FDATA has released a white paper proposing a governance framework for agentic fintech and write access in the US and Canada.
The paper, titled 'Access to Action: Agentic Fintech & Write Access – Considerations for the Appropriate Governance of Agentic Tools and Write Access in the United States and Canada,' examines how agentic fintech, described as applications capable of acting on behalf of consumers and small businesses, can expand beyond current read-only data access models to support customer-authorised instructions and payments. Rather than proposing a new regulatory regime, the paper sets out a framework organised around three categories of agentic activity: Read, Instruct, and Transact. Each category is mapped to existing regulatory frameworks covering data protection, liability, and alignment of interests.
The analysis also draws on international regulatory experience from the UK, the EU, Australia, and Brazil to inform ongoing policy discussions in the US and Canada, where regulators are developing open finance frameworks that will need to account for AI-enabled financial services.
In addition, the white paper closes with a set of recommendations intended to support innovation while preserving consumer protections. These include strengthening consumer data rights, enabling standing authorisations for appropriately scoped agent-initiated transactions, clarifying liability for write-access activities, and applying existing duties of loyalty, care, and disclosure in proportion to the level of discretion exercised by AI-powered agents.
Steve Boms, Executive Director of FDATA, said the paper demonstrates that financial regulation does not need to be reinvented for agentic fintech, and that applying existing principles on consumer protection, payments, and data governance in a proportionate and technology-neutral manner can support innovation while maintaining consumer trust and choice.
Industry collaboration
The report reflects work carried out by FDATA's WAWG, which brings together participants from across the open finance ecosystem to examine the policy, technical, and governance considerations associated with write-access capabilities. The working group includes representatives from FDATA, MX, Trustly, Sumsub, EQ Bank, Pontera, and Sunset Park Advisory.
The release comes as policymakers in the US and Canada continue to develop open finance frameworks and consider how AI-enabled financial services should function within existing consumer protection, payments, and data governance regimes. The paper positions write access, and the governance questions it raises around liability, authorisation, and fiduciary duty, as a central issue in the next phase of open finance policymaking in both markets.
