Money management with a financial account aggregator

Seeing all your accounts in one place can make it easier to manage your money and meet your financial goals.

Keeping up with all your accounts can be daunting — credit, checking, savings, loans and other services often are spread across multiple financial institutions. It's easy to miss a transaction or a payment when you're trying to keep track of so many accounts.

Many banks, including USAA Federal Savings Bank, offer what's called account aggregation services. You can gather your online financial accounts into a single view instead of having to sign into multiple websites to see each account individually. This makes it easy to take control of your finances and manage them quickly and more efficiently by monitoring all of your balances and transactions in one place.

How does account aggregation work?

To view all your accounts in one place using an account aggregation service, you'll first want to determine which service you'd like to use and ensuring you've set up an online account or profile. If using an existing institution that you're affiliated with, this first step is likely not needed. Once you've authenticated and connected your accounts to the account aggregation service, you'll be able to sign into a single dashboard instead of multiple websites to see your financial situation. USAA Federal Savings Bank will collect your balance information and other financial data from each account to display in your aggregated dashboard.

Take control of your finances with an account aggregator

It's easy to lose track of your finances, especially if they're spread over a variety of accounts. You can accidentally overspend from your checking account and incur hefty overdraft fees or miss a loan payment because you forgot it was coming due. Using an account aggregation service helps you take control of your finances and manage your savings, income and expenses all in one place.

At USAA, members can link to other financial accounts that list them as an account owner, authorized user, or legal power of attorney with access credentials. This includes deposits and credit cards, payment accounts and investment accounts. This is done through the mobile app or online account dashboard. This makes it easier to keep an eye on their overall financial health and can help keep them on track to achieve their financial goals.

For example, if you're saving for a major purchase, like a house or a car, while also working to pay down debt, like a credit card balance, seeing your assets and liabilities side by side can help you keep your goals in mind if you encounter an unexpected bill or a surprise influx of cash.

Track your cash flow and maintain a budget by using an account aggregation software

Consistent cash flow tracking and assessment — how much money you're bringing in and where it's going — are key to meeting your financial goals.

One feature of the USAA spending analysis budgeting tool is the flexibility to categorize transactions based on your general spending habits. You can add additional categories to make the service even more personalized, giving you an accurate look at where your money is going.

This visual representation of your transactions across all your accounts can help you determine if you need to adjust certain spending areas to meet your goals or to keep your spending in line with your income — for example, spending less on food or dining and adding more to savings.

Account aggregation services can also be useful if you're thinking about working with a financial planner. You'll be able to pull up a clear, concise view of your financial situation — a more complete picture of your assets and debts — and share it with your planner. Some financial planners even offer their own account aggregation services.

Is account aggregation safe?

Using an account aggregation service can be an easy, convenient and secure way to manage your money. But just like any other time you share your information on the internet, there can be risks involved. Whether you use a financial institution's built-in aggregation tool or a separate service, understanding the terms and conditions is crucial. Carefully examine the data security practices of both your financial institution and the aggregator (if different), paying attention to how each protects your data, the permissions they allow, and the rights you grant them. This informed approach will help you decide whether to aggregate your financial information.

Other things to consider when deciding whether to use an account aggregation service are the limitations. These services can only collect certain information, so you might not be getting a full understanding of your accounts. For example, you may not be able to see transaction data in real-time.

Some services also won't be able to access all your accounts, so you might have to manage those particular accounts separately. And though you can view payment due dates with your account aggregation service, most services don't allow you to conduct transactions within the service. There, you'll have to log on to the relevant account to make a payment or transfer money or set up the account under your financial institution's bill paying service, such as the USAA Pay Bills service.‍ ‍ ^{See note 1}