A Datamonitor brief reveals the number of account aggregation users will grow to 60 million by 2005.
Datamonitor has just released a new brief analyzing the online financial account aggregation market. The brief forecasts that by 2005, there will be 121 million online banking customers in Western Europe and the US. By the end of 2005, almost half will be using account aggregation.
The consumer appeal rests on the convenience of being able to manage different financial relationships from a single web page through PCs, mobile phones and wireless devices. Access to the service will enable customers to transact online between several accounts, regardless of how many banks these are spread over, make online bill payments and check portfolio performance.
Banks are set to be the key beneficiaries of the account aggregation wave. Those that can deploy a robust, secure and reliable service are in an ideal position to leverage existing customers for increased cross- and up-sell opportunities, as they will be able to aggregate consumer data from all the users’ accounts and build a deeper personalized relationship with consumers. Since banks are keen to be first to market (or at least, not to fall behind their rivals), the majority of growth will occur between now and mid-2003.
However, as more non-financial services firms such as utility companies, web portals and other lifestyle sites jump onto the aggregation bandwagon, banks will feel the squeeze as consumers source aggregation services from vendors with strong brands and huge customer bases.
This competition will make the European market for account aggregation into a real opportunity for IT vendors. Because the US market is more developed, IT spend growth in Europe will outstrip IT spend growth in the US – a rate of 93% compared to just 20% in the US. The European account aggregation market therefore presents a real opportunity for IT vendors that can roll out a secure and robust service.
