THE top US agency for consumer financial protection will release a much anticipated regulatory proposal later this month on consumers’ control of their banking data, keeping to a previously announced schedule, its director said on Friday (Oct 6).

Rohit Chopra, director of the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau (CFPB), also said his agency planned to require some large tech firms to provide information on their business practices concerning consumers’ personal data and private currencies.

“It’s critically important for American consumers to have stronger protections against excessive surveillance and misuse of our data,” Chopra said in a speech at the Brookings Institution in Washington.

Chopra’s remarks on Friday suggested his agency’s regulatory agenda would continue uninterrupted despite upheaval in Washington, with the recent threat of a government shutdown and Supreme Court deliberations widely seen as posing a threat to the CFPB’s existence.

The Consumer Financial Protection Bureau’s “open banking” proposal is expected to give consumers the ability to switch service providers more easily and control how financial tech service providers collect consumer data.

The CFPB is also considering how the law authorizes the agency to directly supervise non-banks who offer payment platforms.

GET BT IN YOUR INBOX DAILY

Start and end each day with the latest news stories and analyses delivered straight to your inbox.

Sign UpVIEW ALL

“We have a number of authorities to do so, such as when these firms serve as service providers to large depository institutions,” Chopra said. REUTERS