Over the past several decades,
Yet, as the industry has matured, so too have regulatory frameworks. And in
To truly realize their consumer-first vision, fintechs must move beyond compliance as a checkbox exercise. Strong investment in a robust, agile compliance program — and proactive engagement with regulators — are essential levers to navigate and shape the future regulatory landscape.
The regulatory environment in the U.S. is shifting each year, with states such as
Federally, the fintech industry has also seen changes in regulation and enforcement. The Federal Trade Commission's updated
Broadly, these trends speak to regulators' focus on protecting consumers — a goal that fintech organizations share. However, to go beyond meeting today's compliance requirements and build future-proof strategies, organizations need a twofold approach: an internal culture of compliance and a voice in external policy conversations.
Internally, compliance teams are most effective when positioned as strategic partners. This means working closely with business leadership to understand key commercial goals and having visibility across the organization — from product development to customer experience — to guide decision-making. Given the recent emphasis on consumer data protection, partnerships with information security teams are critical to maintain necessary data governance.
The Financial Technology Association will now defend the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau's open banking rule after the Trump administration sided with banks that sued the agency.
In parallel to a company's compliance program, data-driven risk assessment is key. In 2025,
Additionally, concrete metrics demonstrate to regulators how compliance programs operate in practice. In my experience, data is best delivered in terms familiar to regulators. If we're showcasing how a year-over-year drop in customer dispute rates reflects the effectiveness of monitoring tools, how can we explain that improvement in a context regulators understand? Common ground comes from translating fintech-specific metrics into language aligned with traditional banking oversight.
However, let's not forget that the ability to convey the needs of the fintech industry to regulators is also a matter of scale. Since many fintechs lack the resources to engage regulators independently, collaboration is essential.
Coalitions, such as the
Ultimately, the more fintechs can coordinate across specialties, the more weight their message will carry in policymaking conversations. Broader collaboration only strengthens fintech's shared focus on protecting consumers and makes this commitment more visible to regulators.
Supporting consumers has always been central to fintech's purpose. Many fintech companies were built to serve communities underserved by traditional financial services and see themselves as stewards of consumer safety working to prevent bad actors from entering the ecosystem. Yet, in a fast-moving regulatory environment, that message can be lost.
As regulation evolves to address emerging risks, the only way to meet compliance obligations is to stay ahead of them. Fintechs that prioritize compliance partnership — within their organization, across the sector and with regulators — will not just keep pace with change, but help direct it.
