Akoya welcomes Wells Fargo to its Data Access Network

By Pavithra R

Akoya, transforming the way consumers provide access to their data with increased security, privacy, and control over their information has announced that Wells Fargo has joined the Akoya Data Access Network.

Fintechs and data aggregators can now request application programming interface (API)-based access to Wells Fargo customer data for mutual customers through Akoya.

“The addition of Wells Fargo to the Akoya Data Access Network is yet another signal marking the industry’s shift toward safer and more secure API-based data aggregation, especially as new fintechs offer consumers a wide range of innovative services. This partnership significantly increases the scale of our network for fintechs and aggregators: We now have agreements with financial institutions that make nearly half of all U.S. retail banking accounts available through our authorized API connections,” said Stuart Rubinstein, CEO of Akoya.

Akoya implements Financial Data Exchange API specifications, which remove the need for bank customers to share login credentials to provide third-party financial apps access to their financial data. Besides, compared to credential-based data aggregation ‘screen scraping’, APIs improve data access reliability and reduce security risks.

Previously, Wells Fargo announced its plans to transition 99% of current third-party financial app screen scraping to API-based data exchange. As the firm completes integration with data exchange partners such as Akoya, customers will be easily able to see and manage the financial data they’re sharing with these apps from within Control Tower in the Wells Fargo Mobile Banking app and Wells Fargo Online banking.

“We believe that using APIs as a means of data transfer is a model the industry can use to create more reliable and more secure data sharing. As we continue to move toward what we see as a more secure, transparent and convenient method of data exchange, our agreement with Akoya offers another implementation option for connecting with fintechs,” said Ben Soccorsy, senior vice president in Wells Fargo’s Strategy, Digital and Innovation group.

Wells Fargo will begin making data available to the network later this year, as customers authorize Akoya-connected fintech apps and services to access their Wells Fargo account information.