American Express Forms Data Sharing Partnership With MX

American Express has formed a deal with financial data company MX Technologies, giving their users access to improved financial management capabilities.

The API-powered data access agreement will offer customers new digital banking options by connecting their American Express accounts with third-party financial institutions and FinTech apps through MX, the companies said in a Thursday (Nov. 7) news release.

By integrating these apps through MX, customers gain more transparency and control over where and how their American Express account data is shared, the release said. Customers can utilize American Expresses’ secure authentication procedures and avoid sharing their credentials, maintaining their privacy while improving data accuracy and reliability, and speeding up access to financial data.

“This agreement underscores American Express’ investment to providing more secure and seamless digital experiences for an increasingly digital customer base,” said Danielle Cloud, senior vice president, enterprise data governance and platforms, American Express. “With MX’s integration into our API, we’re empowering consumers and small business owners to better manage their financial lives without compromising the security and transparency they expect from American Express.”

The partnership comes two weeks after the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau (CFPB) finalized Rule 1033, which governs personal financial data rights. The rule gives consumers more control over their financial data and how it gets shared with third parties.

Under the new rule, banks, credit unions and other financial institutions will be required to make consumers’ financial data available upon request to both consumers and authorized third parties. This data includes information about transactions, costs, charges and usage related to consumer deposit accounts, credit cards and payment services.

While CFPB Director Rohit Chopra lauded the new rule as an “important step” for consumer data privacy, banks disagreed.

The Bank Policy Institute and the Kentucky Bankers Association filed a lawsuit the same day the rule came into effect. The suit claimed that the CFPB overstepped “its statutory mandate and injecting itself into a developing, well-functioning ecosystem that is thriving under private initiatives.”

PYMNTS noted that the finalized rule and subsequent legal battle could lead to a chilling effect on open banking in the U.S., as uncertainty tends to hamper innovation.

Kathryn McCall, chief legal and compliance officer at open banking platform Trustly, told PYMNTS that banking under the new rules will look “very similar to our current authorizations and our current [user experience],” she said. “There will not be many changes, and we’re well-positioned to adapt to the new rule.”