JPMorgan says fintech middlemen like Plaid are ‘massively taxing' its systems with unnecessary pings

Core Viewpoint - JPMorgan Chase is facing challenges from fintech middlemen that are overloading its systems with excessive data requests, prompting the bank to consider implementing new fees for these services [1][4]. Group 1: Data Requests and System Impact - Fintech aggregators are accessing customer data multiple times daily, even when customers are not using the apps, leading to significant strain on JPMorgan's systems [2]. - In June, JPMorgan received 1.89 billion data requests from middlemen, with only 13% initiated by customers for transactions, indicating a high volume of unnecessary requests [2]. - The majority of these data pulls, known as API calls, serve various purposes, including product improvement and data harvesting for sale [3]. Group 2: Fee Implementation and Industry Implications - JPMorgan is preparing to charge fintech middlemen new fees for system access, which could begin as soon as October, due to the increasing costs of maintaining these systems [4]. - This potential fee structure could disrupt the fintech ecosystem, which has thrived on free API access that allowed for no-fee checking and trading services [5]. - The shift in policy follows a motion by the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau to support a lawsuit aimed at ending the "open banking" rule, which previously mandated free data access for authorized parties [5][6].