Top consumer finance regulator Rohit Chopra actually sounds fintech friendly here

I want to see a world where people can refinance their auto loans or mortgages and move their credit card debt more easily, that will decrease stickiness, that will increase prepayment risk. But that’s a world that I think ultimately is still better.

This week at the fintech industry’s biggest conference, Fintech Nexus, CFPB chief Rohit Chopra had a few key quotes for the audience of finance and banking innovators. This is critical since the CFPB is the top consumer finance regulator in America.

There is an especially important quote above. I believe this matters because it aligns with most of the goals of the fintech and overall banking and finance innovation goals we have as an industry.

Better, and properly-regulated, fintech can enable more financial products to get to more consumers, and not have it all just going to the big banks.

Here are a few other quotes from Chopra that seem to support this point:

On CFPB’s forthcoming rules for banking and innovation, which sound collaborative with industry, Chopra said:

I think we will see our rules finished next year. But there’s a a lot of work for this community and others to do in the meantime. You can’t expect the regulators to get all of the details on standards, standard setting, what types of technologies are going to be used – you’re going to see us try and create rules that are more timeless.

Here’s CFPB chief Chopra about payments, and this sounds favorable to more players — not just big banks — having a chance to compete:

Many of you may be familiar with the ACH system of moving payments. Many people complain that the rules around that set by industry are too tilted in favor of the largest banks. That’s what we want to avoid when it comes to open banking. I think when you design the rules, just for the biggest incumbents, you create problems.

So we are generally taking a new approach to regulation. We’re looking more at how you promote a competitive decentralized market structure. How do you make sure that intermediaries and gatekeepers don’t get to eat a big part of the pie? And ultimately, how do you create rules that promote switching and shopping?

I genuinely think consumer stickiness should be [because bank] pricing is good or that service is good. Not because it’s so damn complicated to switch.

So I think what you see a lot in banking is it’s a bureaucratic nightmare to switch your products and move your money.

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Reference:

– USA 2023: The CFPB has safe competitiveness in its sights