Data is the lifeblood of financial innovation. But as fintech evolves, how we collect, manage, and share that data is coming under serious scrutiny. From open banking regulation to the murky mechanics of credit builder cards—and even the complications of cannabis banking—today’s financial landscape is a patchwork of policy, platforms, and potential.
Understanding these intersecting issues isn’t just an academic exercise. It’s the key to unlocking smarter, safer, and more sustainable fintech ecosystems. Let’s break down the current state of open banking challenges and the broader data dilemmas reshaping financial services.
Mint’s Legacy and the PFM Problem
With Intuit sunsetting Mint, one of fintech’s earliest and most beloved tools is saying goodbye. But why did it fail?
The core issue was economics. Mint attracted users with great intentions—track spending, manage budgets—but the majority didn’t stick around. For many, it was a one-time interaction: sign up, get a credit card offer, move balances, and disappear.
Those who stayed—the 15% who obsessively budget—weren’t profitable. Data aggregation costs money. Constant maintenance, broken APIs, and low monetization made Mint unsustainable. The long-tail customers, usually prized in banking, became a liability.
It’s a cautionary tale for other PFMs (personal financial management tools): Without sustainable monetization and real customer engagement, even beloved platforms falter.
Credit Builders and the Illusion of Progress
The rise of credit builder cards speaks to a very real need—helping consumers escape the credit Catch-22. You can’t get credit without a history, but you can’t build history without access to credit. These products aim to break the cycle.
But there’s a darker side.
Many credit builder products only report positive data. They’re designed so customers can’t fail—and thus can’t truly demonstrate creditworthiness. While scores may rise, lenders know how these products work. Major banks often disregard such trade lines, filtering them out when evaluating loan applications.
This creates false hope. Customers see their scores climb but are still denied credit. It’s financial theater—lots of motion, little actual progress. Worse, some fintechs don’t report data in standardized formats, muddying credit files further and confusing underwriters.
The industry needs better tools—but also better transparency. If a product won’t help you get a real loan, it shouldn’t claim to.
Open Banking Challenges in the US: Regulation Heats Up
At last, open banking is becoming more than a buzzword in the U.S.
The Consumer Financial Protection Bureau’s proposed Rule 1033 aims to codify data access rights. At a high level, it affirms what many already assumed: consumers own their data, and third parties must be granted access to it with user permission.
Yet even with regulation, open banking challenges remain.
Banks may still find ways to throttle data flow—through sluggish APIs, frequent re-authentication, or uptime loopholes. If regulation focuses too narrowly, it leaves room for compliance theater—technically following the rules while undermining their spirit.
The lesson from the U.K.’s open banking rollout is clear: regulation must define not just access, but quality. Monthly uptime minimums, latency requirements, and enforcement mechanisms matter.
The U.S. is heading in the right direction, but without vigilance, open banking could become yet another half-solved problem.
Big Tech’s Reluctant Role
Open banking isn’t just about banks. Rule 1033 also targets non-bank financial players making over $10 billion in revenue—think Apple, Amazon, and Block.
These companies are sitting on mountains of consumer financial data. But they don’t want to share it.
Take Amazon. Until recently, users could export their order history as a CSV. Now, it’s hidden in HTML and stripped of detail. Why? Because visibility into purchases—what, when, and how much—might cause consumers to change behavior. And that’s bad for business.
Open banking regulation could force these platforms to become more transparent. But expect resistance. For big tech, data isn’t just information. It’s leverage.
Embedded Finance: The Real Opportunity
Banks often worry about giving up data. But most aren’t even using it effectively.
The real opportunity? Becoming a data hub, not just a gatekeeper. Banks that invite consumers to share third-party data in exchange for better tools, smarter insights, or lower costs will win.
Imagine a bank that constantly scans your loans, shops for better rates, and automates refinancing when it makes financial sense. That’s not just convenience—it’s trust-building. And it’s how traditional banks can compete with fintechs.
But it requires a shift: from defensive posturing to proactive value creation.
Cannabis Banking: High Growth, High Complexity
Outside traditional fintech, the cannabis industry presents another data conundrum.
With legalization spreading state-by-state, cannabis businesses (CRBs) are booming. But banking remains a challenge. The product is federally illegal, making risk and compliance complicated.
GreenCheck Verified is helping to bridge this gap by offering a platform that connects CRBs with financial institutions. Their system aggregates and verifies transaction data, tracks licensing compliance, and flags suspicious activity.
Why does this matter? Because managing cannabis businesses isn’t about opening an account. It’s about monitoring every dollar to ensure it’s legally sourced, properly taxed, and transparently reported.
It’s open banking, risk scoring, and transaction monitoring—all in one. The cannabis sector is a stress test for fintech infrastructure, and it’s proving just how complex data-based compliance can be.
Financial Health Is the Endgame
Ultimately, all these efforts—from open banking to credit tools to cannabis compliance—should lead to one outcome: better financial health.
Consumers need tools that actually help, not just dazzle. They want visibility, automation, and recommendations they can trust. But they also need protection—from misleading scores, hidden data, and opaque systems.
Building that future requires:
- Standardized, enforceable data access
- Honest marketing around credit products
- Platforms that turn data into action—not noise
- A commitment to transparency from regulators, banks, and tech companies alike
The fintech sector has spent the last decade unbundling finance. Now it’s time to rebuild—better.
