Account Aggregator

Account Aggregator Framework

The Account Aggregator (AA) framework has been introduced by the Reserve Bank of India (RBI) to promote data portability and financial inclusion while ensuring data privacy and security. The AA framework plays a crucial role in empowering individuals to access a wide range of financial services and products without the need to repeatedly provide their financial information to various institutions. Account Aggregators are the Future of Data Sharing.

AA Participants

The main participants of the AA ecosystem are the Account Aggregator (AA), the Financial Information Provider (FIP) and the Financial Information User (FIU) working together to simplify the process of sharing data.

Financial Information Provider (FIP)

Financial Information Provider (FIP) are institutions that hold user data. These are the banks, or NBFCs that share customer's financial information with Financial Information User (FIU) via requests through an Account Aggregator.

Financial Information Users (FIU)

Financial Information Users (FIU) receive digitally signed data from Financial Information Providers (FIP) via Account Aggregators. FIU use the data to provide various services to the consumer like loans, insurance, or wealth management.

Account Aggregators (AA)

Account Aggregators (AA) are non-banking financial companies, licensed by RBI, that act like a bridge, to deliver data from Financial Information Providers (FIP) that hold the personal or corporate financial data to Financial Information Users (FIU) that are providing financial services to the customer.

AA Ecosystem Model

When the customer gives consent to an Account Aggregator (AA), it collects the digital financial data from one or more accounts, and delivers it to the financial institution that is providing services like loan or insurance to the customer.

Customer journey in AA

The customer shall register with an AA through their app or website and create an AA handle (e.g., 9999999999@finvu).
The customer will choose the account(s) that they want to link.
When a customer wants to share his/her data, they will share their AA handle with FIU.
FIU will send a consent request to the customer on the respective AA application.
The consent will have parameters like purpose of the consent, data fetch frequency, expiry of consent, etc.
Once the customer approves the consent, FIU will retrieve the data from FIP through a data fetch request.
FIP will provide the data after verifying the consent artefact.
The customer can revoke the consent anytime that they choose.

The Advantages of the AA Framework

Hassle-free: AA makes it effortless to gather data at the user’s end and enter data at the service provider’s end.
Fast: AA allows faster processing, and quicker access to products or services.
Comprehensive: With entire financial profile at one place service providers gauge your needs in a better way.
Real-Time: Information for each synced account is up-to-date, and available online reducing margin for errors.
Verified: Financial data is directly delivered from authorised accounts eliminating data errors.
Transparent: Aggregation increases transparency by helping you get better picture of your finances.
Data Security: No storing of customer data with the AA, thereby making the whole system secure.