The financial services industry is constantly evolving, and the way financial data is stored, shared, and used is no exception. To meet the expectations of consumers who want to streamline  financial management, data traditionally stored in siloes is being aggregated. This data aggregation, along with data sharing, is crucial for a seamless customer experience.

To learn more about the trends and issues of the data industry, PaymentsJournal sat down with Justin Jackson, VP of Product Management at Fiserv, and Tim Sloane, VP of Payments Innovation at Mercator Advisory Group.  

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The importance of financial management  

Consumers, and in particular those in younger demographics, want to have better insight into and control over their finances . A lot of consumers have  fragmented financial lives. “Initial research shows that your average American consumer has many banking relationships—as many as three, four, or even five—and they want to manage all of those in one app where they can,” explained Jackson. Being able to see all of their accounts, cards, and budgets across bank relationships in one place gives consumers better insight into their finances. 

The chart below, provided by Fiserv, highlights the interest level among consumers of consolidated financial management capabilities:

“What it’s really telling you is that people care about their financial picture, they care about their financial wellness, and they want to stay on top of it,” added Jackson. “But it’s particularly difficult because of that fragmentation, so they’re looking for solutions or providers that can help manage this.” This is especially true amid the ongoing COVID-19 pandemic, as Americans remain heavily impacted by unemployment, loss of income, and other budgetary constraints.  

Being able to access data across different banking relationships is fundamental for consumers looking to better manage their financial lives. However, for a variety of reasons, including the industry’s efforts to maintain data security, data has historically been stored in siloes. For the consumer, this can result in the inability to access their own financial data when and where they want.

Data aggregation relies on a consumer-centric approach