In American Banker Penny Crosman considers Mastercard’s recent announcement of the acquisition of Finicity and Visa’s acquisition of Plaid; if these acquisitions are approved by regulators then the two biggest card networks will own two of the largest data aggregators; this would make Mastercard and Visa the gatekeepers and tollkeepers for all kinds of fintech and open-banking activities; some people are concerned these deals will stifle innovation; Brad Leimer, co-founder of Unconventional Ventures, said, “If more moats are created to control personal financial information, there will be no ability for new businesses to create value around this data, let alone consumers having the ability to cross the water toward new value.” American Banker.
