Ten years ago, your bank was like your psychiatrist or your minister — your bank kept secrets.

Ed Mierzwinski, a consumer advocate at the U.S. Public Interest Research Group said of Wells Fargo, as well as several smaller banks, now turning customer spending data into profit by identifying potential retailers for the customer. While tech companies have notoriously been the ones to use data mining to tailor advertisements to increase profits, banks are transitioning their role and now “think they are the same as a department store or an online merchant.” (AP News — December 2, 2019)