The European Union is finalizing a new financial data sharing system meant to give consumers more control over their banking information and encourage the creation of digital financial services. But U.S. tech giants including Apple, Google, Amazon, and Meta look set to be locked out, with Germany pushing for their exclusion.
Europe’s FiDA Regulation
At the center of the debate is the Financial Data Access (FiDA) regulation, an extension of the EU’s existing Open Banking framework. FiDA requires banks and insurers to share customer data with third-party providers if customers consent. The aim is to help developers build tailored products such as financial planning tools and digital advisory services.
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European banks, however, warned that giving Big Tech companies access would allow them to exploit sensitive data and sideline traditional financial institutions. Germany took up those concerns and circulated a document urging member states to exclude large American platforms in order to protect Europe’s financial ecosystem and consumers’ digital sovereignty.
Germany Leads
According to the Financial Times, Germany’s proposal to shut out Apple, Amazon, Google, and Meta has gained traction among other EU capitals. Diplomats say Big Tech faces almost certain defeat as negotiations on FiDA enter their final stage this autumn.
“This is one file where the Big Tech players are actually losing the lobbying fight,” one EU diplomat told the paper. The European Parliament and the European Commission have already signaled support for limiting access, siding with financial industry concerns.
Transatlantic Tensions Rising
The move risks escalating tensions with Washington. President Donald Trump has repeatedly accused European governments of discriminating against American tech companies. Last month, he warned on Truth Social that he would impose tariffs on countries targeting U.S. firms through digital taxes and new regulations.
“Digital Taxes, Digital Services Legislation and Digital Markets Regulations are all designed to harm, or discriminate against, American Technology,” Trump wrote.
Tech Lobby Pushes Back
Big Tech lobbying groups argue that excluding their members from FiDA undermines the regulation’s original purpose. Daniel Friedlaender of the Computer & Communications Industry Association Europe said the plan would entrench banks as gatekeepers and limit consumer choice.
“By bowing to incumbent banks, the EU is going to limit consumer choice and entrench legacy players who already hold ‘gatekeeper’ power over customer data,” he said.
Kay Jebelli from the Chamber of Progress added that European consumers would lose access to innovative services if U.S. platforms were blocked. “Discriminating against US tech companies would not only deny Europeans new digital services, it would also stoke transatlantic tensions,” he said.
What Comes Next
EU governments and the European Parliament are working toward a final agreement on FiDA in the coming weeks. With Germany’s backing, banks appear to have won a significant advantage against Big Tech. If confirmed, the decision would reshape the balance of power in Europe’s digital finance market and strain relations with the United States at a politically sensitive moment.
Worst possible time to poke a stick at US tech.
Pass this bill to favor EU financial institutions and coddle inferior European Tech companies.
Expect to see Donald Trump unleash a firestorm of
Additional tariffs.