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Rising prices have put pressure on American families. But there are bright spots, where costs have not gone up—at least so far. One of those has to do with banking. A law passed in 2010 says that bank customers own and can control their own data. This is called “Open Banking,” and it has prevented big banks from charging hidden fees when customers use third-party services, leading to a proliferation of free and low-cost financial apps.
Now the big banks want a cut. As the Trump Administration works to rewrite some banking rules, the biggest banks are demanding the power to charge fees on all these transactions. In response, Save Our States has launched our Banks vs. America campaign. Our goal is to protect the current level playing field that has led to innovation and competition, which has kept costs down.
Open banking also helps to protect conservatives from abuse at the hands of giant financial institutions. Allan Sears, president of Alliance Defending Freedom, has warned,
Conservatives and religious groups can’t operate under the threat of shifting political proclivities of the leaders of these major banks. Giving such banks more power makes no sense.
That’s where the open banking rule comes in. If the banks have it their way, the rule would be scrapped entirely and they would be allowed to charge fintechs exorbitant fees when customers authorize their financial apps to access their own bank data. This type of anti-competitive behavior could crush competition and tighten the grip of JP Morgan, Bank of America, and other major institutions on power.
Save Our States is glad to stand up against that kind of power grab, and in favor of protecting Americans’ hard-earned money. You can read more about our campaign at The Daily Signal. And look out—there’s more to come.
