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What is the difference between an aggregator and screen scraping?
The terms describe different layers of a connection. An account aggregator sits between a financial institution and an app or other authorized third party, helping move consumer-authorized account data. Screen scraping describes how software retrieves information: it accesses the institution’s customer-facing online interface and reads and parses the information presented there.
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For example, a budgeting app might let you view checking, investment, and credit-card balances from three institutions in one place. An aggregator may provide the connective service, while the method used to collect data from each institution can vary. The Congressional Research Service (CRS) describes this kind of consumer-authorized access and distinguishes aggregators from the access methods they use: CRS brief, September 30, 2025.
How do the main connection methods work?
Institution-hosted OAuth or API connection
In a typical OAuth handoff, you are sent to your financial institution’s own site or app to authenticate. The institution then provides an access token or similar security identifier that allows the connection provider to retrieve data within the permission granted. This changes where authentication happens and how access is authorized; it does not, by itself, tell you everything about what data an app may receive or retain.
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Plaid’s help center says that in its OAuth flow, Plaid does not store your bank credentials. It also notes that some API connections may ask you to enter credentials within Plaid’s authentication flow without storing them. These are descriptions of Plaid’s specific flows, not a guarantee about every aggregator or institution: Plaid’s explanation of connection methods.
Credential-based screen scraping
In a credential-based flow, you provide login details and authorize software to access the institution’s online account interface. The software reads and parses information displayed there so it can be used by the app. Depending on the connection, credentials may be supplied to an intermediary rather than entered on the institution’s own site.
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The CFPB has described concerns with this approach, including shared credentials, potential access to more information than an app needs, security and accuracy risks, and reduced consumer control. Because scraping relies on interpreting information intended for people, it can also be less precise than a purpose-built data interface. The CFPB discusses these concerns in its October 2024 final rule and the background to the method in its October 2023 proposal.
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A connection can use tokens or other security mechanisms without being a straightforward institution-hosted OAuth flow. Tokenization may reduce some risks associated with sharing reusable login credentials, but it does not necessarily limit the connection to only the data an app needs; software may still have to parse human-readable account information. The label on a connection alone is therefore not enough to judge its scope or protections.
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What should you compare when connecting an account?
Look at the actual connection screen and the permissions requested, rather than assuming a method is safe or unsafe based only on words such as “API,” “aggregator,” or “scraping.” Check these details before approving access:
- Who is requesting access? Identify the app or third party that will use the data, and whether another company is assisting with the connection.
- Where do you enter credentials? Notice whether you are redirected to your institution’s site or app, or asked to enter credentials in another company’s flow. A credential prompt inside an aggregator’s flow does not necessarily mean credentials are stored, so consult the provider’s explanation for that specific connection.
- Which accounts and data categories are included? Confirm the accounts selected and the types of information requested. A connection that includes multiple accounts or categories may grant broader access than the app’s main feature seems to require.
- What will the app do with the data? Read its disclosures about use and retention. A secure authentication method does not, on its own, determine how the receiving app handles data after it receives it.
- How can access be revoked? Find the app’s disconnect instructions and check whether your institution offers a way to review or revoke third-party access. Revoking a connection may stop future access, but it does not necessarily delete data the app already received; check the app’s deletion and retention terms.
- Does your institution support the connection? Available flows and capabilities differ by institution and provider. A connection method available for one bank may not be available for another.
What does U.S. law require, and what is its current status?
The CFPB’s published rule under Section 1033 establishes a framework for consumer-authorized access to covered financial data. Under the rule’s authorization provision, an authorized third party must provide disclosures, certify to its obligations, and obtain express informed consent. An aggregator may perform authorization procedures for a third party, but the third party remains responsible for those procedures; the aggregator must be identified and provide a required certification. See 12 CFR §§ 1033.401 and 1033.431.
The original compliance dates are not current deadlines. The CFPB’s implementation page reports that a court stayed the compliance dates on October 29, 2025. It also says the agency issued an advance notice of proposed rulemaking on August 22, 2025, and planned further rulemaking concerning compliance dates. The rule is published, but its compliance schedule is stayed and possible amendments remain under consideration: CFPB personal financial data rights implementation page.
These requirements describe the published U.S. regulatory framework; they should not be taken as proof that every app or connection currently follows the same procedures. Actual connection practices vary, and the rule’s implementation status can change.
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How widely are these connections used?
A CRS brief published September 30, 2025, cites previous estimates that at least 100 million consumers had authorized third parties to access their financial data as of 2024. CRS characterizes these as previous estimates, not a current census or a new measurement. The figure indicates that consumer-authorized account access is a substantial part of U.S. financial technology, but it does not show how many people use a particular aggregator or connection method: CRS brief.
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