Welcome back to the Fintech Takes podcast. I’m Alex Johnson, joined by Evan Weinberger, Bloomberg Law reporter and bank regulation whisperer (and the rare guest who can quote both Caddyshack and Empire Strikes Back in a single episode, enjoy).

This week’s show unpacks the JP Morgan Chase open banking fee bombshell (they’re now charging for access to their open banking APIs) — the story Evan himself and Bloomberg colleague Paige Smith broke — and the ripple effect it’s having across fintech, data aggregators, and regulators who seem genuinely unprepared for how fast it’s all moving.

If there’s a central theme, it’s this: When the banks move first, everyone else scrambles.

We dig into Chase’s strategy, the pricing breakdowns, and what the “value capture” narrative says about the future of open finance. But that’s just the start.

Highlights include:

-Why the CFPB is simultaneously gutting its rulebook and losing most of its staff

-Why regulators are quietly abandoning disparate impact and what it means for fair lending

-Why the Trump administration is targeting CDFIs (even though they serve many rural Southern areas aligned with the GOP)

-How a data fight might unite crypto VCs and big box merchants (yes, really)

This episode has it all: open banking drama, more regulatory whiplash, and fintech caught in the middle wondering what the hell just happened.

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