "The CFPB is also considering proposals that would include important options around privacy for personal financial data authorized for third party use, including limitations that would prevent third parties from reselling authorized data for other uses." Feds Aim to Return Financial Data Rights to Consumers A new document outlines a list of proposals and alternatives under consideration for the Consumer Finance Protection Bureau's data rights rulemaking—strengthening consumers' access and rights to their financial data—through updates to the Dodd-Frank Act.