Wells, Xero Safeguard SME Data Exchange

As Wells Fargo continues to push its way deeper into the SME market, the bank has just announced a collaboration with global small business accounting software firm Xero to continue the momentum.

Reports on Tuesday (June 7) said Wells will empower its SME clients already using Xero accounting software with a more robust and secure data-sharing initiative.

According to the firms, their tie-up means more secure data-sharing between Wells Fargo and Xero, meaning SMEs can have greater control over what information from their Wells Fargo accounts they share with Xero.

“We’re very pleased that Xero is the first major technology company to join us on the journey of creating a more secure and customer-focused model of sharing data between companies that have common customers,” said Wells‘ head of digital for virtual channels, Brett Pitts, in a statement.

“In an era of increasing concern about the security of electronic financial data, it is time to move toward more secure and more reliable data exchange methods,” the executive continued. “As a result of this agreement, we’re creating a much better experience for our shared small business customers, who will benefit considerably from the improved process that comes out of this innovative agreement.”

Wells compared its agreement with Xero to the way some service providers, like Airbnb, allow users to sign in using Facebook credentials. Through their agreements, Xero no longer requires small business owners to share Wells login credentials to enable the transmission of bank data into the SME accounting platform.

“The new method of data sharing is driven by an API and creates a secure, tokenized ‘handshake’ between the companies’ servers,” Wells explained in its announcement.

“We are glad to provide a system that enables our customers to securely access their account data in third-party software, gives our customers more control of the data they share and removes their credentials from the data-sharing transaction,” Pitts continued.