Open Banking
Financial Data Aggregators Are Paving the Future of Financial Services
In today’s world, a business’s success rests on if they can provide the best and quickest service to their customers. With the evolution of social media, big data, and technology at everyone’s fingertips, consumers have come to expect a more personalized and seamless experience with any product or service. The financial services industry is no exception. As consumers’ expectations evolve, it’s more important than ever to adapt to their needs in order to differentiate your business from the competition.
Financial data aggregation is crucial to providing the best customer experience possible. Financial data aggregators and their open banking platforms, like Finicity, give institutions, fintechs and other financial services providers the ability to provide more personalized services to their customers, fostering a more comprehensive and convenient system. Let’s take a closer look at exactly what financial data aggregation is and how it can benefit financial institutions and their customers.
What Is Financial Data Aggregation?
Financial data aggregation is a lot less confusing than it sounds. The process involves compiling information from different accounts—including bank accounts, credit card accounts, investment accounts, loans and other financial accounts—into a single place. Once this information is collected, customers can see the entirety of their finances in one easily accessible platform, making all financial decisions that much easier.
At their core, financial data aggregators provide third parties with the APIs they need for consumers to permission access to the data in their accounts. With the rise of online banking, data aggregation is not just a more convenient way to access financial information: it’s the future. More people than ever before are transitioning to mobile banking as confidence in technology grows, and this trend will only continue as open banking becomes the norm and more innovative and convenient tools are released.
How Does a Financial Data Aggregator Benefit Financial Service Businesses?
Financial institutions and financial services providers can benefit greatly from financial data aggregators. Not only does providing a more convenient solution to your customers guarantee their satisfaction and loyalty to your business, but it also helps you draw in new customers and stay ahead of the competition. The better your service is, the happier your customers will be, which makes them much more likely to choose your services over another’s.
Data aggregation allows financial institutions to provide the best service out there as customers will have access to more comprehensive wealth management, faster payment processing, and personalized financial advice with less hassle. Whether it’s an in-house app or service or a third party fintech app or service.
Can Consumers Use Financial Aggregation Tools?
Consumers are growing increasingly interested in financial aggregation tools to help them budget. This is especially true of Generation Z consumers, who, as one of the youngest generations, represent the future of financial services.
Customers are most interested in using financial aggregation apps to do the following:
- Manage financial accounts from different organizations using a single tool
- Budget more efficiently with apps connected to their bank and credit card accounts
- Gain access to credit statements that would allow them to track spending across different cards or accounts
- See credit, spending, cash flow or other insights they can’t get unless they’re looking at multiple accounts
Maximize the Benefits of a Financial Data Aggregator
Why would a financial app or service want to use a financial data aggregator? Well, there are countless benefits for both financial advisors and consumers. Let’s take a closer look at some of these benefits.
Benefits for Financial Services and Financial Advisors
Bankers and financial advisors know how important it is to provide great customer service. Not only does financial data aggregation help them provide a better experience to their clients, but it can also help them be more efficient and productive. Using a financial data aggregator provides data that can help do the following:
- Form better relationships with clients
- Expand service offerings and manage assets they previously couldn’t
- Perform fewer manual tasks with automated data updates
- Streamline the process of data and asset gathering
- Demonstrate immediate value for new prospects
- Target new customers with specific offers that will be attractive to them
- Simplify operations by eliminating the need for manual data entry or paper statements from customers
Benefits for Consumers
A consumer wants the best service possible with the quickest results. Financial aggregators can help provide this service while delivering other significant benefits. As apps and services are better equipped to view a comprehensive summary of a customer’s financial situation, they can provide faster credit decisioning and more comprehensive data to their customers. Data aggregation also benefits consumers, enabling them to do the following:
- Avoid losing important financial information or documents
- Make informed decisions and budget based on more comprehensive information
- Track all spending across cards and accounts in one location
- View a full picture of their financial lives outside of just their bank accounts
- Have immediate access to their financial information
- Get more personalized financial advice
- Experience faster payment processing
What Is the Future of Financial Data Aggregators?
As the demand for more comprehensive financial services grows, financial data aggregators and open banking platforms will continue to empower apps and services to help consumers make more informed decisions. Consumers are turning to digital solutions due to the pandemic, and they are unlikely to turn back to more traditional financial services once the dust settles. Competition will continue to grow as institutions strive to provide or curate the best and most convenient services in the market. This is why it’s so important to invest in the future by finding the right financial data aggregator for your organization.
Finicity is on the cutting edge of financial data aggregation software. With an open banking platform that makes connecting to your customers’ financial information simple, Finicity empowers you to give your customers the best experience possible in an ever more competitive environment.
Data aggregation is paving the future of financial services by giving consumers the power to make more informed decisions. Learn more about Finicity’s open banking platform and how it provides data to propel innovation in financial services and empower consumers.