The Consumer Financial Protection Bureau (CFPB) has taken another step designed to promote open banking in the US, finalising a rule for recognising data sharing standards and preventing incumbents from “squelching” startups.

In October, the CFPB proposed its long-awaited open banking rule in the hopes of improving competition in the US banking and payments sector, requiring consumer financial service providers to share data at the user’s direction with other companies in the ecosystem.

The bureau has said that industry players and consumer groups will get to set the technical standards. The rule finalised this week outlines the qualifications to become a recognised industry standard setting body.

Amid concerns that the big banks will dominate the process, the CFPB says it will “not recognise any standard-setting organisation that is rigged in favor of any set of industry players”.

Continues the agency: “The process must be open to all interested parties, including public interest groups, app developers, and a broad range of financial firms with a stake in open banking.”

Standard setters will also need to demonstrate transparency, balanced decision-making, consensus, and due process and appeals.

The rule also includes a step-by-step guide for how standard setters can apply for recognition and how the CFPB will evaluate applications, kicking off the process for organisations to seek formal recognition.