In the global arena, the race for the future of finance is on, and the stakes for our nation could not be higher. While China aggressively pushes its state-controlled digital currency to lock nations into its orbit and Europe dallies with a bureaucratic, top-down alternative, America’s greatest advantage has always been its dynamism. Our strength lies not in government mandates, but in an open, permissioned financial system rooted in free enterprise—a system where any American has the right to connect their own bank data to the tools and technologies they choose.
This freedom has been the engine of entrepreneurship for the last 15 years, unleashing a wave of financial technology progress that has put more power in the hands of consumers. It allows an entrepreneur in a garage to build an AI-powered budgeting app, a small business to access crypto markets, or a family to send money instantly without friction. This is the foundation upon which President Trump has laid out a bold vision for America to become the undisputed global leader of cryptocurrency and artificial intelligence.
But a formidable threat to this vision is emerging not from Beijing, but from Wall Street. A cartel of megabanks, led by JP Morgan, has decided that your financial data is their property. They are maneuvering to erect digital toll booths around every American’s checking account, preparing to slap exorbitant access fees on the flow of your own information as soon as this September. Dimon’s Digital Tax is coming to American households before the autumn leaves even think about falling.
Make no mistake: this is a power grab, plain and simple. Wall Street wants to kill competition in the cradle. These fees are not about security or cost-recovery; they are a weapon designed to strangle the innovation that has empowered consumers and small businesses with choice and challenged the old guard’s dominance.
If they succeed, the consequences will be bad for everyday Americans and for the nation’s technological future. The budgeting apps that help families save money will be priced out of existence. The crypto on-ramps that give individuals an alternative to the traditional system will be choked off. Even basic tools like instant-pay wallets, which millions rely on, will face new, unnecessary costs. This is the opposite of the vibrant, competitive market that conservatives champion. It is the creation of a protectionist racket for the financial elite, at the expense of Main Street.
At the very moment President Trump is unleashing the power of American ingenuity in crypto and AI, these megabanks—many of which do extensive business in China—are working to derail it. They are building a walled garden around our financial system, creating the kind of centralized, controlled environment that our adversaries would applaud. They are choosing to make a quick buck today, even if it means ceding America’s technological leadership tomorrow.
The path forward is clear and requires decisive action. The administration should prohibit banks from charging any fees for consumer-authorized data access. Period.
Thankfully, it seems like they’re setting the stage to do just that. Yesterday, the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau issued a notice of proposed rulemaking, which is fancy way of telling the public they have 60 days to weigh in on these important issues. While the big banks wanted to end run around the administration, the CFPB is saying ‘not so fast,’ raising questions about exorbitant fees, data ownership, and the timeline for when any changes could go into effect. This is a big win for small business owners and consumers who want to get out from under the thumb of wealthy elites like the big banks CEOs who have proven to be biased against those of us in the America First movement.
America will not out-compete China by building our own version of a walled financial garden. This isn't a complex regulatory issue; it's a fundamental question of property and freedom. Americans own their financial data. They, and they alone, have the right to decide who can access it and for what purpose, without having to pay a toll to a Wall Street gatekeeper.
Ken Blackwell is the former Ohio State Treasurer.
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