JPMorgan Chase has signed a deal with data aggregator Plaid in an effort to protect customers’ financial data.
The data-exchange agreement will help customers use financial apps to make smart decisions with their money whilst also giving them control over how their data is accessed and used.
Plaid will access customer information through the bank’s secure API (application programming interface) connection. The implementation will allow customers to share their information more safely and quickly with Plaid and the financial apps it supports while protecting their bank username and password, according to the bank.
The API uses a token-based approach to enable a customer to authorise Plaid to download the requested account information on their behalf. Plaid doesn’t store their usernames and passwords. Chase said it expects Plaid to start migrating apps through the bank’s secure API in the first half of 2019.
“This will give our customers more control and visibility into where and how their data is being used,” said Bill Wallace, head of Digital at Chase, the U.S. consumer and commercial banking business of JPMorgan Chase. “This is another key step in our effort to create a safer aggregation environment.”
By routing the data traffic through Chase’s API information will be more directly provided to Plaid and the financial apps it supports. It will also improve the experience for Chase customers by giving them control and visibility over where their Chase data is being used.
The principles behind Chase’s agreements include a secure API ensures that customers will give explicit consent to share their data while protecting their bank username and password. Aggregators must agree to bank-like cybersecurity standards to protect this sensitive information. Customers will also see their banking information populated into aggregator applications safely and quickly. Customers will also give explicit consent for apps to use data from specified Chase accounts, and will be able to turn off access for each account and each app.
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