Another day, another big bank joins the Akoya Data Access Network to bring greater financial data aggregation to banking customers.

“The addition of Wells Fargo to the Akoya Data Access Network is yet another signal marking the industry’s shift toward safer and more secure API-based data aggregation, especially as new fintechs offer consumers a wide range of innovative services,” Akoya CEO Stuart Rubinstein said.

Wells Fargo’s move means that fintechs and data aggregators will be able to request API-based access to Wells Fargo customer data for mutual customers through the Akoya Data Access Network. The Network was spun off from Fidelity Investments in February 2020, and has since secured support from a dozen financial institutions, including Wells Fargo. Akoya implements Financial Data Exchange API specifications, which enable bank customers to provide third-party financial apps with access to their financial data without having to share their login credentials. Akoya’s API-based approach compares favorably to screen-scraping or “credential-based data aggregation,” especially in terms of data access reliability and security.

Bank of America, Chase, Fidelity, and U.S. Bank already have joined the Akoya Data Access Network. This means that, according to Rubinstein, “nearly half of all U.S. retail banking accounts (are) available through our authorized API connections.”

Wells Fargo will make its data available on the network later this year, giving customers time to authorize Akoya-connected fintech apps and service to access their Wells Fargo account data. The bank said it will maintain its direct API connections with third-party fintech partners who have signed data exchange agreements with the company.

“We believe that using APIs as a means of data transfer is a model the industry can use to create more reliable and more secure data sharing,” Ben Soccorsy, SVP of Wells Fargo’s Strategy, Digital and Innovation group, said. “As we continue to move toward what we see as a more secure, transparent and convenient method of data exchange, our agreement with Akoya offers another implementation option for connecting with fintechs.”

With $1.9 trillion in assets, Wells Fargo serves one in three households in the U.S., and more than 10% of all middle market companies and small businesses in the U.S. The company is ranked #30 on Fortune’s 2020 roster of America’s largest corporations.