How Banks and Fintechs Are Jostling for Position in the New Data Access Economy

Financial data aggregators are entering a period of heightened pressure as their core value—connectivity—rapidly commoditizes and banks seize more control over the data flows that power fintech ecosystems. The balance of power is shifting: Major FIs are asserting ownership over permissioned data, imposing fees, and steering third parties toward bank aligned networks. This reshapes the economics of aggregation and forces aggregators to confront a tougher competitive environment where simply linking accounts is no longer enough to justify their role or pricing. 

To stay relevant, aggregators must convert raw financial data into differentiated intelligence. Fraud detection, risk scoring, enriched analytics, and real time insights are becoming the true battleground, areas where superior data science, scale, and reliability can create defensible value. But these opportunities sit within a murky regulatory landscape that has yet to decisively answer who owns consumer permissioned data, who bears liability, and how participants should be compensated. The firms that can deliver high impact intelligence while adapting to tightening bank expectations and uncertain rules will define the next era of open finance.

Key questions discussed in this report:

• How will the growing commoditization of data connectivity and banks’ push to control permissioned data affect the economics and power dynamics of open banking?
• How might emerging regulatory frameworks around data ownership, liability, and compensation reshape FI relationships with aggregators and third party providers?
• In a landscape where aggregators are reinventing themselves, what capabilities or partnerships should FIs prioritize to maintain secure, efficient, consumer trusted data sharing?

Companies Mentioned:

Akoya, Bank of America, Capital One, Chime, Consumer Financial Protection Bureau (CFPB), Fidelity, Finicity, JPMorgan, Mastercard, Mastercard Open Banking, MX, Plaid, PNC, SoFi, The Clearing House Payments Co., Venmo, Visa, Wells Fargo