One of the buzz-ideas of dotcom1 was the financial aggregator – a web-based system that held all your financial data in one place, analyzed it and then suggested how to optimize it. The problem with these systems was that the banks and credit card companies didn’t like other parties owning the relationship with their clients and blocked their data getting to the aggregators.
A good few years later and it looks like the aggregators are back – Springwise reports on a new service called Mint:
Mint has relationships with more than 3,500 banks, credit unions and credit card providers, and each night it securely downloads transaction data to give users a unified view of all account activity in a single, easy-to-understand interface. Transactions are categorized and organized to show users how much they spend on gas, groceries, parking, rent, restaurants, DVD rentals, etc., while an alert system proactively notifies them about unusual activity, low balances, unwanted fees and charges, and upcoming bills.
Mint’s revenue model is based on lead generation. The system keeps tabs on the latest offers from hundreds of providers and recommends ways users can save money on interest rates and other expenses.
Same idea, eh? Same response from the banks this time around too?
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For those looking for a solution the banks and financial institutions are on board with, take a look at the Docuthentic system, currently in Beta: http://www.VaultStreet.com
This is an especially useful systems, putting my Etrade, TD Ameritrade, Citibank and Bank of America account information at my fingertips. Better yet, my accountant will save loads of time figuring my taxes this year thanks to this system.
- Rob
March 29th, 2008 at 3:56 pm