Account Aggregation 2.0
Does Yodlee make Quicken obsolete?
Jim Bruene
September 2000
: OBR 63
28
It’s been one year since we first profiled financial account aggregation pioneer VerticalOne (OBR 53, p. 19-24). Account aggregation, aka statement aggregation, which we named the number one milestone of 1999 (OBR 57/58, p. 8), has generated an unusual amount of controversy during its first year, especially given how few customers actually use it (see Table 1 below).
If you are thinking about adding the service within the next 12 months, first ask yourself these questions. Will account aggregation:
1. Drive new business?
2. Cement our relationship with users?
3. Increase profitable cross sales to existing users?
4. Improve service quality and/or reduce service costs?
We think that for 2000 and 2001 most banks will answer no to all four questions (p. 2 for a market sizing). Does that mean you shouldn’t push forward with an aggregation service? Not necessarily. Account aggregation will be a critical online banking feature in the future. Yahoo’s launch of account aggregation on Aug. 30 (p. 4) certainly boosts awareness of the feature. But with a forecast of only 600,000 users prior to 2002 (3% of online banking HHs), it’s a question of priorities. Before you add a relatively unknown service such as account aggregation, make sure you offer the features with proven customer demand, such as email statements, email alerts, interbank funds transfer, fraud protection, quick online loan decisions, and so on (see OBR 61/62 for more ideas). Once you do move forward with account aggregation, make sure you launch a value-added version (p. 5).
Contents
• Sizing the Market
• Bank of Dreams: Account Aggregation
• The shaky value proposition
• Adding value to aggregation
• Best of the Web: Deep Green Bank’s innovative HELOC
• Security: Don’t get caught in the PayPal spoof
• Innovations: Everbankbackup.com
• Net-Only Bank Watch
• Web traffic
• PayPal’s account verification system
• July & August developments
• Net-Only banks in formation
• Conference Calendar
• Scorecard: Alternative payments
• Schwab’s FedEx connection

Account Aggregation 2.0
account aggregation, Quicken, Yodlee, online retail banking