In financial services, a data aggregator is a company that carries out financial data aggregation: it connects to thousands of banks, card issuers, brokers and payroll systems, retrieves a consumer's data with that person's permission, and delivers it in one consistent format to a third-party app. The aggregator sits between the institutions that hold the data and the fintech companies, lenders and accounting tools that use it, so that each app needs one integration in place of thousands.
Aggregators obtain data in two ways. The older method is screen scraping, in which the consumer gives the aggregator their online banking credentials and software logs in on their behalf. The newer method uses an open banking API provided by the institution, with the consumer authenticating at the bank and granting limited, revocable access. Regulation in Europe and elsewhere has pushed the market toward the second, where the aggregator is licensed, for example as an account information service provider.
Common uses are personal finance apps, income and affordability checks for lending, and instant account verification before bank payments. Outside finance, "data aggregator" can also mean a data broker that compiles information from many sources for resale, a different business.