What Are Financial Aggregator Apps, and Are They Worth Your Time?

A financial aggregation app can make it easier to see your whole financial picture, but they often aren’t free and require some setup.

What are financial aggregator apps?

Financial aggregator apps link your various financial accounts together into one, single app.

You can typically link bank accounts like checking and savings, credit cards, investment portfolios, crypto accounts, subscription services, bills and loans to view them all in one app. With your account information in one place, you can view transactions, net worth, investments and balances across your different accounts in a centralized platform.

How do financial aggregators work?

Most aggregator apps use intermediary services to link your accounts to the app. One example of these intermediary services that you’ve probably heard of is Plaid. Plaid is a financial technology company that serves as a “bridge” between your banks and the financial apps you want to link together.

These bridge services, which also include Finicity, TrueLayer and MX, are not banks. They do not hold any of your money, and you don’t even have to make an account with these platforms. These intermediary services work behind-the-scenes to transfer data between your accounts and the financial aggregator service.

After you link your accounts to the aggregation platform, it will compile your data to display it, sometimes in pie graphs or categorized lists. Additionally, these apps usually have tools to budget and categorize your spending.

3 top financial aggregator examples

There are plenty more than just three financial aggregator apps, but here are some popular ones:

• Empower Personal Cash. Empower is an app aggregator for $0 per month, this one lets you sync bank accounts, loans and investments. You can track your income, expenses and transactions, and organize everything with labels and set savings goals.
• Origin. The Origin app offers bank account and investment linking, portfolio creation, tax filing, estate planning, credit score tracking and more. Costs $12.99 per month, or you can try it for one year for just $1. Also allows for one joint owner at no extra cost.
• Monarch. An app that lets you track bank accounts, subscription services, expenses and credit cards. Also offers two budgeting options called Flex Budgeting and Category Budgeting. Costs $14.99 per month, and allows for a joint owner at no extra cost.

Are account aggregators safe?

For the most part, yes, financial aggregation apps are just as safe as a typical banking app. And we make that comparison because aggregators typically use bank-level security features, including an advanced encryption standard (AES) and two-factor authentication (2FA).

AES involves scrambling your financial and personal data, and turning it into mathematical algorithms. To the naked eye, encrypted information looks like a bunch of random letters, and to decode it you need a cipher.

With 2FA, which you’re likely familiar with, it requires some extra steps beyond just your username and password to log in. For example, logging in may require you to verify your email address, phone number, enter a pin or even a facial scan.

With a combination of encryption and 2FA, banking apps and financial aggregator apps are generally safe and secure. Just be sure to never share your passwords or pins with anyone, and consider making different passwords for each of your accounts.

Pros of financial aggregator apps

If you’re someone who doesn’t put all their eggs in one basket, then an aggregation app could be a great tool to get an overview of your financial health.

• One login. By linking your various accounts to the single aggregation app, you can log into the app to view your linked accounts in one place.
• Budgeting. Similar to a budgeting app, a financial aggregation app can make it easier to see where you stand across your bank and investment accounts, which can help you manage your overall budget.
• Analytics. The majority of financial aggregation apps offer tools like net worth calculators, savings goals, credit score tracking, estate planning and more.
• Real-time data. Most aggregation apps offer real-time data through syncing software like Plaid, Finicity and MX, offering up-to-date transactions and information.
• Bank-level security. Financial aggregation apps typically utilize bank-level security tools, such as 256- bit encryption and two-factor authentication.

Cons of financial aggregator apps

These apps might not be worth it to everyone, since their cost could overextend your budget and just create more hassle than you need.

• Cost. Most financial aggregation apps are not free, typically costing around $10 per month.
• Security. If you’re not careful with your passcodes or don’t set up 2FA, then a financial aggregation app could pose a risk by being a centralized point where your financial accounts are. In other words, an aggregation app could be a single point of entry to the majority of your accounts.
• Information overload. Having all your accounts and transactions in one place could be great, but it could also create a mess to sort through, and make it difficult to pinpoint relevant information.
• Bridge services. There’s a chance that your accounts may not be able to sync to the financial aggregation app. While Plaid, Finicity, TrueLayer and MX do allow syncing of data with thousands of financial institutions, it doesn’t include every bank and credit union in the US.

Bottom line: Should I aggregate my bank accounts?

If you find yourself struggling to manage multiple bank accounts, investment accounts, credit cards and loans, then a financial aggregation app could be a big help. These platforms could sync all of your accounts and display them in one place.

On the other hand, if you only have a few accounts and already have a nice handle on your budget, investment planning and spending, then a financial aggregation app might just end up being an extra cost.