The parent company of Fidelity Investments, FMR LLC, is launching an independent personal data startup called Akoya in conjunction with The Clearing House (TCH) and 11 of its member banks, Fidelity announced on Thursday (Feb. 20).
The Akoya platform taps an application programming interface (API) network for a secure, transparent inroad consumers can use when giving third-party financial apps access to their personal financial data. Available to all sectors of the financial services industry, the network serves as a bridge between financial institutions and data recipients.
“Consumers’ personal financial data should only be accessed with their explicit consent and they should have the ability to monitor and revoke that access,” said Abigail P. Johnson, chairman and CEO of Fidelity Investments. “For this reason, we created Akoya and are now joining with several financial institutions to accelerate the availability of a secure, transparent and more reliable network for the entire financial services industry.”
People usually provide their account login credentials to third-party data recipients so they can share their financial data. The new network boosts financial system security as it speeds up API adoption.
“This is a major step forward in giving consumers control of their data and allowing them to share that data securely with third-party applications they want to use,” said Michael Corbat, CEO of Citigroup and chairman of TCH. “Data security is a top priority for the industry, and bringing Akoya together with The Clearing House and its members will meaningfully advance the availability of a secure data sharing ecosystem while preserving customer choice.”
Originally introduced by Fidelity in 2019, Akoya will run as its own entity and will form new protocols independent from its owners.
“Every consumer has the right to share their financial data in order to receive valuable services and information, but it must be done in a safe and transparent manner,” said Stuart Rubinstein, CEO of Akoya. “Financial institutions and data recipients will have access to an efficient, effective and secure option without the need to build and maintain multiple connections between each other.”
Akoya’s API is affiliated with the Financial Data Exchange (FDX) standard, which is tasked with advancing API standards to improve both security and convenience.
Aside from FMR LLC, Akoya is owned by Bank of America, Capital One, Citi, Huntington National Bank, JPMorgan Chase, KeyBank, PNC Bank, TCH, TD Bank,Truist, U.S. Bank and Wells Fargo.
We’re always on the lookout for opportunities to partner with innovators and disruptors.
Learn More