Regulation is a hot topic in the US and UK, with massive changes over recent months, but what effect will this have on consumers. Monica Eaton, Founder and CEO of Chargebacks911, explores Trump’s impact on the regulators and what effect he is having across the pond.
Eaton noted that the recent executive order granting the White House direct control over independent regulators like the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC), Federal Trade Commission (FTC), and Federal Communications Commission (FCC) is a concerning shift that “could reshape financial oversight, consumer protections, and technology regulation.”
Eaton added that this move, mirrored by developments in the U.K., signals a broader “global shift in regulatory control—one that threatens to stifle competition and innovation, not enhance them.”
She also mentioned:
“With the shuttering of the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau (CFPB), the launch of innovative new systems like Open Banking now hangs in the balance, potentially ending before it even begins. If future rulemaking is stalled and existing regulations are rolled back, key protections and innovations in financial services could be lost. Open Banking was designed to empower consumers, foster competition, and enable fintech growth. If it is not allowed to take off in the U.S., we risk entrenching outdated systems that benefit incumbents rather than promoting progress.”
She continued:
“These changes aren’t confined to the U.S. The U.K. government recently decided to mirror the U.S. by absorbing the Payment Systems Regulator (PSR) into the Financial Conduct Authority (FCA) in order to ‘simplify’ payments regulation and seems to be moving ahead with ‘Project Chainsaw’, a DOGE-like department to shrink the administrative state. The PSR’s absence raises a crucial question: Who should regulate payments innovation? The answer is clear—it should be led by consumers, merchants, and financial service providers, not dictated by governments or regulatory bodies. Sometimes that will mean the government stepping out of the way, sometimes it will mean regulators providing scaffolding on which to build great companies, as European regulators did with Open Banking.”
Eaton further noted:
“In the payments industry, true innovation often struggles under the weight of regulatory frameworks that favor larger institutions. Regulation should support competition, not hinder it. The industry must break free from restrictive mindsets that stifle growth. True competition emerges from consumer-driven solutions—not top-down mandates that dictate product evolution. To foster real innovation, we must advocate for policies that empower consumers, rather than constrain them.”
Chargebacks911 was founded in Tampa Bay, Florida, and has since expanded internationally to become Europe’s first chargeback remediation specialist, tackling the chargeback fraud problem.