Stripe said in comments submitted to the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau (CFPB) that while the regulator finalizes its revisions to the open banking rule, Rule 1033, it should ensure that banks do not “unlawfully charge access fees” for connecting consumers’ bank accounts to the financial products of their choice. The firm was one of the first FinTech companies to file comments with the CFPB in response to the regulator’s request for comments ahead of its revision of Rule 1033. The company believes that “immediate action by the CFPB is essential to preserving our thriving marketplace and innovation in financial services.” “The largest banks should not be permitted to charge prohibitive fees for data access while the CFPB considers how to address those same fees through the ANPR [Advanced Notice of Proposed Rulemaking] process and while an existing rule prohibits such fees,” Stripe said in its comments. “Therefore, Stripe urges the CFPB to consider all options that would deter such fees until a comprehensive revised rule is in place.”