Account aggregators go live: Here’s a step-by-step guide to sharing your financial data

Finvu account aggregator app is available on Play store for android users. For iOS users, it’s still to be released. Once you register, you get a unique virtual user address (VUA), i.e., an account aggregator ID. For instance, if you register as Salil Shah then your unique id will be salilshah@finvu.

Link your bank accounts

Linking your account allows you to select the accounts from which you wish to share the information, with the financial information users. You can link multiple bank accounts in the Finvu App (refer to image 1). You require your registered mobile number to link your bank account. You will receive an OTP on the registered mobile number to complete the linking process. No credentials are required and your accounts are authenticated by your financial institutions directly.

At present, eight major banks have joined the network. These are State Bank of India (SBI), ICICI Bank, Axis Bank, IDFC First Bank, Kotak Mahindra Bank, HDFC Bank, IndusInd Bank, and Federal Bank. Now, the banks have joined the network as Financial Information Providers (FIPs) and Financial Information Users (FIUs).

Also read: Account aggregators go live: Here’s how customers can share financial data with banks

Provide consent

Once your accounts are linked, you can now provide consent to your FIUs for using your data while applying for a personal loan, home loan, credit card, etc. An account aggregator can provide a full view of your finances.

This can be shared instantly with a wealth manager by taking consent. You can also get a view of your aggregated balances and transactions for your accounts on the app.  

You can set the validity of the consent for one to 10 years. The app allows you to share data of the last 30 to 60 days (refer to image 2).

Accept the consent from FIUs

Using your virtual user address information users can request for consent to access your financial data for providing services or products. The FIU will initiate the consent from its login and you can review and approve it from your app.

You will receive a notification when consent is requested by any FIU (refer to image 3).

Is my data safe with the account aggregator?

Finvu and other account aggregators do not store or save any data transmitted between financial information providers and users. The data shared through the account aggregator is encrypted and can be accessed only by entities requesting the data. Vishal Dhawan, founder and CEO of Plan Ahead Wealth Advisors says, “This prevents stealing of confidential data and secures users’ information.”

Users will can revoke consent on sharing data and will also be able to specify individual items for access without giving the full history. These tasks are almost impossible to accomplish when bank statements, mutual fund statements etc. are shared in the paper form or downloaded and sent to wealth managers, which can be misplaced or fall into wrong hands.

How can you revoke the consent?

In case you want to revoke the consent given before the expiry of the validity set on the Finvu app, click on the consent option and choose the account you want to revoke (refer to image 4).

Then, the app won’t be able to access your account details.