Financial institution Wells Fargo is partnering with data platform Plaid to offer customers the option of managing their finances in one place using an application programming interface (API), Wells Fargo said in a press release on Thursday (Sept. 19).
Wells Fargo customers can use Plaid apps to access, simplify and manage their online finances, the release said. The new agreement also enables users to control what data is shared with Plaid.
“We want to be where our customers are,” said Ben Soccorsy, head of digital payments for Wells Fargo Virtual Channels. “And if customers want to share their Wells Fargo account information with a Plaid-supported app to help them better manage their finances, we want to enable them to do so seamlessly and more securely. Our agreement with Plaid, a leading data platform for many financial management apps, will help our customers share their financial data with these apps with greater control and transparency.”
The API offers a safe “handshake” to connect the companies’ servers, allowing people customers to share data while keeping user credentials private. The API is aligned with the Financial Data Exchange, a nonprofit providing a standard for the finance industry.
“It is critical that consumers have more secure and seamless access to their own financial data to power their modern financial lives,” said Sima Gandhi, head of business development and strategy at Plaid, “and our collaboration with Wells Fargo will ensure that our mutual customers can enjoy the best of FinTech innovation for years to come.”
Plaid said it works with more than 15,000 banks and “powers 80 percent of the largest FinTechs to deliver better digital services to their customers,” per earlier reports.
The company recently released new developer tools to combat credit card debt. Developers can access real-time information about what consumers owe and help borrowers understand their financial obligations, consolidate debt across accounts for more favorable terms, and pay down balances faster.
We’re always on the lookout for opportunities to partner with innovators and disruptors.
Learn More