AFC Announces SOLO’s Membership: Open Banking's Bank & Fintech-Governed Future

The American Fintech Council (AFC), the premier industry association representing responsible fintech companies and innovative banks, today announced the addition of SOLO as its newest member. This follows the public launch of SOLO’s Customer Data Clearinghouse, an industry-governed network for cross-institution data sharing between banks and fintech companies for direct collaboration in open banking.

As an AFC member, SOLO joins a network of fintech innovators focused on a shared mission to protect consumer data rights, promote innovation, improve efficiency, and increase transparency in financial services.

In Their Words: Phil Goldfeder, CEO of the American Fintech Council

“AFC’s mission is to champion partnership between banks and fintechs in service of consumers and the foundation of open banking must be governed the same way,” said Phil Goldfeder, CEO of the American Fintech Council. 

"SOLO is changing the way innovative banks and fintech companies can share consumer-permissioned data. We look forward to partnering with SOLO as they continue to support banks and fintechs in delivering smarter, more responsive services.”

Fueling Competitive Open Banking

The founding members of SOLO’s network include BaaS banks and fintech partners united around a simple principle of — trust must be earned, verified, and recognized. 

The Customer Data Clearinghouse enables decentralized data collection and centralized, customer-consented data sharing, enabling institutions to govern how data is collected, and customers to control how their data is shared. The result is a governed network, not a gatekept pipeline: no single institution sets the rules, and no middleman extracts value without doing the work of trust-building.

“Open banking cannot be dictated by middlemen who haven’t done the work of earning trust — or by any one player treating data as something to be owned,” said Georgina Merhom, founder of SOLO. “SOLO’s Clearinghouse is built to prevent monopolies and ensure that data sharing rewards collaboration over control.”

Scaling Fintech x Bank Partnerships

As an industry, fintech has pioneered better access, faster services, and broader inclusion in financial services. But data portability is crucial to its operating model, and as recent events revealed, open banking’s infrastructure is fragile. 

The Customer Data Clearinghouse creates an accountable, non-monopolistic alternative for open banking — where no single player can destabilize the industry. One where:

• Data sharing is always customer-permissioned, and trust follows consumers seamlessly across institutions and fintech partners
• Access is earned, not bought — institutions are incentivized to share trustworthiness while retaining controls over collection protocols and compliance work
• Data sharing is collaboratively developed among the validators doing the hard work of building and maintaining trust

Why SOLO

SOLO is honored that Phil Goldfeder and the AFC have supported this approach. As the leading voice for responsible fintech and innovative banks, the AFC understands what’s at stake.

Backed by over 100 community bank partners through the BankTech Ventures fund, SOLO is already processing $400M in monthly loan volume across the banking ecosystem. With the launch of the Clearinghouse, SOLO now scales that infrastructure across the industry for the benefit BAAS sponsor banks, fintechs, and the consumers they serve.

The AFC–SOLO alliance lays the foundation for permissioned, portable, institutionally-backed trust infrastructure — built by and for the modern financial ecosystem, without middlemen.