Fintech and Virtual Asset Industry Requests Trump to Block Imposition of Bank Account Information Access Fees

Executives from major U.S. fintech and virtual asset (cryptocurrency) industries have asked U.S. President Donald Trump to prevent banks from imposing fees when third-party services access customer data.

According to Bloomberg on the 14th (local time), a number of companies, investment firms, and lobbying groups, including Klarna, Robinhood, and the virtual asset exchange Gemini, sent an open letter to President Trump the previous day stating, "The imposition of data access fees will stifle innovation and could result in the closure of small businesses and financial service tools."

Recently, JPMorgan Chase notified fintech companies and data aggregators that they would impose fees on accessing customer account information. PNC Financial Services is also reportedly considering similar measures.

The letter urged, "The largest and most entrenched banks must not be allowed to close the door to a more open and modern financial system," and called on the president and his administration to "use all your authority to prevent new barriers."

The letter was also signed by executives from Gemini, including the Winklevoss brothers, Kraken, Paradigm CEO, payment companies Adyen, PayPal, and Stripe.

Alex Rampell, a partner at A16z and a signatory, said in an interview, "It's simple. They just don't want competition."

Penny Lee, head of the fintech lobbying group 'Financial Technology Association (FTA),' stated, "As we've witnessed the power of open banking and finance, there is consensus on the need to prevent the traditional finance industry from blocking innovation."