Plaid and JPMorgan Reach Customer Data Sharing Agreement

JPMorgan Chase and Plaid have reached an accord amid a dispute over FinTech access to customer data.

The two companies announced Monday (Sept. 15) that they have renewed their data access agreement, which includes a pricing structure to ensure consumers can continue to access their data “safely, securely, quickly and consistently into the future.”

“We have always believed consumers should have the right to access and share their own financial data, and JPMorganChase has been a partner in that effort,” Eric Sager, Plaid’s chief operating officer, said in a news release.

“This extended agreement ensures ongoing access for the millions of Chase customers who rely on Plaid every day to connect with the products and services they trust.”

A spokesperson for Plaid told PYMNTS that while the company could not comment on pricing specifics, there would be no changes to current contracts or pricing due to the agreement, and that customers would not face added costs or fees.

The agreement comes a little more than two months after JPMorgan announced it would begin charging FinTechs to access customer banking information.

Weeks later, a report by CNBC, citing a memo from the banking giant, said that JPMorgan had found that the bulk of the application programming interface (API) calls from middlemen received by its systems in June came from FinTechs, with just 13% resulting from customers.

In the memo, a systems employee wrote that the requests “are massively taxing our systems.”

API access had been free for years, but the landscape changed earlier this year when the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau (CFPB) said it was in favor of revoking Rule 1033, the Biden-era open banking rule.

The bureau is seeking comments on the issue, it said in an advance notice of proposed rulemaking (ANPR) filed last month.

Plaid’s spokesperson told PYMNTS the company still contends that “consumers deserve a right to freely access and share their own information with whomever they choose and will continue advocating for that in the 1033 ANPR rulemaking process.”

At least one FinTech — Stripe — has pushed back against the data fees. In comments to the CFPB late last month, the company said the regulator should make sure banks do not “unlawfully charge access fees” for connecting consumers’ bank accounts to the financial products of their choosing.

The company argued that “immediate action by the CFPB is essential to preserving our thriving marketplace and innovation in financial services.”