Fintech Recap: Open Banking, Digital IDs, and Green Dot’s Split

Dec 3, 2025

Dive into the latest in open banking as JPMC strikes major deals with data aggregators like Plaid, while the CFPB pushes to finalize its 1033 rule amidst concerns over data fees and market leverage. Explore Apple's new digital ID credentials, tested by Jason, but facing slow adoption and potential airport glitches. On the business front, Green Dot is going private with a split structure under Smith Ventures, prompting discussions on the valuation challenges of merging banking and tech. Plus, a surprising endorsement for prediction markets from Roblox's CEO raises safety concerns!

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INSIGHT

Open Banking Fees Are Market Driven

Open banking fees are being negotiated in the market, not fully determined by regulators.
The CFPB may allow cost‑recovery fees but enforcement and definitions remain unclear.

INSIGHT

Cost Recovery Is Hard To Define

Crafting a defensible 'cost recovery' rule for API fees is practically complex and subjective.
Regulators risk letting banks allocate broad technology and personnel costs to justify high fees.

ADVICE

Watch Deals — They Shape Pricing

Expect price and technical improvements to be hammered out via bilateral deals between banks and aggregators.
Monitor contracts and renegotiation windows to anticipate fee pass‑throughs to fintech customers.

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Welcome back to Fintech Takes. I’m Alex Johnson, joined (as always) by my Jason Mikula, my partner in recapping — who I’ve been lucky to see a lot of lately, which makes recording this over the internet feel oddly impersonal?

First up, open banking updates. JPMC has updated data-access contracts with Plaid, Yodlee, Morningstar, and Akoya; covering, reportedly, 95% of data pulls on its systems (but is silent on players like Finicity, Stripe, Trustly, and MX). Meanwhile, the CFPB wants to finalize its 1033 rule by year’s end, possibly skipping key steps like the small business panel. The rule may allow data fees tied to “cost recovery,” but what counts as cost (and who has the leverage to charge it) is still very much in play.

Then it’s onto digital IDs. Apple now lets users create an identity credential in Wallet from a passport, using NFC and a liveness check. Jason tested it. It works, but usage is limited to select TSA checkpoints. And adoption faces the same slow climb as Apple Pay, but with higher risks if it fails. Identity credentials aren’t like payments: you don’t want them glitching at airport security!

From there, Green Dot (which some might describe as an OG fintech company) is going private and splitting up. Smith Ventures is buying the non-bank side, while CommerceOne (also backed by Smith) takes over the bank and folds it into a new holding company. It’s a move that looks like extraction (pulling the combo out of public markets that never knew how to value it), which raises questions for other banks trying to thread the same needle.

Plus, in our Can’t Let It Go corner: Jason dives into the latest lawsuit against Meta, where internal docs reveal the company blocked safety features that threatened growth, ran a 17-strike policy before removing sex traffickers (described as a very, very, very high threshold), and drew its own comparisons to Big Tobacco. And I flag a podcast moment so surreal it sounds fake: the CEO of Roblox endorsing prediction markets for kids (as long as they’re framed as “educational”).

Thanks for listening!

This episode was brought to you by Marqeta. Don’t sacrifice agility for stability. With Marqeta, launch payments experiences that perform at scale and flex with your business. Learn more at https://marqeta.com/ftt

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