Frustrated by clunky broker platforms, more and more investors are turning to investment tracker apps powered by a financial account aggregator. But many still hesitate—worried about what data they’re exposing and how secure financial account aggregators really are.
In this post, we break down the value prop of account aggregators, what data they actually access, and how secure data connections are. Be sure to read on to learn about OAuth, because it’s a game changer when it comes to security and data protection. Spoiler alert: You no longer need to share your login credentials.
Plus, we’ll share our top 5 picks among financial account aggregators.
What is the value prop of a financial account aggregator?
Financial account aggregators, such as Plaid or Snaptrade, provide value to consumers by consolidating data from various financial institutions. For example, many investors own multiple brokerage and retirement accounts, and often want to track additional family members’ accounts on top.
A unified view of their investments, greatly simplifies financial planning and wealth building. Smart visualizations and innovative tools built upon the services of financial account aggregators empowers consumers to make more informed decisions. In many instances, consumers will discover hidden fees or shortfalls in their investment portfolio that they previously weren’t aware of.
Why financial account aggregators exist
The main reason financial account aggregators exist is simple: your financial data belongs to you. Open banking laws have affirmed this, despite resistance from banks and brokers eager to keep control. Now, you’re free to take your data wherever it serves you best—whether that’s smarter budgeting, better investment tracking, or other value-added services.
How financial account aggregation works
Once you’ve decided to use an app that gives you benefits your broker doesn’t, you’ll likely come in contact with a financial account aggregator. It will establish a secure, read-only connection to your bank, broker or retirement service provider to pass on the information you would like to share with the app you want to use.
This connection is made through an API (application programming interface) after you’ve given your consent. With new connection protocols, such as OAuth, you won’t even need to share your user name and password.
Fidelity, Robinhood, Coinbase, Etrade, Webull and virtually most of the largest brokers employ OAuth protocol.
Once the aggregator has retrieved balances, transactions, and holdings, the data is standardized and passed on to the third party app you would like to use.
How secure is your financial account aggregator?
Financial account aggregators are generally very secure, especially when they use modern, regulated frameworks like OAuth and open banking APIs. These systems ensure that your login credentials are never shared with the aggregator—instead, data access is granted through secure, limited-use tokens issued by your bank.
Data is encrypted in transit and at rest, and access is strictly permission-based, meaning aggregators can only retrieve the specific information you’ve agreed to share.
Reputable aggregators are also regularly audited and must comply with strict financial and data protection regulations. While no system is entirely risk-free, the security standards used by top aggregators are on par with those of major financial institutions.
OAuth protocol as the game changer
Because OAuth (Open Authorization) keeps your credentials between you and your bank, the aggregator never sees or stores your username and password. By extension, the third party app you are looking to use will not see your credentials either.
This drastically reduces the risk of credential theft, enhances privacy, and aligns with modern open banking and data protection standards.
What information do you expose?
When you use a financial account aggregator, you expose only the data you explicitly consent to share—and that depends on the app’s purpose and the permissions you grant.
Typically, this includes:
- Account balances (e.g., checking, savings, investment, credit)
- Transaction history (dates, amounts, merchants)
- Holdings and portfolio details (for investment accounts)
- Account identifiers (like account type and bank name—not full account numbers)
You do not expose your login credentials if the aggregator uses secure methods like OAuth. You also control access: you can revoke permissions at any time, and reputable aggregators won’t access data beyond what’s needed for the service you’re using.
Who are the best financial account aggregators?
Market leader Plaid may have become synonymous with streamlined, secure data linking of bank accounts. However, a wave of challengers are stepping up, offering their unique features and product focus.
Whether you’re already using Plaid or just exploring your options, it’s worth knowing about these alternatives.
1. Plaid
Founded in 2013, Plaid is the market leader in the US providing market-leading institution coverage with more than 11,000 financial institutions in the U.S. It plays in all financial services domains from budgeting to investments.
Pros:
Strong track record: In a domain that can still be described as early stage, Plaid has one of the longest track records.
Coverage: Plaid’s has one of the best coverage levels in the US. As of the latest count, it connects fintechs and other players in the financial services space to over 11,000 institutions.
Cons:
Lack of focus and data quality: In certain domains, such as investments, Plaid lacks focus and risks being overtaken by more focused players, such as Snaptrade.
2. Envestnet Yodlee
Envestnet Yodlee is often referred to as the pioneer of financial data aggregation. Like Plaid, Yodlee plays in a wide range of financial services applications and covers a vast network of global financial institutions.
Pros
Broad Global Coverage: Yodlee has links with over 20,000 global financial institutions and financial service providers, providing better global reach compared to Plaid.
Experience: With over 20 years of experience in the market, Yodlee has acquired a deep level of sophistication and robustness in its product offering.
Cons:
Tech debt: Yodlee’s technology and interfaces is less modern and user-friendly compared to some of its competitors.
3. Snaptrade
Snaptrade is one of the more focused players among financial account aggregators with a strong focus on investments. To our knowledge, it leads the market in OAuth coverage by number of investment accounts in the US.
Pros:
Leader in investments: By making the deliberate choice to focus on investments, Snaptrade has managed to become the market leader in investment account aggregation, serving clients with OAuth connections across most of the large brokerage names from Fidelity to Robinhood to Vanguard.
Cons:
Limited coverage: Snaptrade only provides very limited coverage of financial data outside of investment accounts.
4. Akoya
Akoya, jointly owned by Fidelity and 11 major banks—including Bank of America, Capital One, Citigroup, JPMorgan Chase, and Wells Fargo—is used by both fintechs and large financial institutions.
Pros:
High Reliability: Thanks to a focus on API-based connections, Akoya delivers a high degree of reliability
Data Security: Akoya leads peers when it comes to risk management and data security.
Cons:
Limited Coverage: Being owned by 11 banks, Akoya lacks independence and thus moves much slower when it comes to enlarging its coverage
5. Finicity
Finicity, which is owned by Mastercard, is a financial account aggregator that is particularly popular among lenders for use as part of the lending process. Their service is known to focus on data privacy and compliance.
Pros:
Privacy and Transparency: Finicity places a significant emphasis on the user’s ability to grant and revoke access to data at any time, giving users a lot control over their data with the goal to protect sensitive customer data
Owned and supported by Mastercard: In Mastercard, Finicity has the backing of a giant player in the financial services space.
Cons:
Frequent Connectivity Problems: User complaints in forums suggest inferior connection reliability Limited Coverage: Being owned by 11 banks, Akoya lacks independence and thus moves much slower when it comes to enlarging its coverage
Financial account aggregators provide extensive benefits – at minimal risks.
inancial account aggregators open the door to a level of innovation that traditional banks and brokers simply can’t match. They let users securely connect and view all their financial accounts in one place, in real or near real-time—eliminating the hassle of juggling multiple apps.
Backed by the OAuth protocol and embraced by major players like Fidelity, Robinhood, Coinbase, and E*TRADE, these tools offer strong security alongside convenience. As open banking reshapes the financial landscape, the benefits for consumers are clear. The value far outweighs the risks.