With the rise of digital banking and multiple banks offering similar commoditized offerings, many financial service providers are looking for ways to stand out in the eyes of consumers.
Fortunately, there’s a way financial service providers can differentiate themselves and deliver the personalized experiences and insights customers are looking for. It involves tapping into aggregated financial data.
For instance, tools like financial forecasting apps can help consumers meet upcoming financial obligations, budget planning apps empower smarter spending, and goal-saving tools inspire consumers to set and fund goals. All of these tools rely on aggregated financial data.
But that’s not all. Consumers who use aggregated data tools and services are more loyal to and engaged with their financial institution. How do we know? We conducted an Aggregation and Wellness Survey1.
Here’s what we found: Infographic link
A full 84% of the retail banking customers we surveyed who used financial account aggregation services said they were more likely to stay with their financial institution. 81% were more likely to transfer balances there.
When we asked banking customers how they felt about money management tools, the numbers got even higher:
96% of the customers who used financial apps and tools powered by their aggregated data were more likely to stay with the financial institution providing these tools. 94% were more likely to transfer balances there.
In this survey, we defined financial account aggregation as a tool that collects data from many or all of their financial accounts in one place. We explained to survey participants how this tool links or connects their different online financial accounts, regardless of financial institution, onto one site. We mentioned that this could be offered by financial institutions or online services like Mint.
We defined personal financial management as tools/apps that enable consumers to manage their money better by tracking their spending, managing their cash flow, creating budgets, managing debt, creating reports, and looking at their whole net worth. We explained to survey participants that these tools use the data from all their financial accounts through account aggregation.
Across the board, we found that customers using financial account aggregation services and aggregation-powered tools were more likely to turn to their financial institution for their next financial need. They used their institution’s website and apps more frequently. And in a world where word of mouth recommendations can make or break business, they were more likely to recommend their financial institution to their friends and family.
So the bottom line is, if your financial institution or FinTech offers financial account aggregation or apps or tools powered by aggregation, you’re on the right path to increasing consumer loyalty. If you’d like to offer data aggregation tools and services, and you need help, feel free to reach out to us. As you can see, the results can be well worth it.
Footnotes
1Envestnet | Yodlee® Aggregation and Wellness Survey of U.S. Consumers conducted July-August 2021. This online survey of a random sample of U.S. consumers used a high-quality consumer panel. Consumers surveyed used financial management tools from various providers; survey was not specific to any one software provider.
