The Consumer Financial Protection Bureau announced on Thursday that it would subject the largest technology companies to regular inspections and other rigorous oversight, paving the way for the agency to closely monitor the payment services offered by Apple, Google and PayPal-owned Venmo.

The new rules amount to a major expansion in the power and reach of the nation’s chief financial watchdog, allowing regulators new and unfettered access to tech giants that offer digital financial tools — much in the same way the U.S. government long has closely monitored traditional banks and credit unions.

The CFPB did not specifically name the companies it plans to subject to heightened review. It outlined only the criteria for its oversight, formally known as supervision, which will focus on ensuring that payment apps and platforms protect users’ accounts, safeguard their purchasing data, respond to consumer fraud complaints and compete fairly with rivals.

“Digital payments have gone from novelty to necessity, and our oversight must reflect this reality,” CFPB Director Rohit Chopra said in a statement. “The rule will help to protect consumer privacy, guard against fraud, and prevent illegal account closures.”

In a sign of the CFPB’s potential reach, however, the agency’s earlier draft proposal drew swift condemnation from lobbying groups representing Apple, Amazon, Google and Venmo. They chafed at the bureau for expanding its watch over the industry, and some signaled at the time that they could sue, arguing the CFPB had vastly overstepped its statutory authorities. (Amazon founder Jeff Bezos owns The Washington Post.)

The agency’s new oversight rules are separate from another ongoing push at the CFPB to supervise individual companies, including Google, using authorities granted by Congress to scrutinize high-risk firms that offer consumer financial services. The search giant has fiercely resisted designation, The Post previously reported, while joining with the rest of Silicon Valley in opposing the bureau’s broader regulation.

But the fate of the CFPB’s new regulations faces immediate political and legal doubt: Their fate may rest in the hands of President-elect Donald Trump and the new Republican majority in the House and Senate, which have historically criticized the CFPB for overreach.

Under Chopra, the CFPB embarked on a broad inquiry targeting the tech industry in 2021, warning that the rise of digital payment services exposed a gap in federal oversight — since many tech companies are regulated less stringently than their traditional, brick-and-mortar banking counterparts.

Over the course of the review, federal regulators found that more than three-quarters of American adults have used these payment apps, even though the money stored on various digital services is not always afforded the same federal protections as their bank accounts. The CFPB also heard an earful from aggrieved consumers, who filed thousands of complaints about Apple, Google, Venmo and other companies, complaining about fraudulent charges and a slew of other issues that later required the government’s help.

In response, the CFPB ratcheted up its enforcement: It opened key probes targeting financial technology companies, including Block, which owns Cash App, and Facebook, the firms disclosed in securities filings. Last month, the CFPB also ordered Apple and its partner, Goldman Sachs, to pay $89 million to settle allegations they misled consumers in their handling of the Apple Card. The companies disputed the allegations but agreed to the settlement.