The following content is sponsored by Save Our States and is written by its founder and executive director, Trent England.
Affordability is a cornerstone of President Donald Trump’s agenda, one he is already delivering on. From rolling back costly energy regulations to providing tax relief for American families and workers, he is bending the trajectory towards a “new golden age.” Yet hidden dangers remain, including from big banks desperate to pry more fees from you and me.
This fight is over something called “open banking.” It’s the idea that customers should control their own banking data—that these networks should be “open” so that we can securely access and share our financial data with apps, advisors, and services we choose. These include payment apps like Venmo or Paypal, investment apps like Coinbase, and countless other personal financial apps, tools, and services.
Open banking gives consumers choices, with no hidden fees on these transactions. But rather than compete, big banks want to control—or impose a toll—when customers choose anyone but them. This year, the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau is rewriting the open banking rule, and it is under immense pressure from the big banks.
Some of these are the same banks that shut down Trump family accounts, persecuted conservative groups, and pushed the woke agenda. Now they’re pleading with the Trump Administration to let them charge hidden fees, making open banking less open and more expensive.
These costs will be passed directly on to customers—people with credit cards, checking accounts, or any other relationship with a big bank. Data tolls will lead to higher subscription prices, more services charges, and fewer free or low-cost financial services. Since these are tools Americans use to budget, save, and invest, this would be a double hit to the affordability agenda.
President Trump has challenged systems that favor Wall Street over Main Street. After standing up against an onslaught from powerful insiders, he is working to level the playing field—and to open it to other disruptive innovators and problem solvers. This is what open banking does.
The nation’s big banks have enormous advantages, many created by government and supported by taxpayers. They have been bailed out, propped up, and otherwise privileged. Giant banks with loads of lawyers and lobbyists have little to fear from regulations that often squeeze out smaller firms and startups. Their tentacles reach through the economy and into the wallets of most Americans. And now they want more?
If these banks can set fees for access to accounts, they will gain immense leverage over smaller competitors. Startups won’t stand a chance without the blessing of the big banks. The result would be fewer choices, less competition, and higher prices.
This should raise a red flag for conservatives who care about fairness and equal treatment under the law. These are some of the same big banks that have used their power to push politics and culture to the left, while harassing and harming conservatives. They have gone so far as to close down accounts—“debanking” conservative individuals and organizations, even targeting President Trump and his family.
Suddenly these banks claim to be libertarian, seeking a free market where they can charge whatever hidden fees they like. That’s rich. These banks are massive network industries that likely wouldn’t exist but for government regulation and largess.
At Save Our States, we believe in markets and competition, which is why we support open banking. The big banks already have plenty of power, they should not become the gatekeepers for Americans’ financial data. Open banking supports the market and has led to the kind of competition that encourages innovation while driving down costs.
President Trump has a track record of taking on “the swamp.” The big banks lobbying to change open banking is as swampy as it gets: Wall Street insiders seeking more power and wealth at the expense of Main Street Americans.
There is a better path.
A pro-consumer open banking rule would guarantee that individuals can access and share their own financial data with no hidden fees or unnecessary barriers, with strong security and privacy protections, reinforcing the principle that your financial information belongs to you—not to the institution that happens to hold it.
Protecting open banking by keeping hidden fees out sends a powerful message that affordability remains a guiding principle. It says that competition matters more than corporate convenience. And that no bank, no matter how large and politically connected, will manipulate policy to lock out rivals and impose costs on American families.
If the goal is affordability, fairness, and freedom, then the answer is simple. Open banking should be open—for everyone.