Democratizing data and thus credit to Citizens - Account Aggregator network

Democratizing data for customers through responsible sharing will actually democratize credit for people in the financial ecosystem. As a part of India stack, the Account Aggregator (AA) network is based on a mix of frameworks Open Credit Enablement Network (OCEN) and The Data Empowerment and Protection Architecture (DEPA).

Today, in financial institutions, it is not only the culture of managing data that will require a change, but also the culture of curating data from customers. As responsible curation of data is coupled with standards for sharing, including technical and security, a myriad of opportunities open up for Banks, NBFCs, Wealth managers and other participants in ecosystem.

• Financial Information Providers (FIPs): organisations that hold your financial data. E.g banks, insurance companies, mutual funds, pension funds, etc.
• Financial Information User (FIUs): organisations that consume financial data to provide consumer services. e.g. banks, lending agencies, insurance companies, personal wealth management companies, etc.

Courtesy: Parallelhq.com

The basic principles of Account Aggregator framework include -

1. Providing rights of personal data to customers
2. Processing personal data only with consents from people
3. Data democratization, portability & security
4. Ease of exercising rights like withdrawal of consents through Aggregator Apps
5. Data sharing to enhance trust and validation in information between FIUs, FIPs
6. Data Accuracy, consistency in records maintained for customers across institutions
7. Analytical insights from AA for better personal finance management through digital app

An account aggregator will facilitate seamless sharing of data between participants like lending houses who find it difficult to source personal and financial information of customers as well as customers who are caught in lengthy fulfillment cycles due to lack of ready and trustworthy information.