Industry coalition continues push towards consumer-first open financial ecosystem, publishes primer on APIs for those new to the space.

The Financial Data Exchange welcomed eight new members between May 1 and July 31, 2019, bringing the total membership to 55 organizations spanning the full breadth of financial services ecosystem, from financial institutions to data aggregators, banking core processors and fintechs.

FDX is aligning industry players to bring a common approach to consumer control of financial data through an open banking API and technical standards that prioritize security, transparency and user experience. The newest members include: The American Bankers Association (ABA), Blanc Labs, Flinks, Mastercard, Mountain America FCU, Principal Life Insurance Company, SunTrust and Visa.

For organizations or individuals looking to learn more about secure financial data sharing, FDX has published the “ABCs of APIs” a must-read whitepaper for anyone looking to educate themselves on financial industry APIs.

“There’s a lot of focus globally on secure and transparent data sharing where the consumer is in control,” said Don Cardinal, FDX managing director. “Our focus continues to be on educating the industry on the benefits of a common, consumer-first framework. With each new member, we get closer to fully delivering that vision.”

The FDX API reflects the latest thinking in the financial data sharing space, from the data specification to the security and authentication protocols. Top experts in each discipline are contributing to the standard’s design, and the FDX working groups ensure that the standard continues to evolve and keep pace with technological innovations and consumer expectations.

The FDX board of directors includes Bank of America, BB&T, Capital One, Charles Schwab, Citigroup, Envestnet | Yodlee, Experian, Fannie Mae, Fidelity Investments, Finicity, Fiserv, FS-ISAC, Intuit, JPMorgan Chase, Plaid, PNC Bank, N.A., Quicken Loans, SIFMA, TD Bank, TCH, USAA, U.S. Bank, Wells Fargo and Xero.

Financial Data Exchange, LLC (FDX) is a non-profit organization dedicated to unifying the financial industry around a common, interoperable, royalty-free standard for secure and convenient consumer and business access to their financial data. FDX empowers consumers through its commitment to the development, growth and industry-wide adoption of the FDX API, according to the principles of control, access, transparency, traceability and security. Membership is open to financial institutions, fintech companies, consumer advocacy groups, and other industry participants.