Banks have been stopping screen scraper companies, such as Envestnet | Yodlee, because unfettered access to customer data represents a significant risk in today’s privacy-focused environment. But now there may be an answer.
A spin-off from FMR LLC, the parent company of Fidelity Investments, has created a guardian at the gate that can control exactly what customer data is to be shared and eliminate the need to share user ID’s and Passwords.
Here’s more coverage from an article in Digital Transactions:
“The strategy behind the acquisition is to have Akoya stand at the door when customers want to link their accounts to third-party applications from fintechs, as well as data aggregators. Third-party financial apps are booming as personal-financial management programs, online banks, other fintechs, and data aggregators seek access to raw banking data to carry out their functions. Under the usual practice, consumers simply give their login credentials to third-party apps.
But with Akoya, which has created an application programming interface-based (API) network, acting as the go-between for its user banks, third parties will not have direct access to credentials.
“This removes that from the process,” a spokesperson for New York City-based TCH tells Digital Transactions News. “That’s a huge concern for the financial institutions.”Data recipients will still be able to get what they need assuming they have customers’ permission. With Akoya’s technology, however, banks can limit access to only the customer account with the relevant data, not other accounts the customer may have with the institution. So-called scraping through such broad access is possible under the old model if the third party has access credentials, according to the TCH spokesperson.”
Overview by Tim Sloane, VP, Payments Innovation at Mercator Advisory Group