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What is Yodlee, and is it safe to use?

In today’s digital world, there are many apps and websites to help you manage your money. And whether you realize it or not, there’s usually a financial technology (fintech) company powering these tools behind the scenes.

Founded in 1999, Yodlee is a pioneer of this type of fintech. It’s a leader in financial data aggregation and powers connections between many popular financial institutions, apps, and websites.

Read on to learn more about how Yodlee works, which companies use it, and whether it’s safe.

Although Yodlee has been around for decades, it’s possible you’ve never heard of the platform. Even so, there’s a good chance you’ve used an app or website that relies on its services — perhaps without even realizing it.

Part of Envestnet since 2015, Yodlee helps apps and websites connect to your financial accounts, including bank accounts, credit cards, and investment portfolios. With your permission, these connections make it possible to display your financial information in one place.

Financial institutions and personal finance apps may use Yodlee to:

Display account balances and transactions
Track savings and investments
Send account alerts
Transfer money between accounts
Create advanced budgeting tools
Analyze and track spending
Review financial health
Manage debts
Track real estate value and net worth

Financial data aggregation, like the services that Yodlee powers behind the scenes of many financial apps and websites, can make it easier and more convenient to manage your money. And the more involved you are when it comes to your finances, the better. Still, it’s natural to feel cautious about sharing your financial details online.

Fortunately, Yodlee takes several important steps to protect consumer information, including:

Data anonymization: Yodlee removes personal details from market research data.
Third-party audits: Independent experts perform regular reviews of Yodlee’s systems.
Dedicated security team: Yodlee employs a dedicated team of security experts and risk practitioners.
24/7 security monitoring: Constant oversight aims to detect suspicious activity early.

That said, it’s still wise to protect yourself before you decide to share your financial information with any service that uses a data aggregator. Take the time to read privacy policies of any apps you use and know the rights you’re granting when it comes to accessing your financial accounts. And be sure you have the right to cancel our account and terminate any access you’ve granted to the data aggregation service when you do so.

Yodlee’s data aggregation tools are responsible for powering 85% of all online personal financial management. Additionally, six of the top 10 U.S. banks use Yodlee’s personal financial management solutions along with another 100 leading financial institutions throughout the world.

Below are just a few examples of popular financial companies that use Yodlee.

American Express: The popular charge card and credit card issuer uses Yodlee during the application process and to enable account sharing through trusted financial apps.
Chase: Chase customers can use Yodlee to share their financial data with more than 1,200 third-party financial apps on the Envestnet|Yodlee network.
PayPal: PayPal uses Yodlee to verify bank details, reduce risk, and perform other important functions.
Personal Capital: The investment and retirement tracking app uses Yodlee to link bank and investment accounts.

My Money, a new personal finance platform from Yahoo Finance, also relies on Yodlee to connect user accounts in order to provide helpful insights such as net worth and cash flow.

The companies above and many others receive financial data from Yodlee. But each company uses Yodlee’s services differently. So, your experience may vary depending on the app or service that receives your financial details from Yodlee.

Yodlee essentially provides a giant pool of available financial information to each company that uses its platform. From there, each fintech has the ability to take that information and design it into a unique user interface that makes it easier for consumers to track and manage their money.

Even if you’ve never heard of Yodlee, it could already be helping you manage your money. If you’re using an app that connects to your bank, credit card, or investment accounts, Yodlee might be working in the background to help everything run smoothly. Thanks to the Yodlee platform and wide coverage, many websites and apps can work more effectively and give you a better view of your finances.

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