House Bill Would Give Consumers More Control Over Financial Data

The House Financial Services Committee chairman, U.S. Rep. Patrick McHenry, has introduced a financial data privacy bill.

The North Carolina Republican introduced the Data Privacy Act of 2023 Friday (Feb. 24), saying it modernizes the relevant laws, gives consumers more control over their personal information and allows innovation, according to a press release.

“The financial services sector is already highly regulated when it comes to consumer data,” McHenry said in the release. “However, it’s critical that we bring our privacy guardrails into the 21st century to match the widespread adoption of financial technology.”

The bill would require consumers be provided with information about how their data is being collected and used, that they be able to stop the collection of it and that they be able to delete it, according to McHenry’s summary of the bill.

It would also require covered entities to tell consumers why they are collecting the data, use it only for that purpose and allow consumers to opt out, the summary said.

The bill would also require that terms and conditions be transparent, provide a national standard around data handling, and modernize the Gramm-Leach-Bliley Act to ensure that these consumers apply to future innovations and technologies, per the summary.

“I’m proud to introduce this legislation to secure Americans’ private financial data, without strangling innovation,” McHenry said in the release.

PYMNTS research has found that today’s consumers better understand the value of their personal data, not only to banks and FinTechs but to a host of merchants, brands and other players, as well as fraudsters who work tirelessly to steal it.

This convergence of factors is elevating the already high importance of data security, as consumers increasingly judge commercial brands and finance firms on data security and use, according to “The Future of Authentication in Financial Services Playbook: Finding the Balance Between Security and Convenience,” a PYMNTS and Entersekt collaboration.

The report found that 52% of consumers agree data security is important when sharing data, while 28% say it’s very important, 13% say it’s somewhat important, and 6% say it’s slightly important. Just 1% say data security is not at all important when sharing personal data.